Tom Velken is an established presence in his Lafayette, California community who leads the Viking Real Estate Group as principal and owner. Passionate about travel, Tom Velken has had the opportunity to explore the history and culture of Italy on several occasions, and he particularly enjoyed maritime locales along the Abruzzo coast on the Adriatic Sea east of Rome.
As reported in The Wall Street Journal, one of the unique historical artifacts of the area is a group of wooden piers that reflect the legacy of the Veri family. An extended family of 50 Sephardic Jews who emigrated from France, where they had been wooden bridge builders, the Veris happened to arrive at what was then an isolated coast in July 1627. At this moment, a major earthquake caused the sea to retreat before returning as a tsunami. This event shocked the local fishing population, many of whom lost their lives, and many boats and homes were destroyed.
It also gave the Veris the idea of putting their bridge-building expertise to work in creating a “bridge” into the sea. The end of this pier would offer a system of huge nets and pulleys that could be used to trap and pull in sea life, without the risk of sailing along an unpredictable coastline.
Today, the Costa dei Trabocchi south of Pescara still harbors many spindly old wooden piers at towns such as Vasto and San Vito Chietino. Once owned by local fishing families, the trabbocchi feature net systems used to catch various marine species.
Over the past decade, approximately 15 of these piers have been transformed by the entrepreneurial next generation into seafood restaurants. Fresh delicacies are typically featured and include items such as bread crumb-stuffed calamari, sauteed cod with pine nuts, and mussels cooked in white wine sauce.
