Evidence of drought in western Sicily during the period 1565-1915 from liturgical offices

Many recent climatological studies aim to reconstruct past climate on the basis of different data sources. In the present work, the drought events that occurred in western Sicily during the period 1565-1915 have been analysed, using historical information. Inside the cathedral of Erice, a small and ancient town in western Sicily, there is a marble plate reporting the dates of the processions held during that period. This information, together with other documents and manuscripts found in the city library, has allowed us to reconstruct the drought chronology. The comparison between these series and the quantitative data on precipitation indicates some agreement. The application of the operator ARP (Automatic Research for Periodicities) shows significant periods of 11, 17, 22, 32, 73, 90 years. Finally, the comparison between ENSO and drought chronology shows that in periods of many drought events a reduction of ENSO events occurred and vice versa.