This Italian get-away area of interest is dismissing sightseers as it runs out of water

Agrigento is a tourist's dream on the Italian island of Sicily, perched atop a hill. An ancient, maze-like aqueduct system still captures water beneath the Valley of the Temples' archaeological structures and relics. Small hotels and guesthouses in the city and along the coast are being forced to turn away tourists as a result of the aqueduct and other modern structures running so dry. They lack sufficient water to provide their guests with a flushing toilet and a shower after a day spent outdoors in the summer heat. In February, Sicily implemented water restrictions after the region declared a state of emergency due to an ongoing drought. The shortages, which have affected both agriculture and tourism, which are both essential to Sicily's economy, have only gotten worse as a result of leaking and aging infrastructure. In 93 communities, rationing is in place for over a million people. Some have to cut back on how much water they use by up to 45 percent. As a result, most places shut down their water supply overnight and taps run dry on time. Getting organized during the day is the key to drinking enough water. Visitors are pondering whether it is worthwhile to visit Sicily's affected areas on TripAdvisor and other travel forums. Hotels are advising guests about the possibility of shortages and assisting visitors in reserving other parts of the island where restrictions are less stringent or not in place. The owners of the Le Cinque Novelle bed and breakfast in central Agrigento, where water restrictions are strict, have installed water-saving filters in their showers and sinks. However, their guests frequently complain. Giovanni Lopez, the proprietor of the B&B, stated to CNN, "Rightly, people ask us for reassurances before coming, but we don't know what to say." “Given that tourism is a sector that almost everyone in this part of Sicily relies on,” the situation is quickly affecting the entire tourist accommodation sector, which risks serious economic consequences. Although the Sicilian regional government has requested assistance from Rome in the form of subsidies to import water from the mainland, there is currently no established strategy to assist the island. Although the office of Italy's tourism minister, Diana Santanchè, did not respond to a request for comment from CNN, she stated in April that Sicily should try to spread out its tourism season and avoid focusing solely on the summer, when water issues become more severe. For many, Sicilian summers are becoming unbearable. The island was hit hard by wildfires last year, forcing tourists to leave or delay their visits. Another cause for concern is the water scarcity brought on by the drought. Sicily is right in the middle of a warming Europe caused by human activity that is faster than any other continent. In August 2023, the city of Syracuse reached 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 degrees Fahrenheit), breaking Europe's temperature record. The Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) says that Sicily's drought is the worst, but other parts of Italy are also experiencing drought. According to ISPRA, around 20% of the island's underground aquifers are in a state of "water scarcity" as a result of less than a quarter of the usual rainfall falling during the winter. In Agrigento and four other provinces, the regional government declared a "state of crisis and water emergency" for irrigation and drinking water in February that would last at least until the end of the year. According to Marco Maccarrone, the proprietor of the restaurant Caico Trattoria e Cantina in Agrigento, the island is being left to fend for itself. We are concerned because the summer season is about to begin. According to what he disclosed to CNN, "no one has given us alternative solutions to the water tankers that we are paying for ourselves." "This runs the risk of destroying our one and only resource, tourism." Maccarrone, who has been living in the historic center of Agrigento for 20 years, is dissatisfied with the painfully slow water flow. He stated, "We can't fill a single pot in half an hour." According to Nicola Farruggio, president of the Hotel Federation of Sicily, hotels are required to have a certain amount of water reserves in proportion to their capacity. As a result, they have also had to purchase water from the mainland. However, smaller structures, such as family-owned hotels and bed and breakfasts, frequently lack sufficient storage space to meet the requirements. Additionally, they cannot provide guests with water because they are subject to condominium-specific rationing rules if they are inside a residential building. According to Francesco Picarella, head of the Hotel Federation in Agrigento and owner of a hotel in the city center, bad governance for years has made things worse. He stated that since 2011, there has been talk of rebuilding the water network, but little progress has been made. He stated, "The problem of today is the result of a failed water management policy that has been in place for twenty years." "The B&Bs in the historic center are in extreme difficulty; the hotels that have their own reserves somehow compensate." He stated that leaks and insufficient rainfall are contributing to the reservoirs' drying up. The Sicilian regional government's office responded to CNN's request for comment by pointing to a study that outlined the government's plans to restart aging desalination plants, construct additional pipelines, and drill new wells. Additionally, the report states that Rome has not provided Sicily with sufficient funds to carry out its plans. According to the local B&B federation, "it should have been a golden year" for Agrigento, which was named the Italian Capital of Culture for 2025 in March of last year, which typically attracts more tourists. "Instead, the season could be ruined by word of mouth about the water crisis." It was also just beginning to see an increase. Picarella claims that the number of visitors in 2023 increased by 24% in comparison to the previous year. After many people postponed their trips as a result of the wildfires, the island's tourism ministry stated that Sicily was anticipating more than 2% more visitors than last year. Picarella stated, "People see this destination with a lot of interest." "Every day we have to come up with a way to move forward because we are expecting a greater number of vacationers this summer." Having run out of time For farmers, the situation is just as dire. Goats are drinking muddy sludge from a pond that used to be on an organic farm near Caltanissetta in central Sicily, about 50 kilometers (about 30 miles) northeast of Agrigento. The lack of grass for grazing is also a result of the drought, according to the farm's owner, Luca Cammarata. Sicily has never been so dry to him. Because there isn't enough water, farmers like Cammarata have to choose between killing their herds or letting them die of starvation or dehydration. Due to a lack of water, citrus farmers are also witnessing the shriveling of their renowned Sicilian oranges on their trees. Around Mount Etna, where oranges are grown, the reservoirs that are used for irrigation now hold about half as much water as they used to. According to the ANBI Observatory on Water Resources, a government organization, if there is no summer rain, they will fall to around 25%. According to ANBI, urban centers' overdevelopment and citrus and wheat farms' 20% reduction in natural wetlands has exacerbated the issue. Renato Schifani, the regional president of Sicily, stated that the island has already lost more than €1 billion due to crop losses, depleted reservoirs, and dying livestock. That doesn't even take into account the possibility of losing money from tourism because tourists who can't get to water on one part of the island are booking new trips to other parts. The losses, on the other hand, are devastating to communities in places like Agrigento. Cammarata's situation is just as gloomy, as he claims that his dairy operation, 300 goats, and entire way of life are in jeopardy. He was referring to a farmers' representative group when he said, "The consortium used to guarantee water rotation every five or six days." They are no longer able to tell us when or if the taps will be opened. Even for an island surrounded by water, the solutions are difficult. For more than a decade, the three desalination plants that could purify Sicily's seawater for drinking, sanitation, or irrigation have been shut down. Drilling new wells or bringing them back online will take time. Additionally, the island is running out of time.