The South Country: Journeys In Calabria

Following on from a spell of voluntary work in Calabria, the author embarked on an exploration of this southernmost region of the Italian mainland and the adjacent area of the region of Basilicata. Trekking in all seasons served to explore the extensive wild forested areas of Calabria within the two National parks in the region. Such a mode of travel resulted in constant engagement with local populations in villages and small towns way-off the beaten track: a most rewarding and revealing experience given the variety of cultural traditions in Calabria. There is a remnant of Greek speakers in the extreme south where Greek settlement and topgraphical names are common. In the north and north east there are some 30 Old Albanian villages, peopled by the descendants of Albanians who fled their native country before 1500 AD when the Ottoman Turks invaded Albania. These settlements still follow the Greek (Byzantine) church rite, have their own bishop and a married clergy but are in communion with Rome not Constantinople. Traditions, cuisine, dress and music still have a distinct non-Italian content. And in a lone eagle's nest on the west coast there is a settlement founded by people who around 1300 AD fled from the valleys of Piedmont to escape persecution (they were "heretics").These people still speak Occitane, the old language of a wide region stretching from west of Toulouse in France to Torino in Italy. The language is still taught in the schools of Guardia Piemontese. Although the native (post-Roman) Byzantine culture has vanished, Calabria still has a rich cultural heritage of Byzantine origin, often in out of the way places pointed out by people met on the way. And that apart from the ancient Greek patrimony, now generally very well kept and displayed.There is of course another "culture" contact with which wasnot escapable: that of organised crime, in Calabria taking the old greek name of Ndrangheta (the root of the modern name Andrew = a strong man).My 'contacts', except perhaps the first one, were neither close nor with the actual members of the 'group', but rather with the 'resistance', particularly the youthful part of that. Still there is no lack of mention of 'ndrangheta' activities a lot of which which inevitably coincided with my presence in the region. Finally, there is also much reference to background of social developments in Calabria, the inevitable consequence of meeting people from all walks of life, from the shepherd tending sheep and goats in the mountains, to the farmer hoeing stony soil, to the group of village elders playing cards in the local cafe', to the small-town mayor, or the local pastor, or the town grandee still with some inclination to 'rule'.

• | Author: Edward Albert Mallia
• | Publisher: Independently published
• | Publication Date: Oct 25, 2018
• | Number of Pages: 321 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback/Travel
• | ISBN-10: 1520706847
• | ISBN-13: 9781520706849