Sicily, Scala dei Turchi vandalized. Devastation on the landscape

Very serious disfigurement to the landscape of Sicily: during the night, in fact, unknown persons vandalized the Scala dei Turchi, the famous white cliff in the municipality of Realmonte (Agrigento) throwing red plaster dust, defacing the landscape.

Prosecutors have already ordered examinations of the material, and Agrigento prosecutor Luigi Patronaggio has already opened an investigation for damaging property with landscape value. Carabinieri have acquired images from video surveillance systems to trace the perpetrators of the unfortunate act. Meanwhile, throughout the day today municipal employees were already at work trying to clean up the cliff.

“The beautiful white marl cliff, an attraction for visitors from all over the world, has been defaced,” said Regional President Nello Musumeci. “We condemn the perpetrators of this cowardly act, an outrage not only to a landscape asset of rare beauty, but also to the image of our island.”

“I hope that those who daubed the Scala dei Turchi, one of the most beautiful natural and scenic places in Sicily, this morning,” said Cultural Heritage Councillor Alberto Samonà,“will soon be brought to justice and pay for this heinous act of vandalism: a wound to the landscape, beauty and Sicily.”

Made famous by Andrea Camilleri ’s novels and several films (e.g., Giuseppe Tornatore’s Malena ), the Scala dei Turchi is so named because in ancient times (particularly in the 16th century) the area was a landing place for Saracen pirates who subjected this area of Sicily to continuous raids. The cliff has a recognizable white-wave shape: the color is due to the minerals that make up marl, a sedimentary rock of a clay and limestone nature that takes on this particular coloring, while the wavy shape is due to the phenomena of wind erosion that thus shaped the coast. It is also a very hydrogeologically sensitive area, so much so that in February 2020 access was closed for safety reasons following the collapse of portions of the cliff.

At present, the extent of the damage is not yet known. “We are disconcerted to learn that the Scala dei Turchi has suffered an act of pure vandalism having been daubed with a red dye in the past few hours,” says the local Legambiente section in a note signed by Daniele Gucciardo, president of the Agrigento circle. “We hope that the damage is not serious, it remains serious, however, the gesture of which we cannot guess the purpose, but which ends up making it clear that at the Scala dei Turchi it is necessary to raise the levels of protection and plan concrete conservation actions.” According to the mayor of Realmonte, Sabrina Lattuca, the damage, however, would not be permanent since materials of natural origin were used. The municipality has already let it know that it will file a complaint against unknown persons and hopes that from the camera images it will be able to trace the perpetrators of the act.

In the photo, the damaged Scala dei Turchi

Sicily, Scala dei Turchi vandalized. Devastation on the landscape

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