Thetrabàccolo,trabaccalo,trabacalo (inItalian) ortrabakul (inCroatian), is a type of sailingcoastal trading vessel used in theAdriatic Sea. The name comes from the wordtrabacca, which means tent, which in turn recalls the vessel's sails. Thetrabàccolo was a typical Venetian boat-form that dates back to the first half of the 15th century and that spread throughout the Adriatic. Built ofoak andlarch,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 largerudder that extended below the depth of thekeel, twomasts withlug sails and rigging, abowsprit, 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 atrabàccolo would have a crew of 10 to 20 sailors.
Today, the Marine Museum ofCesenatico (Museo della Marineria di Cesenatico) has a restored, functioningtrabàccolo, theBarchet, which participates in sailing events during the summer.
During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, it was common fortrabàccoli 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 theFrench Revolutionary andNapoleonic Wars,Royal Navy vessels cruising around Italy often capturedtrabàccoli. The 14-guncutter {{[HMS |Pigmy |1794|6}} captured several. On 17 January 1800 she captured the Imperial trabaccoloDivine Providence, which was carrying a cargo of rope fromCesenatico toFrance.[1] On 18 February 1801, off the island of Lafrina,Pigmy capturedAdelaide, a French privateertrabàccolo armed with two 12-pounders and one 6-pounder cannon, and carrying a crew of 51 men.[2] 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.[2] On 15 March,Pigmy encountered yet anothertrabàccolo off the Isle of Lonzo.Pigmy chased the vessel to the Isle of Molata where the quarry anchored and hoisted French colours. WhenPigmy fired a shot, the French vessel struck. She turned out to be the privateerAchille, 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 ofAncona for one day, and had made no captures.[3]
On 25 October 1807, the 20-gun,sixth rateHMS Herald was offOtranto when she found an armedtrabàccolo anchored under the fortress there. Under fire from both the vessel and the shore, a boat party fromHerald cut-out the vessel, which turned out to be the French privateerCaesar, armed with four 6-pounder guns.Caesar was sailing from Ancona toCorfu with a cargo of rice and flour. British casualties were four men wounded.[4]
On 21 December 1812, the 38-gun frigateHMS Apollo, Captain Bridges Watkinson Taylor commanding, accompanied by the brig-sloopHMS Weazel, chased atrabàccolo under the protection of the tower of San Cataldo, on the coast betweenBrindisi andOtranto. The boats of the two vessels captured the tower and blew it up. Thetrabàccolo had three guns and threeswivel guns, but no cargo, and the men from the boats blew it up too.[5]
On 2 February 1813, after a two-hour chase, the boats of the 18-gun sloopHMS Kingfisher captured onetrabàccolo and ran nine ashore at St. Catherine's,Corfu. Musket fire from the heights and cannon fire from a battery killed two British sailors and severely wounded seven.[6]
On 22 Mar 1813, boats fromHMS Havannah captured a largetrabàccolo armed with three 9-pounder guns, and burnt a similar one laden with oil, off the town ofVasto. On the 26th, boats fromHavannah captured five armedtrabaccoli and fivefeluccas laden with salt, near the town ofFortore. These operations costHavannah only two men wounded.[6]
The Marine Museum of Cesenatico has a video (in Italian), of how one constructs a trabaccolo.[7]