TRAPPETO
Generic information
Province of: Palermo
Elevation: m
Population:
GPS coordinates
Latitude: 38.06981
Longitude: 13.039069
Map
Web site
Italian version: www.sicilianelmondo.com
Photos
Description
Trappeto (Sicilian: Trappitu) is a town in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region of Sicily, located about 30 km west of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,936 and an area of 4.1 km².[1]
Trappeto borders the following cities: Balestrate, Partinico, Terrasini.
Located about fifty kilometres from Palermo, in the heart of the Gulf of Castellammare (Trapani), Trappeto is a pleasant spot which is immersed in a setting of natural beauty, a fertile land of thriving greenery in the middle of a very suggestive historical itinerary. Its coasts are wet by the splendid colours of the Mediterranean Sea. It was founded in the so-called Parthenia forest by Federico II of Aragona in the XIV century. During the years Trappeto has changed little by little from a territory rich in vineyards and citrus orchards overlooking the sea into a town full of tourists coming not only from the nation itself but also from all over the world. Its name " Trappetum Cannamelarum " took after the first factory (1480) that dealt with the extraction and refining of sugar canes and a fortified tower which is similar to the still existing ones built by the Arabs, Normans, Christians, Moors etc. The first homes were built around the Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation (1680) which soon became the town's square. As it grew in population, some homes began to be built on the outskirts of the town. For centuries Trappeto was inhabited by farmers and fishermen who mingled together the sweetness of nature's products and the disappointments of a life of hardship and emigration in a land which was oppressed by the Mafia. After World War II, Trappeto became the symbol of total poverty and people decided to move to America and to Germany hoping for a better living. As a matter of fact, some of them never came back to Sicily not even to visit their loved ones since they could not afford buying a plane ticket. Many of these immigrants past away in the US and in Germany and were buried there without ever having a chance to send their families any information on their location. Years later, it was thanks to sociologist Danilo Dolci's interest in building and running the so-called "Borgo di Dio" cultural center (1968), located on the town's promontory, that spread the culture and humane treasures of these hard working Sicilians not only around Italy but also around the entire world. From that moment onwards, a wonderful revival caused a rupture with the past thanks to the same residents of Trappeto who were inspired by a renewed faith and an inexhaustible need for humanization and justice towards a destiny of inexorable progress. Trappeto is nowadays a destination chosen by a great number of tourists for its numerous beach hotels, bed and breakfasts, restaurants, pizza places but above all for its sandy beaches.
From Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trappeto&oldid=287241357>.