Gina Trapani

Gina Marie Trapani (born September 19, 1975) is an American tech blogger, web developer, and writer.

Biography

Trapani was born and raised in an Italian Catholic family in Brooklyn, New York. She began her writing career in high school as a writer for New Youth Connections (now YCteen) a magazine written by and for New York City teens published by Youth Communication. Trapani graduated from Marist College and earned an MS in Computer Science at Brooklyn College.

Trapani founded the Lifehacker blog in January 2005, and led it until January 2009. Trapani is currently leading development of ThinkUp, an open-source social media aggregation and analysis tool, at Expert Labs.

Trapani has also been featured on a popular Bloggers featuring network YourBlogStory.org. Trapani has published three books and has also written for other publications including Harvard Business Online. Wired magazine awarded her its prestigious Rave Award in 2006. Fast Company named her one of the Most Influential Women in Technology in 2009 and 2010.

Trapani

Trapani [ˈtraːpani]  listen  (Sicilian: Tràpani; Latin: Drepanon, Greek: Δρέπανον) is a city and comune on the west coast of Sicily in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands.

History

Trapani was founded by the Elymians to serve as the port of the nearby city of Erice (ancient Eryx), which overlooks it from Monte San Giuliano. The city sits on a low-lying promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea.

It was originally named Drepana or Drépanon from the Greek word for "sickle", because of the curving shape of its harbour. Carthage seized control of the city in 260 BC, subsequently making it an important naval base, but ceded it to Rome in 241 BC following the Battle of the Aegates in the First Punic War.

Two ancient legends tell of mythical origins for the city. In the first legend, Trapani stemmed from the sickle which fell from the hands of the goddess Demeter while she was seeking for her daughter Persephone, who had been kidnapped by Hades. The second myth features Saturn, who eviscerated his father Uranus, god of the sky, with a sickle which, falling into the sea, created the city. In ancient times, Saturn was the god-protector of Trapani. Today, Saturn's statue stands in a piazza in the centre of the city.

Province of Trapani

Trapani (Italian: Provincia di Trapani, Sicilian: Pruvincia di Tràpani) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital is the city of Trapani. It has an area of 2,460 square kilometres (950 sq mi) and a total population of 436,150 (2013). There are 24 comunes (Italian: comuni) in the province (see Comuni of the Province of Trapani).

Besides the capital Trapani, other cities and places of interest in the province include Segesta, Gibellina, Erice, Castelvetrano, Alcamo, Marsala, Mazara del Vallo, Castellammare del Golfo, and Mozia. The nearby island of Pantelleria, noted for its wine production, and the Aegadian Islands are also administratively a part of Trapani province. The Province of Trapani is a major centre for viticulture.

History

The area now covered by the province was occupied successively by the Carthaginians, Greeks and latterly by the Romans. The port of Trapani, first known as Drepana, then Drepanon, was inhabited by the Sicani and the Elymi becoming a prosperous Phoenician trading centre by the 8th century B.C. It was taken by the Carthaginians in 260 B.C. and by the Romans in 240 B.C., becoming a civitas romana until 440 A.D. when it was sacked by the Vandals, then by the Byzantines and ultimately by the Muslims in 830. In the 16th century, it received privileges under Emperor Charles V of Spain who also strengthened the town walls. Trapani became the provincial capital in 1817.