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Itineraries

Box 2.1 The Zingaro nature reserve

The 1650 hectares of Zingaro reserve are bordered by rocky shores
and small pebbly beaches at sea level, while its innermost limit is a
mountain ridge (maximum height: 913 m a.s.l.), shaped by the karstic
processes affecting the calcareous outcrops. This steep area hosts a mo-
saic of natural habitats (rock and sea cliffs, screes) intermingled with
secondary (grasslands, garrigues, open maquis) plant communities.
Humans have been there since Mesolithic, as testified by the data is-
suing from the excavations at Uzzo cave, and until mid XX century, culti-
vating cereal crops, grapevines, manna ash-, sumac-, olive- and fruit trees.
Zingaro represents a ‘must’ for nature lovers: in fact, it represents
one of the last few traits of coastline (approximately 7 km) which
cannot be reached by car. During the Seventies, Sicilian environmen-
talist ONGs carried out an intense campain to raise awareness about
the naturalistic value of this site. This initiative culminated on May
1980, when 3000 people took part to a pacific march to stop the con-
struction of a paved road aiming at connecting Castellammare del
Golfo to San Vito Lo Capo. Few months later, by means of the Regio-
nal Law 98/81, the Zingaro became a protected area, the first in Sicily.

References

http://www.riservazingaro.it/index.php?lang=it
AA. VV., 1991. Lo Zingaro. Edizioni Arbor, Palermo, 132 + i pp.
Collina C. & Gallotti R., 2007. The Lithic Industry of the Early Neolith-
ic at Uzzo Cave (Trapani, Sicily): A landscape perspective on the
operational chains and the raw material availability. Pp. 359-363 in:
Figueiredo A. & Leite Velho G. (eds.), Proceedings of the 33rd Con-
ference ‘The world is in your eyes. CAA2005: Computer Applica-
tions and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology’ (CAA Portugal,
Tomar, March 2005).

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