The trabàccolo, trabaccalo, trabacalo (in Italian) or trabakul (in Croatian), is a type of

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...

sailing coaster. The name comes from the word ''trabacca'', which means tent, which in turn recalls the vessel's sails. The ''trabàccolo'' was a typical Venetian boat-form that dates back to the first half of the 15th century and that spread throughout the Adriatic. Built of oak and

larch Larches are deciduous conifers in the genus ''Larix'', of the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Growing from tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the north and high on mountains fur ...

, ''trabàccoli'' were slow but reliable cargo vessels ranging between 50 and 200 deadweight tons. They had round bows and sterns, and were wide, compact, and with good stowage. Other characteristics included a large

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

that extended below the depth of the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

, two masts with lug sails and rigging, a

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay A bobstay is a part of the rigging of a sailing boat or ship. Its purpose is to counteract the upward tensio ...

, and a carved and colorfully painted stern. The usual such vessel was about 20 metres long, with a breadth equal to about a third of the length. Typically a ''trabàccolo'' would have a crew of 10 to 20 sailors. Today, the Marine Museum of Cesenatico (Museo della Marineria di Cesenatico) has a restored, functioning ''trabàccolo'', the ''Barchet'', which participates in sailing events during the summer.

History

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was common for ''trabàccoli'' to carry some armament in the form of two or three cannons. The vessels were not only prey to pirates and privateers, but also were fair game for naval vessels seeking prizes. During the French Revolutionary and

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

vessels cruising around Italy often captured ''trabàccoli''. The 14-gun cutter captured several. On 17 January 1800 she captured the Imperial trabaccolo ''Divine Providence'', which was carrying a cargo of rope from Cesenatico to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 18 February 1801, off the island of Lafrina, ''Pigmy'' captured ''Adelaide'', a French privateer ''trabàccolo'' armed with two 12-pounders and one 6-pounder cannon, and carrying a crew of 51 men. A former fishing vessel, she was under the command of Dominique Cannilla and was seven days out from Ancona. She had taken one small prize. On 15 March, ''Pigmy'' encountered yet another ''trabàccolo'' off the Isle of Lonzo. ''Pigmy'' chased the vessel to the Isle of Molata where the quarry anchored and hoisted French colours. When ''Pigmy'' fired a shot, the French vessel struck. She turned out to be the privateer ''Achille'', armed with four 9-pounder and six 2-pounder guns, and carrying a crew of 44 men. ''Achille'' was under the command of Francisco Bruni, had only been out of

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

for one day, and had made no captures. On 25 October 1807, the 20-gun,

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works a ...

was off

Otranto Otranto (, , ; scn, label=Salentino, Oṭṛàntu; el, label= Griko, Δερεντό, Derentò; grc, Ὑδροῦς, translit=Hudroûs; la, Hydruntum) is a coastal town, port and ''comune'' in the province of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), in a ferti ...

when she found an armed ''trabàccolo'' anchored under the fortress there. Under fire from both the vessel and the shore, a boat party from ''Herald'' cut-out the vessel, which turned out to be the French privateer ''Caesar'', armed with four 6-pounder guns. ''Caesar'' was sailing from Ancona to

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

with a cargo of rice and flour. British casualties were four men wounded. On 21 December 1812, the 38-gun frigate , Captain Bridges Watkinson Taylor commanding, accompanied by the brig-sloop , chased a ''trabàccolo'' under the protection of the tower of San Cataldo, on the coast between

Brindisi Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

and

. The boats of the two vessels captured the tower and blew it up. The ''trabàccolo'' had three guns and three

swivel gun The term swivel gun (or simply swivel) usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun wi ...

s, but no cargo, and the men from the boats blew it up too. On 2 February 1813, after a two-hour chase, the boats of the 18-gun sloop captured one ''trabàccolo'' and ran nine ashore at St. Catherine's,

. Musket fire from the heights and cannon fire from a battery killed two British sailors and severely wounded seven. On 22 Mar 1813, boats from captured a large ''trabàccolo'' armed with three 9-pounder guns, and burnt a similar one laden with oil, off the town of Vasto. On the 26th, boats from ''Havannah'' captured five armed ''trabaccoli'' and five ''feluccas'' laden with salt, near the town of Fortore. These operations cost ''Havannah'' only two men wounded.

External links

The Marine Museum of Cesenatico has a video (in Italian), of how one constructs a trabaccolo.

Citations

{{Sailing vessels and rigs Sailboat types Merchant sailing ship types