TRABIA
Trabia
is a town of nearly 8,000 located in the Palermo province. Fishing
and farming are, still today, the town’s main industries;
the former mostly related to tuna and sardines trade. Tourism has
also notably developed in recent years, the area boasting a pristine,
splendid shoreline.
The
city is probably rooted in an ancient Arab settlement of the 12th
century called AT tarbi’ah, meaning ‘square’.
The noble Blasco Trabia was entitled Baron of Trabia by the Spanish
King Ferdinand. The Lanzas became Princes of Trabia in the early-1600s
and in 1635, one of their members, Ottavio, was given permission
to establish a settlement.
The
most attractive building is the old fortress – that, in 1153,
Edrisi referred to as Rocca della Trabia. Over the centuries, this
has been much altered, notably in the Norman period, when its central
part was fortified, and under Blasco Lanzo who had kilns built for
the production of biscotti. It is set close to the shore and consists
of quadrangular outer walls with a round tower rising at the centre
of the courtyard, once used as prison, and two smaller round towers
once dotted with weaponry. The building, past various historical
vicissitudes, still belongs to the Lanzas.
The
tuna-fishery of San Nicola L’Arena is an equally attractive
edifice; it is situated in proximity to the castle that was partly
meant to protect it. The tuna fishing long played a major role in
the city economy; its decline started in the early-1900s. The building
has been turned into a hotel.
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