The Papyrus of Egypt and Sicily

The Papyrus has quite ancient origins, since the third millennium B.C. we hear about it but, as far as the boot is concerned, the first certain evidence of the presence of the plant in Sicily dates back to 1674 and refers to Syracuse, the only territory in Europe where it grows, along the banks of the Ciane, the largest colony of papyrus.Apparently, however, the origins of this presence in Sicily are rather uncertain: many schools of thought, there are those who think that it is an indigenous plant, who instead claims that it was imported from Ptolemy of Egypt and those from the Arabs but what is clear is that this plant, known to the Syracusans as "Pappera", "Pampera" or "Wig" for its thick foliage, if at first it was used by Syracusans fishermen to weave ropes or by farmers to tie sheaves, starting from the 18th century it was used for the production of papyrus paper.