palme di sicilia

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/sandamichaela-1254789-palme-di-sicilia/

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/sandamichaela-1254789-palme-di-sicilia/

Contrada da bosco rotondo Vittoria


In 641 AD, the Arabs conquered Persia, and having learned to cultivate sugar cane, spread its culture to Egypt, Sicily, Morrocco, and Spain, from which sources it reached Europe. In 827 Moslems landed for the first time in Sicily. It took until 965 to secure their foothold. Thanks to a Moslem custom, uncultivated land became the property of whoever first broke it, thus encouraging cultivation at the expense of grazing. Practically all the distinguishing features of Sicilian husbandry were introduced by the Arabs: citrus, cotton, carob, mulberry, hemp, date palm, the list is almost endless." (This according to "The Barrier and the Bridge-Historic Sicily" by Alfonso Lowe, Published in 1972)

The palm tree is a member of the plant family known as Arecaceae or Palmae, with about 2,500 different recorded species of palms. Most have single trunks but do not have branches, just extensive palm leaves shaped like fans or feathers. Perhaps most significant among the palm trees is the date palm, prized for its many uses and valued for its long history.


sick palm tree


The mystery of the origin of the date palm tree (Phoenix Dactylifera) could rival the riddle of the Sphinx. There is speculation that the date palm originated in Mesopotamia, where it was cultivated about 6,000 years ago, and where its dates served as a staple food. However, the earliest recorded information begins from the point of cultivation. No conclusive proof of its origin in the wild exists in the public domain.


.

Seeds of wild date palm trees, estimated to be about 50,000 years old, were found in Northern Iraq. Ancient Assyrian monuments illustrate cultivation and pollination of the date palm tree, which had a religious significance as well as practical applications to everyday life. These historical relics are intriguing clues as to the origin of the date palm, but they are not proof positive on which to base any particular conclusion.


During ancient Babylonian times, The Code of Hammurabi was drawn up to maintain the rule of law throughout the empire. The Code was named after King Hammurabi (1792 to 1750 B.C.). The section pertaining to agriculture provided a detailed accounting of the rental, sales and cultivation of date palm trees, and crop sharing schemes. The date palm was so highly valued that laws prohibited its destruction without the permission of the landowner.

Flowers of Albizia julibrissin, Persian silk tree or pink siris, or Lenkoran acacia or bastard tamarind, silk tree or mimosa


Among the most interesting palm references in history are biblical references. The palm tree is noted in the Bible as a location marker, as a source of food and celebration, as the "City of Palms," as carved wall décor, as a symbol of strength and victory and as a sign of welcome. Clearly the palm tree made a significant contribution to the way of life during the period of record.

Pasqua (Easter) is perhaps the most celebrated holiday in Italy, with Settimana Santa (Holy Week) rites starting on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday. The south of Italy, especially Sicily, is particularly well-known for its solemn displays of religious devotion. The celebration of Holy week in the Sicilian Centre start Palm Sunday with the entry of Jesus said Jerusalem: "U Signuruzzu by rama ra and”



DOMENICA DELLE PALME (Palm Sunday) The Sunday preceding EasterPalm Sunday ceremonies, like all Holy Week observances, vary widely from one place to another. Usually the piazzas in front of small village churches and great cathedrals are filled with worshipers in gay spring clothes, and picturesque vendors of olive branches and palms.

Cypress, Contrada da bosco rotondo Vittoria

The olive branches are gilded or silvered while palms, cleverly plaited into crosses with charming decorative detail, often are adorned with roses, lilies, or other flowers.

After olive branches and palms are blessed at morning mass, an impressive service follows in commemoration of opening the gates of Jerusalem, when Jesus went into the city as "King of Israel.“For this ceremony the priests leave the church in procession and knock at a closed door--the "gate" of Jerusalem. The portals are flung open in welcome and the clergy make the symbolic triumphal entry amid waving palms and joyous music.

The custom of blessing “palm” branches has its origin in the gospel account of the triumphant entry of Christ Jesus into the city of Jerusalem amid the palm waving Hebrews. Blessed “palms” are also a Christian symbol of victory and date back to the year 700 A.D.

The palm has become associated with the blessing of the home. Their religious significance is one of hope and belief in life after death. When offered as gifts, they symbolize love and friendship through Christ.

The beautiful Palm Sunday Service is called “La Domenica Delle Palme” and is held with great excitement and processions in Sicily. The people who weave the palms are called “parmarù” in the Sicilian language.

Ragusa Ibla

The red palm weevil is an Asian beetle which arrived in Sicily via Egypt two years ago - probably in a shipment of infected plants - and is devouring the island's date palms by boring large networks of tiny tunnels into the trunks. Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, which Italians call the punteruolo rosso, had already caused the destruction of over thirteen thousand date palms in Sicily by August 2009, and there's no end to the massacre in sight. The bug has invaded mainland Italy, killing trees as far north as Genoa, and has recently landed in Spain. The global impact of its migration is serious; it has even been discovered in the Caribbean.

The challenge posed by such "invading species" is that once they move beyond their native habitats they leave behind the natural predators which keep their populations down back home. In a new environment they can literally eat whatever they please until they have destroyed their new food source and, in the case of date and coconut palms, an edible human food as well. One unwelcome species that comes to mind, referred to in the press as "Fishzilla," is the toothy, hungry south-east Asian snakehead fish (channa argus) that in American waters consumes all kinds of edible fish, altering the native populations of entire lakes and rivers and occasionally biting swimmers.

For the moment, there seems to be no effective pesticide available to combat these pests. Certain palm tree varieties, though a small minority of those cultivated in Sicily, are immune to the weevils. Prominent among these is the American palm of the genus Washingtonia popular in Mexico and California (washingtonia filifera and washingtonia robusta). Introduced into Sicily about a century ago, it has a very high, slender trunk and fan-like branches clumped around a nucleus. It grows much taller and faster than the traditional date palm and has a completely different profile, but this may be the price to pay for the loss of the thick-trunked date palms.As a safety measure, roadside trees are being cut down to forestall possible collapses onto cars or people due to trunk damage from the bugs.

Though date palms were grown in southern Italy for brief periods during the ancient Roman era, their most extensive cultivation, on large plantations, took place in Sicily during the Arab period. By around 1300 they were considered an ornamental tree, so the fruit was not harvested and dates are found in very few traditional Sicilian recipes.

Despite the presence of dates falling to the ground beneath the trees in public gardens, most Sicilians are unaware that the trees so evident here are, in fact, date palms. Most of the dates sold in Sicily are imported from northern Africa, especially Tunisia. That may change as Tunisia's date palms are destroyed by the hungry weevils.

It isn't altogether inappropriate to ascribe human virtues and vices to certain insects. The mantis, cricket and ladybug are all considred virtuous. The red palm weevil is just plain evil!

Vincenzo Mormino has written about wildlife and nature for Best of Sicily and hard-copy publications.

EcoPalm

Sound: ♦ O Nici Nici - Arie di Sicilia ♦ Giuni Russo La Sua Voce

Text : Internet Pictures: Sanda Foişoreanu Internet Gabriela CristescuCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Arangement: Sanda Foişoreanuwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

http://www.slideshare.net/michaelasanda

palme di sicilia

Travel