Priolo narratives: Evaluation and emplacement in South-East Sicily

This study investigates the question of emplacement in the Priolo Saltpans Nature Reserve of South-Eastern Sicily, where historical policy decisions led to the establishment of petrochemical plants that encroach on colonies of nesting flamingos. The narrative reveals a series of ecological repercussions ranging from species loss to severe health hazards, resulting in the region being labelled locally as the ‘triangle of death’. The study presents scientific data on environmental pollution affecting humans (over 77 tons per year of volatile organic compounds are released into the atmosphere where 1.72 tons are authorised). In this challenging context, a nature reserve emerges, symbolising the singular juxtaposition of environmental initiatives and industrial entities. Given seamless integration into an industrial milieu, the reserve acts as a refuge for migratory birds, notably flamingos, offering a nuanced exhibition of an interplay between industrialisation and ecological conservation. Exploring original Italian narratives concerning the site and employing an Ecolinguistic approach , this study looks at the site through the lenses of emplacement, the lexico-grammatical resources of temporal-spatial deixis and discourse pragmatics to unearth new perspectives on our understanding of such sites.