The Trabocchi Coast in Abruzzo
By Simone Rossi
Although the region’s western border is a mere two-hour drive from Rome the population density is among the lowest in the country, and most of Abruzzo’s residents, including a growing foreign population, live along the urbanized coastal strip.
Focusing on Abruzzo’s Adriatic coastline, which lies between the regions of Marche and Molise, visitors are enthralled with the famous Trabocchi, or “Overflow”, ungainly spider-legged wooden platforms designed to fish the often turbulent Adriatic Sea. The trabocchi are simple in concept, which consists of lowering nets into the water, and raising them back up when they’re full of fish, but the design and operation of these fishing platforms, with their complex rigging and anchoring systems, and with baffling arrays of pulleys and winches, is something to behold. The 18th Century was the economic heyday of the historic trabocchi and, though many of the unwieldy-looking contraptions can be seen operating today, most are mainly ornamental in nature, and many have restaurants that cater to legions of tourists and seafood lovers.
Prices, accessibility, climate and specialized industry are proving to be magnets to foreign investors who are looking at Italy but have been non-plussed by what is perceived as a dearth of opportunity in some of the better-known regions of the country. In fact house hunters are finding their way to wonderful coastal villages and towns like Fossacecia, Ortona and Rocca San Giovanni. There may not be much more “getting in on the ground-floor” type of opportunity left, but Abruzzo real estate for sale today offers many choice parcels that are priced well below what comparable properties are going for in Tuscany, Lombardy, Sardinia or Umbria.
Houses for sale in Abruzzo Italy, are another study in contrasts; the area is still thinly populated and price-points are attractive to non-Italian investors, but the region is among the fastest-growing in the country. In effect the latest data on italian property market are reflecting the heightened interest in the region, as non-native second-home buyers are having a greater impact on local economies.
The quality of life in Abruzzo is very high, and it tends to “make” residents out of visitors, that is, people come to vacation, but find that they don’t want to leave. This is completely understandable to anyone who has ever sat down in one of Abruzzo’s delightful eateries to enjoy a Vincisgrassi (lasagna with truffles and Marsala) accompanied by a fragrant vintage Montepulciano wine.
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