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The navy of Isola delle Females from the paleolithic to today
HISTORY
I have decided to make known to the citizens a series of documents that reconstruct the history of the navy of Isola delle Femmine and that demonstrate its ancient origins. "I do not have the presumption of being a historian", says Giuseppe Bellone, "but through these documents I try to keep alive the historical memory of the town and to pass it on to our children and grandchildren". From the very beginning there has been an indissoluble bond between the men who inhabited these places and the sea. "The territory of the Municipality of Isola delle Femmine was inhabited by primitive man, who left traces of himself in the Vallone della Cala, a landscape of bald and rough mountains, but strongly suggestive", writes Giulia Di Maggio Sommariva in her book " Capaci and Isola ". Vallone della Cala is a vast hemicycle, delimited by rocky walls shaped by the sea which, in the mists of time, has dug around twenty caves, such as the 'della Tonnara' cave. Furthermore, in these caves, a first reconnaissance carried out in 1947 led to the discovery of splinters of flint, obsidian, prehistoric terracotta but also rock engravings. “The man who lived in the caves of this western side of the Raffo Rosso, between Isola and Sferracavallo”, “saw a landscape that was little different from the present one”. These first men, who came down from the mountains, found a sea rich in fish, especially in that narrow passage between the islet and the mainland. Already for a century, however, in Isola delle Femmine there was an establishment for fishing and the production of garum, a fish sauce much appreciated by the Romans. In the 1980s Gianfranco Purpura, professor full professor of Roman law and ancient rights at the University of Palermo, found the remains of at least seven tanks about 30 meters from the sea on the islet.
Various archaeological finds come from the seabed around the islet and the existence of at least one ancient Hellenistic relic seems to be confirmed. "This confirms the correlation between fish processing plants and ancient shipwrecks," writes Purpura. Subsequently, the fishing facilities were located on the mainland. The first certain evidence of the presence of a trap in Isola delle Femmine dates back to 1176, when the King of Sicily William II donated the plant with its appurtenances and its sanctuary to the church of Santa Maria Nova in Monreale. In the twelfth century. the trap was among the most important of the Palermo coast and the territory had such a strategic value that it was necessary to build watchtowers, one on the ground and then another on the islet. The Municipality of Isola delle Femmine was born in 1855, but the history of the navy had continued for centuries and the seafaring traditions of the fishermen of Isola delle Femmine gradually set their sails on other, increasingly distant routes. The fishermen first began to go towards Trapani, San Vito Lo Capo, the barracks of Trapani, Mazzara and towards the islands of Favignana and Marittimo. In 1856 a certain Brignone from Pantelleria went to Isola to recruit crews for fishing in the waters of Lampedusa and found several men ready to follow him, intrepid sea wolves, aboard their "capable" boats, large and light, solid and elegant. , suitable for distant migrations. In 1870 Antonio known as u friddu and two Dalmatians, Novak and Molino, came in search of strong arms to go to Tunisia to fish for alaccia or sardinella aurita and to fish for clupeidae to be salted in Algeria and so the boats of Isola began to beat in along and wide the northern coasts of Africa: Mehdia, the islet of Zembra up to La Calle and small colonies of islanders will be created in Tabarka, Susa, Tunis and Algiers. In the 20s and 30s of the last century, the seabed of the north-western coast of Sicily became impoverished, also due to the indiscriminate use of fishing with dynamite, and so many fishermen emigrated to California. On the Sacramento River near San Francisco they gave birth to the new village of Black Diamond, now Pittsburg, and in Alaska they started fishing for salmon alongside people from all over the world. In Isola delle Femmine the fish processing plants lasted until 1960, with the firms Aiello Francesco and Di Maggio Orazio.
Giuseppe Bellone
The earth tower
Ancora 1
Inside the inhabited area of Isola delle Femmine you can admire a marine tower, called the "earth tower" to distinguish it from the one located on the islet in front of the village. It is also called Torre di Capaci, from the name of the neighboring town Isola delle Femmine, and was built in the 15th century. The style recalls the structure of the other coastal towers located in nearby Mondello and in Sferracavallo. Built to defend the tonnara that was granted by William II to the church of Monreale in 1176. The structure has a circular plan and consists of two floors above ground, of which the lower one acts as a cistern.
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The military fort
Ancora 2
The so-called “military fort” of Isola delle Femmine is a circular mobile post which during the Second World War housed three soldiers assigned to the surveillance of the 280th defensive coastal division on Palermo. It was used by the infantry to to counter any allied landing in the western sector of Sicily. Along the coast that goes from Trapani to Palermo there are about forty such casemates. In Isola delle Femmine there are at least five still visible. On 21 July 1943, the day before the allies entered Palermo, these positions were demobilized and the soldiers withdrew towards eastern Sicily, where the bulk of the fighting was taking place. The property is located inside Alessandro Canepa's “Il fortino” car park, on the Isola delle Femmine seafront. Exhibitions of relics dating back to the war are periodically organized inside the fort.
Junkers-52
Ancora 3
Discovering the wreck of a German plane sunk in 1942 between Isola delle Femmine and Sferracavallo
“Sferracavallo, summer 1942. Mid afternoon on a beautiful sunny day. I used to play with my brother Carlo on the terrace that served as a roof for the evacuees' home. At a certain moment we hear a rumbling, like a boiling pot, and from the sea we see a squadron of Junkers-52s, in perfect formation, heading towards Palermo. The planes flew at a height of about three hundred meters above our heads. A little lower than the others trudged one whose engines emitted an irregular noise interrupted by pops and gaps of power. Evidently they were all headed for the old and only Boccadifalco airfield. However, we were highly doubtful that that last plane could get there. At a distance of about a kilometer, just above the village of Tommaso Natale, the Junkers one turns and comes back, again in our direction. To observe it better I remember that we climbed on the roof tiles of a
scale leading from the apartment to the terrace. The time to get on and we see this huge aircraft pass over our heads to the point that we throw ourselves lying down as if to avoid being hit. For us children it was beautiful and we noticed in particular the yellow painted only under the three engines, the black crosses edged in white under the wings, the swastika on the rudder and the huge flaps very characteristic because they are quite distant from the wings. Once past it we stand up and see it heading towards the sea which was about three hundred meters away from us. Evidently the pilot wanted to attempt a ditching. After having covered almost the entire bay of Sferracavallo, at the height of P.ta Marconi (so defined for the presence of a powerful radio station), it touched the surface of the sea by raising a mighty wall of water around it. Almost immediately after it stopped, I saw the mid-engine and wings disappear. From the distance of about eight hundred meters that separated me from the plane I noticed the men of the crew who launched themselves from the port door that had been opened. At the same time from the small port of the town many fishing boats left, pushed by oars, while others, which were already out at sea in the center of the bay, were practically very close. A dozen men launched themselves into the sea, then none. In the space of a minute or so, the plane tilted on its nose until it assumed an almost vertical position and then sank silently. With a run of a few minutes we were along the state road that leads towards the sea to Piazza di SS. Cosma and Damiano. Today I no longer remember if we already found the German soldiers there already collected from the boats or if they arrived later. They were all shirtless, without shoes, and in underpants. Some held their clothes under their arms while others tried to dry the bills by spreading them on the sidewalk and placing stones on them. Among them was one who carried a leather bag full of wet documents. However, they were very calm and some of them lit a cigarette offered by the locals. In a quarter of an hour a bus was requisitioned and, as they were, they left for Palermo. The next day, a pontoon arrived on the spot and parked for another two or three days. All attempts to recover the plane were in vain. Today my friend Ferdinando tells me that he is practically in front of P.ta Marconi but I remember that he had landed more inside the bay. Perhaps the attempts at recovery or movements underwater during the sinking have displaced it. " Today the wreck rests on a sandy bottom of –45.00 meters. Given the depth, this dive is recommended only for expert divers with the support of a diving that provides all the safety equipment and of course the boat.
Sanctuary Maria SS delle Thanks
Ancora 4
Tunnariam quoque que est in insula Fimi, prope portum Gali, cum omnibus pertinenciis et iusticiis et rationibus suis eidem monasterio perpetuo libere habendam concedimus, ut omni tempore liceat ipsi monasterio ad utilitatem suam officium piscationis tunnorum vel quascumuerqua exercione alias exact utilit alias utilit alias utilit.
On 29 June there is the celebration of the feast of St. Peter and on 2 July of Maria SS delle Grazie, patron saint of the town. The cult of Maria SS delle Grazie, however, would have very ancient roots, much more than what has been believed up to now. "Since the first centuries of the spread of Catholicism in Sicily, our great-grandparents gathered in prayer in a small house (chapel) adjacent to the Tonnara, addressing Maria SS delle Grazie", explains Giuseppe Bellone, "they did not have a priest or a mayor, they did not know theology, they limited themselves to simple prayers and the recitation of the rosary and turned to St. Peter and St. Andrew, who were the fishermen par excellence ". In recent years, Giuseppe Bellone has discovered documents that date back several centuries to the birth of the cult of Isola delle Femmine and the town itself. In one of these we read that William II, King of Sicily from 1166 to 1189, renewed the concessions made in 1176 to the church of Santa Maria Nova di Monreale, including the Tonnara that stood in Isola delle Femmine and its appurtenances, together with the sanctuary. Another document confirms that already in 1200, in the Tonnara of Isola delle Femmine, owned by the archbishop of Monreale, there was a chapel where the Madonna della Tonnara was venerated, then enlarged for the needs of the community in 1840, before assuming the current form, in the twentieth century (source: chiesedisicilia.org). Documents that tell us about the town of Fimi, whose history is much older than what has been claimed up to now and which place in history in the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie already before 1200. _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5ccc3 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 1_cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5_b58f5-3194-badd5-136bcc5_ -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136badc5cf58d5-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d5 -1394c5-3194c5905-3194c5-3194c5-3194c5-3194d81-3194b905 bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cd e-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58905-3194c58905-bb7905-3194c590d_ -136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905 -5cde-3194bbadd3 -136bad5cf58d_ -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf5890d_ 3194c5905-bb7905 -3194-bbc5-3194b58905- 136bad5cf58d_ _cc781908-5cde-3194bbadd-136bcc5-3194bd5-1394bcc5-3194bcc5_ 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5ccc3 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 1_cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5_b58f5-3194-badd5-136bcc5_ -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136badc5cf58d5-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d5 -1394c5-3194c5905-3194c5-3194c5-3194c5-3194d81-3194b905 bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5__cc7819094-5cde-136badc5-3194-badd-136bcc5_ 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b -136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905 -5cde-3194bbadd3 -136bad5cf58d_ -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf5890d_ 3194c5905-bb7905 -3194-bbc5-3194b58905- 136bad5cf58d_ _cc781908-5cde-3194bbadd-136bcc5-3194bd5-1394bcc5-3194bcc5_ 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 3194bde-5bd3-136b58f58d_ _cc7904-badd5-136bcc3-5b58f58d_ _cc781905- 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf5890d_5cde-3194-5c8190d_b3b8-3194b8-3194b8-3194b8-3194b8-3194b8-3194b8-01 -136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905 -5cde-3194bbadd3 -136bad5cf58d_ -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf5890d_ 3194c5905-bb7905 -3194-bbc5-3194b58905- 136bad5cf58d_ _cc781908-5cde-3194bbadd-136bcc5-3194bd5-1394bcc5-3194bcc5_ 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf5 8d_ _cc781905-5cde-315890- bb3b-136bdd-136bcc7-3194-5890_b3b-136bcc5_ 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 3194bde-5bd3-136b58f58d_ _cc7904-badd5-136bcc3-5b58f58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5ccc3 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 1_cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5_b58f5-3194-badd5-136bcc5_ -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-b b3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5__cc7819094-badd-136bcc5-3194bd-136bcc5_ 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf5890d_5cde-3194-5c8190d_b3b8-3194b8-3194b8-3194b8-3194b8-3194b8-3194b8-01 -136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905 -5cde-3194bbadd3 -136bad5cf58d_ -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf5890d_ 3194c5905-bb7905 -3194-bbc5-3194b58905- 136bad5cf58d_ _cc7819 05-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ Source (Il Giornale di Isola).
Joe Di _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136badaggio
Ancora 5
[...] It is among the streets of Isola delle Femmine, among the rugged rocks of the cliff, among the blue waves of this sea, that we find the legend of Joe Di Maggio, the greatest baseball player of all time, the ex-husband of Marilyn Monroe, while an old tune continues to resonate in the memory: "Where did you go Joe Di Maggio"? The legend of Joe Di Maggio begins right here where Giuseppe Di Maggio and Rosalia Mercurio are married in the house in via Cutino. Joe Di Maggio can be found talking to the locals. You find it as they tell you the rest of this story. [...] [...] At that time thousands of Sicilian fishermen embarked for America to guarantee a more dignified future for their families. The Di Maggio are among them. They left in 1902 and settled in Martinez, a small town in California a few kilometers from San Francisco. In Martinez, Giuseppe and Rosalia give birth to seven other children. Joe was born on November 25, 1914 ». The conditions of the family are still modest, but they are certainly better than those experienced in Sicily. "Clipper" is a lively boy, but he goes to school with little profit. When he holds his first baseball bat at the age of ten, he proves to be an explosive blend of power and agility. To help the family he is a newsboy. Then his father takes him to the sea and teaches him the tricks of his ancient trade. "My cousin Giuseppe wanted his son to continue the family tradition," says his cousin Baldassare. “Despite the good will, Joe found that the job was not done for him. Giuseppe often scolded him, "You are a lagnusu", a slacker, but he hoped to straighten him out, that boy who always had his head elsewhere. "[...] [...] At seventeen" Joltin Joe "is a big boy of six feet with window teeth. Just then - it's 1932 - he was hired by the "San Francisco Mission", a team of Pacific League professionals. A few seasons and then the big leap in the "New York Yankees", twenty five thousand dollars a season, all the records pulverized in 13 seasons of competitive activity: 9 championships won, 1,736 games, 1,308 wins, 361 home runs, 56 consecutive games with at least one beat valid. Figures that place it in the legend. Now Joe Di Maggio has matured, as a man and as a player, he no longer has the gap between his teeth and looks extraordinarily like Yves Montand. War historian Stephen Ambrose writes: "How many of our soldiers died on the sand of a beach, saying to his comrades: say hello to Joe Di Maggio when you get home." And director Francis Ford Coppola: «Di Maggio was one of the first hundred words that emigrants learned as soon as they landed».
And again the journalist Vittorio Zucconi: «He had given the Italian Americans dignity and elegance, after decades of mafia and godparents». In 1939 he marries actress Dorothy Arnold, with whom he will have a son, Joe junior, with whom he will never be able to get along. He separated with his wife in 1944. In 1951 in Cleveland, at the age of thirty-seven, on a rainy evening, he retired from competitive sport. These are the years in which he frequents Hemingway, who in the novel "The old man and the sea" makes several references to the great Di Maggio. "Joltin Joe" is the most admired man in America. [...] [...] A few months later he sees a beautiful woman printed on a billboard and falls in love with her: she has platinum blonde hair and her name is Marilyn Monroe. He courts her for two years and eventually marries her. It is January 14, 1954. The marriage feeds the Di Maggio myth, but it will only last nine months: she is a fast-growing actress and she is 27 years old, he has stopped playing, wants to start a family, and is 39 years old. Plus he is very jealous: of friends, colleagues, Marilyn's low-cut dresses. An incompatibility that after nine months will lead to a sensational breakup: it will be Monroe herself, with tears in her eyes, to announce it to the American press. He will continue to love her forever, perhaps the only one among the actress's men. When the protagonist of "Some Like It Hot" is hospitalized, in the throes of her frequent bouts of depression, it is he who is close to her. When she died on 6 August 1962 under mysterious circumstances, it was Joe who organized the funeral by selecting only twenty-three people. To some Hollywood blockbusters who want to attend the funeral at all costs, he says gracefully: "I'm sorry, you killed her after all." In one of the many biographies of the actress we read: "A few days before her death, Marilyn had decided to remarry Joe Di Maggio". In any case, from that moment and throughout his life, "Joltin Joe" will bring red roses to his grave. The great champion made the first (and last) visit to Isola delle Femmine in those years, as a guest for a day of the former mayor Antonio Di Maggio. [...] [...] "He had a great desire to know his roots," says Vincenzo, then just twenty, now sixty. "He spent the whole day in this house." A nineteenth-century building with decorated floors, very high vaults, portraits of ancestors hanging on the walls, the terrace overlooking the sea .
“Honestly I don't know if Joe was of the same family stock as me, but we had an unforgettable day: he didn't talk much, but he loved hearing news about his family and the origins of Isola delle Femmine. In the afternoon I accompanied him around the town: he visited his parents' house, the square, the cliff, the port. Then he hugged everyone and left, with the promise that he would come back ». Years go by. For a long time Joe Di Maggio became a kind of ambassador of American sport all over the world. In 1993 he returned to Italy
as delegate of the National Italian American Foundation (Niaf): the program includes stops in Rome, Palermo, and Isola delle Femmine ("The return to my country will be the most significant moment of my trip to Italy" , he tells reporters). In the capital he was received by the President of the Republic, Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, who decorated him with the title of Commander. A severe illness caused by fatigue prevents him from flying to Sicily to take the honorary citizenship of Isola delle Femmine, where they had prepared great celebrations in his honor. Six years later he dies in his Hollywood home following an incurable disease. Yet "Joltin Joe" is still here, between the rugged cliffs and the blue sea of Isola delle Femmine.
LUCIANO MIRONE - source: repubblica.it (all rights reserved) read the whole story on: http://www.turismoisoladellefemmine.it/joedimaggio.php
Twinning: Pittsburg, Monterey, Bevagna
Ancora 6
In the early 1900s, the idea of emigrating to America and precisely to California spread little by little in the country. At first the fishermen left in a few, and once they realized that this was a land that would improve their lives in every way, they push their countrymen to do the same. Thus the country begins to depopulate, the fisherman also takes his family with him, which is permanently transplanted into a new land full of good prospects. pushes to create a new borough on the Sacramento River: Black Diamond, now Pittsburg, near San Francisco. After almost 100 years, between May and June 1994, the two villages, Isola delle Femmine and Pittsburg, resume their contatti, social ed
economic, formalizing them with a "certificate", which is the demonstration that the love for common origins is still alive. As proof of this twinning, both countries have two identical statues made, depicting a fisherman. In Isola delle Femmine, this work was exhibited in the center of the square from which it took its name, precisely Piazza Pittsburg.
On August 5, the Monterey City Council resolved to accept the twinning proposal of the Conmine di Isola delle Femmine approved last July: the friendship between the two communities will be sealed with the signature of the Charter of intent that will take place on the 6th September 2017 at the town hall of the Californian town. The link between the city of Monterey and the city of Isoala delle Femmine began over 140 years ago, already with the first migrations of the island fishermen Ferrante, Cardinale, Lucido. Russo, Bologna, Davì, Mercurio, Di Maggio, Siino, Aiello towards California, when on the beautiful coasts of Monterey they built the first nuclei of many small and large communities.
The citizens of Isola delle Femmine and Monterey have never forgotten their common roots, made up of sacrifices, work and fishing and these values are the important legacy to be handed over to the new generations. In 2002 the communities of Monterey and Isola delle Femmine started a path of friendship and collaboration, together with the community of Marettimo (Trapani - Italy); on that occasion the foundations were laid for the construction of shared future projects and, honored by the visit of the then mayor of Monterey, Mr. Dan Albert, the island community named the access road to the port after the town of Monterey, in memory of the common origins. Today we feel the need to give more vigor to this
we bond, to return to shorten distances and give substance to that human journey of sharing of values that has united the fishermen of Isola delle Femmine with those of Monterey for 140 years.
The twinning between our island community and the Umbrian town of Bevagna (PG) was born following the 1994 earthquake that hit the whole of Umbria, its inhabitants and its precious artistic and cultural heritage hard. Bevagna, a beautiful medieval village, is famous for its suggestive alleys, its fascinating architecture and its spectacular monuments. Piazza Silvestri, the Francesco Torti theater and the Palazzo dei Consoli are just a taste of its wonders. Bevagna hosts every year, at the end of June, the "Mercato delle Gaite", a historical re-enactment of medieval life, which attracts medieval experts and tourists from all over the world. On the occasion of the twinning events we received the visit of the famous Banda di Bevagna and food and wine events were organized: the pork festival in Isola and the swordfish festival in Bevagna. Keeping these cultural and social relationships still firmly is a common goal of both mayors of their respective towns, Stefano Bologna in Isola delle Femmine and Anna Rita Falsacappa in Bevagna.
we received the visit of the famous Banda di Bevagna and food and wine events were organized: the pork festival in Isola and the swordfish festival in Bevagna. Keeping these cultural and social relationships still firmly is a common goal of both mayors of their respective towns, Stefano Bologna in Isola delle Femmine and Anna Rita Falsacappa in Bevagna.
The garden of memory
Ancora 7
The Garden of Memory welcomes Falcone's spare car „It is called" Quarto Savona Quindici ", code name of the vehicle in which agents Antonio Montinaro, Rocco Dicillo and Vito Schifani traveled, and is located a short distance from the Capaci dell 'A29 motorway.
„THE GARDEN - The project dates back to 2011 and was carried out by three architects from Palermo: Valentina Careri, Michele Giletto and Fabrizio Cassibba. It is a place full of symbolism. "The walkway is the path of legality and represents the road made by the men of the escort and by Falcone from the Punta Raisi airport to the site of the massacre - explains architect Valentina Careri -. We made it in wood because it is a warm material. Part of the pavement is in concrete because with this material we wanted to represent the explosion of the highway that poured here but also the texture drawn on the concrete is important: it is the mafia. superimposed the walk of legality and posted the names of the victims of the massacre ". But the list of symbolisms is still long: there are fifteen benches in the garden as well as the beams that make up the tunnel: a tribute to the code name of the escort. "The pillars of the fence have different heights to mark the life of the garden through a play of light and shadows", adds the architect Fabrizio Cassibba. At the end of the walk there is a small theater where visitors can sit and observe and why not meditate among the olive trees. "We wanted to resume the theatrical traditions typical of our land. The garden ends with the little house" No mafia "and the choice is not accidental: this is the message we want to leave to visitors". The garden, which stands in an area where there was a parking lot, is accessible to the disabled. The management for the moment is entrusted to the municipality of Isola. The company Ma.i.tech built it. "
"" La Quarto Savona Quindici is the warning of our policemen, that voice of the soul that pushes us to do more and more because in our jacket these great men have imprinted the pride of serving our homeland in the name of justice, truth and legality". questor Renato Cortese
_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5ccc3 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 1_cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5_b58f5-3194-badd5-136bcc5_ -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136badc5cf58d5-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d5 -1394c5-3194c5905-3194c5-3194c5-3194c5-3194d81-3194b905 bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5__cc7819094-5cde-136badc5-3194-badd-136bcc5_ 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_ _cc781908-5cde-3194bbadd-136bcc5-3194bd5-1394bcc5-3194bcc5_ 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 3194bde-5bd3-136b58f58d_ _cc7904-badd5-136bcc3-5b58f58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5ccc3 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 1_cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5_b58f5-3194-badd5-136bcc5_ -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5 cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_
_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5ccc3 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 1_cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5_b58f5-3194-badd5-136bcc5_ -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136badc5cf58d5-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d5 -1394c5-3194c5905-3194c5-3194c5-3194c5-3194d81-3194b905 bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5__cc7819094-5cde-136badc5-3194-badd-136bcc5_ 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_ _cc781908-5cde-3194bbadd-136bcc5-3194bd5-1394bcc5-3194bcc5_ 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 3194bde-5bd3-136b58f58d_ _cc7904-badd5-136bcc3-5b58f58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5ccc3 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 1_cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5_b58f5-3194-badd5-136bcc5_ -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5 cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5c5890d-3194-bb3b-136bad5c5890d-3194bc5-3194b805-bbcc7-3194b81-5 bbcc7 -136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905 -5cde-3194bbadd3 -136bad5cf58d_ -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf5890d_ 3194c5905-bb7905 -3194-bbc5-3194b58905- 136bad5cf58d_ _cc781908-5cde-3194bbadd-136bcc5-3194bd5-1394bcc5-3194bcc5_ 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58 d_ SOURCE: www.palermotoday.i t
Beaches
Ancora 8
Among the many beaches of Sicily, those of Isola delle Femmine absolutely deserve a place of honor for charm and beauty. The island, a small floating oasis, a few kilometers away from Palermo, is the ideal place to spend a few days of vacation between the sea, naturalistic excursions and relaxation. The sea is certainly the absolute protagonist of the island. Of an emerald green color, it offers its visitors breathtaking views. But there are many aspects that make the Isola delle Femmine really suggestive, starting from the legends concerning the name. Along the seabed there are several archaeological finds from the Roman and Greek periods, as well as finds from more recent times, including, the most popular, the Junkers-52 wreck, the carcass of a German plane sunk in 1942.
_cc781905-5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5ccc3 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 1_cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5_b58f5-3194-badd5-136bcc5_ -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136badc5cf58d5-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d5 -1394c5-3194c5905-3194c5-3194c5-3194c5-3194d81-3194b905 bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5__cc7819094-5cde-136badc5-3194-badd-136bcc5_ 5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b- 136bad5cf58d_ _cc781908-5cde-3194bbadd-136bcc5-3194bd5-1394bcc5-3194bcc5_ 3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 3194bde-5bd3-136b58f58d_ _cc7904-badd5-136bcc3-5b58f58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5cde-3194-bb589094-136bad5ccc3 -bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ 1_cc7819094-badd5-136bcc5_b58f5-3194-badd5-136bcc5_ -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5 cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5c5890d-3194-bb3b-136bad5c5890d-3194bc5-3194b805-bbcc7-3194b81-5 bbcc7 -136bad5cf58d_ _cc781905-5cde-3194bbadd-136bt5-1394fbadd_ //www.gnv.it/viedelmare
Marine protected area
Ancora 9
There is no better image than the one used by Luigi Pirandello recalling his birth, to describe how strong the bond with the sea is in each of us Sicilians and how intense is the relationship that exists between it, the earth and man. Thus expressed the writer. "One night in June I fell like a firefly under a large lonely pine in a countryside of Saracen olive trees overlooking the edges of a blue clay plateau on the African sea". A description in which the geographical boundaries seem to cancel out precisely in the place where the two elements meet and merge until one seems to be the continuation of the other, in which the intense blue of the sea seems to merge with that of the wheat fields . It is therefore not surprising that Sicily, with its 1,500 kilometers of enormous coastal areas and landscape is the region in which one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the Mediterranean is concentrated, which over the centuries have made it an ideal destination for national and international tourist flows. There was just such a significant presence of biodiversity, combined with the concern that excessive and uncontrolled exploitation of environmental systems prejudice and modify its functioning, to induce the scientific community and the Ministry of the Environment to establish the Capo Gallo-Isola delle Femmine Marine Protected Area. The characteristics of the marine protected area are very varied and well diversified from area to area. For this reason, in these areas there are a series of prohibitions and limitations that regulate - depending on the area, transit, mooring, fishing and other activities. The yellow buoys normally identify and delimit the areas subject to constraints, while the red buoy fields are normally set up in those areas where the use of the anchor is forbidden but where mooring is possible using special ropes. hooked up. Unfortunately, very often, due to the presence of these constraints and these limitations, the Marine Protected Area is perceived by most boaters as a nuisance or as a brake on use, as if the constraints and prohibitions were put there for do not allow us to whiz with our motorboat or moor by throwing anchor at will. On the other hand, it is presumed that without the Marine Protected Area this splendid naturalistic heritage would no longer exist or would be strongly compromised. Mario Ajello Referent for Sea and Marine Protected Areas WWF Sicily
La Reserve Natural _cc781905-5cde-31945-bb3bbadata
Ancora 10
In the Gulf of Carini, fifteen kilometers from Palermo, is the Isola delle Femmine Oriented Nature Reserve established by the Sicilian Region and entrusted to LIPU management. The island is also a Special Conservation Area (SAC) and a Geosite. The distinctly Mediterranean climate greatly influences the presence and distribution of plant species on the Isola delle Femmine. Remnant of the Mediterranean scrub in the central part of the island is the garrigue formation with dwarf palm and Lentisk shrubs which, molded by the sea wind, take on a cushion-like bearing. The vegetation of the coastal strip is made up of species, such as for example the Salicornia and Salsola, which have evolved to thrive in highly salty environments, to which is added the Statice which blooms in summer with characteristic tiny lilac-colored flowers. The various species of birds are present according to the seasons. Autumn is signaled by the arrival of Gray Herons and Garzette. Winter is the season in which you can admire the spectacular dives of the Gannets, large pelagic birds that capture fish by diving into the sea even from a height of thirty meters. In spring, the breeding season of the Mediterranean herring gull begins on the island with a colony of about five hundred pairs. The partners begin to set up the nest already in early March, after about twenty-five days of hatching the chicks are born, two or three and after about another forty days the chicks begin to make the first flights. -5cde-3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_
In the month of August, the seagulls, both young and adults, disperse throughout the Mediterranean. In September, the seagulls return to the reserve in anticipation of the next winter but the young will roam the sea for about four years, until, having become adults, they return to the island. Along the shore of the island we find the Dendropoma petraeum, a mollusk that has its shell in the shape of a tube, thousands of tubes are tangled and welded together to form a belt that borders the entire island, this belt is called "sidewalk in Vermetidi" (Trottoir). This sidewalk was described for science by the French naturalist De Quatrefages in his travel diary “Souvenir d'un Naturaliste” in 1848, right on the Isola delle Femmine. In the Punic - Roman age, the island was chosen as the site for the production of "garum", a refined sauce obtained by letting fish, mixed with salt, macerate in the sun. The "cetarie", cocciopesto basins that can be admired today on the island are what remains of the industrial plant of the time. But the most evident testimony left by man on the island is the watchtower. It was built at the end of the sixteenth century, the square base is embanked and inside it housed the cistern for collecting rainwater. In the foreground it was intended to house the fireplace and beds for the military. On the terrace, in addition to the firearms, there was always the "mazzone", a wooden rod with an iron caldera where there was a bundle of wood ready to be lit in case of need. The "fani" system was used to communicate: a tower that had sighted an enemy boat could give the alarm by lighting the mallet and using a language consisting of smoke during the day or fire at night.
Legend: The oldest tells that on the island lived beautiful women who would have been given as gifts to the most valiant warriors in battle.
Ancora 11
Artisanal fishing
The fish is caught and sold directly by fishermen in the marina in an open-air market where the catch is artfully arranged giving life to a show of colors and scents.
Ancora 12
Il Porto
The small port of Isola delle Femmine is located on the coast opposite the island of the same name and is protected by an elbow pier and a breakwater. The port allows shelter to small pleasure boats. During the access it is advisable to continue to the center and be careful of the rocky bottoms that drop mainly in the areas near the quays. The latter, illuminated in the evening, have water points and a slide for boats. Red and green lights, on the left and on the right as you enter, on the two piers, facilitate nocturnal movements.
SERVICES Drinking fountain: - slide - outdoor / covered storage - electronic repairs - repair of wooden and fiberglass hulls - sails repair - guarding - food supply - car parking - telephone booth.
DESCRIPTION Dangers: backwash with strong winds from the I and IV quadrant and shallow water in the center of the marina. Access hours: continuous.
Access: navigate to the center of the two docks.
Lighthouses and lights: red and green lights, left and right as you enter, on the two piers.
Seabed: rocky
Backdrops: on the quay: from 1 to 5 m
Moorings: 138.
Maximum length: 15 m.
Winds: mistral, libeccio and west.
Closest safe bays : Gulf of Carini.
AREAS RESERVED FOR LEISURE
Pier managed by the company "Politi" under the breakwater which houses about 100 boats; pier managed by the company "d'Angelo" inside the port for small boats (max 6 m, about 30 boats) pier length 36 m; both piers are open only for the summer period. There is also a buoy field of the company Scavarelli Gaetano for the mooring of about 30 (max 6 m) small pleasure craft.
Kitchen
Ancora 13
Sicilian cuisine is closely linked to the historical and cultural events of Sicily, both to the religious and spiritual life of the island. It is in fact a complex and articulated regional gastronomic culture, which shows traces and contributions of all the cultures that have settled in Sicily in the last two millennia. From the eating habits of Magna Graecia to the delicacies of the "Monsù", the French cooks of noble families, passing from Arab sweets and offal cooked in the street in the Jewish way, everything contributes to making Sicilian cuisine varied. In Sicilian cuisine, only extra virgin olive oil is used, both for cooking and for dressing. Butter is rarely used, lard is used only to soften the dough of some desserts. The main ingredients are mainly vegetable or marine (fish, and shellfish). Meat is rarely used, and mostly in the form of offal. Fish is traditionally very present in Sicilian tables, served fresh, flavored with oil, garlic or with olives and capers, breadcrumbs and orange. The salt is mainly marine, and the dishes are embellished with aromatic herbs that grow in abundance: basil, parsley, mint, bay leaf, oregano, rosemary, sage, wild onions, fennel seeds and wild fennel, along with jasmine, pine nuts, raisins , toasted breadcrumbs ("muddica"), orange peel, lemon juice, etc. Capers, garlic and onion are also often present in the preparations. Characteristic of many preparations is bittersweet. Almonds, hazelnuts and pistachios are also widely used, both in the preparation of sweets and drinks and to season rice and pasta.
A prominent place occupies the "street gastronomy": the tradition is full of quick and inexpensive preparations, for sale in stalls or kiosks on the street: bread and panelle, bread with spleen, stigghiole, quartz, frittola, musso, vegetables (cardoons, cauliflowers, etc.) fried in batter, arancine (called "arancini" in eastern Sicily), etc. At the center of the diet is pasta, or a plate of legumes (fresh broad beans, dried broad beans, lentils, spelled, chickpeas). In the province of Trapani, fish couscous is very popular, prepared at home with durum wheat semolina. Bread is widely used, which accompanies all meals, which is baked two or three times a day, and which is eaten fresh. On the island there are numerous varieties of bread, often sprinkled with sesame (called "cimino" or "gioggiulena"). Bread is present in many sacred rites. Finally, the island produces different varieties of cheese (cow's and sheep's milk) and a solid winemaking tradition, with 28 native vines, 21 DOC wines and 7 million hectoliters of wine produced every year. A separate chapter are desserts (fried, baked, spoon), often based on fruit and dried fruit. Often linked to religious traditions, Sicilian sweets are very rich.
The small port of Isola delle Femmine is located on the coast opposite the island of the same name and is protected by an elbow pier and a breakwater. The port allows shelter to small pleasure boats. During the access it is advisable to continue to the center and be careful of the rocky bottoms that drop mainly in the areas near the quays. The latter, illuminated in the evening, have water points and a slide for boats. Red and green lights, on the left and on the right as you enter, on the two piers, facilitate nocturnal movements.
The Patrona del Paese
Ancora 14
MARIA SS DELLE GRAZIE
2ND OF JULY
The small seaside village of Isola delle Femmine celebrates the Patron Saint with great faith and solemnity on 2 July, the day dedicated to the Madonna delle Grazie. The devotion to the Madonna by the inhabitants of Isola is lost in the mists of time. A pious legend tells that the sailors of the village miraculously found the simulacrum in front of the door of the then small church. From that moment on, the statue of the Madonna was always venerated and shortly thereafter, Mary was acclaimed under the title of the Graces, Patroness of the small town. On the solemn day the Madonna, dressed in her precious mantle, is placed on an artistic silver vara ready for the beginning of the procession. The whole population of Isola awaits her in the church, while others crowd the balconies, waiting for the passage of the simulacrum, a deafening "musketry" begins the solemn procession of the Madonna through the city streets. The image will pass through the sumptuously illuminated streets among the thousand blankets hanging from the balconies in honor of the Madonna. Every corner of the streets is a riot of faith and devotion to the Madonna, manifested who with blankets, who with lights, who with chinoiserie exploded as he passed. Late in the evening the Madonna will return to the church greeted by a multitude of faithful. Late at night, a fireworks display carried out on the pier of the marina will conclude the day of celebrations dedicated to the Patron Saint.
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