Famed white cliffs of Sicily defaced in act of vandalism
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ROME (NYTIMES) - Saturday (Jan 8) was a bad news, good news sort of day for Ms Sabrina Lattuca, mayor of Realmonte, a small town on the western coast of Sicily.
She awoke that morning to find that vandals had thrown iron oxide powder across the white cliffs known as the Scala dei Turchi, or Staircase of the Turks, staining Realmonte's principal tourist draw with bloody red blotches.
But by nightfall, much of the damage had been undone thanks to the efforts of a crew of cultural heritage experts, municipal workers and local citizens who spent the day scrubbing the site with the aid of mops, brooms and water pumps.
"They are an example of the best of Sicily," Ms Lattuca said of the people who helped with the cleanup.
In 24 hours, she added, "this teamwork was able to restore beauty and splendour to the Scala dei Turchi".
Moulded by waves and wind over millennia into a grandiose natural staircase, legend has it that it was the favourite landing spot of pirates and invaders from faraway lands, like the Turks, hence its name.
Long a seaside draw for Sicilians, the marlstone cliffs achieved wider fame thanks to a series of crime novels featuring Inspector Salvo Montalbano by the late Italian writer Andrea Camilleri, who lauded the site's "astonishing beauty". The works were later turned into a popular TV series.
And they also achieved cinematic renown in Giuseppe Tornatore's Malena and other films.
Investigators in Agrigento, the area's largest city, about 16km to the east of the Scala dei Turchi, are now scouring videos taken from surveillance cameras on the roads leading to the site on the night between Friday and Saturday, when the vandalism took place.
Major Marco La Rovere, commander of the military police branch of Agrigento, which is investigating the case, said his officers and local prosecutors had "an idea" of who might have vandalised the site, which had been defaced by graffiti in the past.
Now, they were searching for evidence to back up their hunch, he said, declining to give details. "It's an open investigation," he said.
Ms Lattuca had no doubts that the vandalism "was the work of a madman".
"There is no other explanation for such an absurd act," she said.
<p>epa09675642 A handout photo made available by Ufficio Stampa e Documentazione - Regione Siciliana shows technicians and volunteers working to remove red stains from the defaced Scala dei Turchi (Stair of the Turks) in Realmonte, Italy, 08 January 2022 (issued 09 January 2022). The famed white marl cliffs were stained with a mixture of water and red plaster powder on the night between 07 and 08 January. EPA-EFE/Ufficio Stampa e Documentazione HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES</p>
PHOTO: Ufficio Stampa e Documentazione
Mr Michele Benfari, Agrigento's top cultural heritage official, instead said the "gaping wound" left by the oxide powder might have been a statement left by a "disillusioned artist" grappling with the tragedy of the pandemic.
He cited one artist who made headlines when he threw red dye in Rome's Trevi fountain in 2007 and dumped thousands of colourful balls on the Spanish Steps a year later.
"That could be one interpretation," he said, adding that acts of vandalism had been rare in his area of Sicily.
Fortunately, Mr Benfari noted, the iron oxide powder used by the vandals is relatively harmless if it is not mixed with other chemicals. Special vacuum cleaners were used to remove the powder and the remaining traces were scrubbed clean using a simple soap on some patches.
"We were lucky," he said.
The Scala dei Turchi is currently closed to the public on safety grounds, as well as over concerns that the site was being damaged by mass tourism.
It is also the subject of litigation to determine ownership of parts of the site between the region, the local government and a private individual.
<p>epa09675794 A handout photo made available by Soprintendenza ai Beni Culturali di Agrigento shows technicians and volunteers working to remove red stains from the defaced Scala dei Turchi (Stair of the Turks) in Realmonte, Italy, 08 January 2022 (issued 09 January 2022). The famed white marl cliffs were stained with a mixture of water and red plaster powder on the night between 07 and 08 January. EPA-EFE/SOPRINTENDENZA AI BENI CULTURALI HANDOUT HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES</p>
PHOTO: SOPRINTENDENZA AI BENI CULTURALI
Before the pandemic, the site drew an estimated 1 million visitors a year, said Mr Giuseppe Taibi, the local representative for the Fondo Ambiente Italiano, an organisation often referred to as the National Trust of Italy, which in past years successfully lobbied to demolish two illegal structures that had been built there.
It was a major victory in an area of Sicily infamous for its dismal track record in illegal construction projects.
In 2016, the Fondo Ambiente Italiano inaugurated a lookout deck overlooking the cliffs on the former site of one of the demolished buildings.
"That sent a strong signal," said Mr Taibi. It is also a way to admire the site without destroying it by allowing too many visitors, he added.
The organisation has also promoted the Scala dei Turchi on its list of places to safeguard in Italy. "It is de facto a patrimony of humanity that must be protected," Mr Taibi.
Locals clearly agreed.
"As soon as we heard that Scala dei Turchi had been defaced, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work," said Mr Claudio Lombardo, who heads the local branch of environmental association Mareamico, which monitors and conserves coastal areas.
Ms Lattuca said: "As it is so snow-white, so pure, (the Scala dei Turchi) is the emblem of a clean and honest Sicily, and it must be preserved and protected."
