Professional Researchers Tracing YOUR Genealogy Trapani (Trapani
Province) is a coastal town on the northwest coast of Sicily, on
the plain sloping down from Monte Erice (San Giuliano), alt. 3
m, area 271.9 sq km. It has a population of over 69,600, post-
code 91100, tel. 0923. Economy: agriculture (citrus fruit,
cereals, almonds, apples, vegetables); industries (food
preservation, wine, marble, salt); tourism. The city developed
around a Sican village, later called by the Greeks Drepanon
(sickle) possibly because of the shape of the gulf. In the 8th
century BC it became a Phoenician port of call and, in the first
Punic War, a Carthaginian strategic base. Later, under the
Romans, it was a minor trade and maritime center. In 440 AD, it
was invaded by the Vandals, in 477 it fell to the Byzantines,
and in about 830 it was taken by the Muslims, who made it one of
the richest and most prosperous cities in Sicily, developing its
maritime activities and its gold and coral handicraft. The
process of Islamization is st