Memoirs of 19th century Calabria
The desire to learn through exploration is not a new phenomenon, it also provides a link to the past. During the 17th and 18th centuries many cultural pilgrimages were taking place through Europe, the cradle of Western civilisation. This event was called the Grand Tour, a trip undertaken by upper-class young European men. Travelling by […]
Piazza Castello, Badolato, Italy: from a threatening castle to an enjoyable open air living room
Where today there is Piazza Castello (Castle Square), in early days you used to find a fortress to defend the territory of Badolato from the Turkish Invasions coming from the sea. Filippo de Badulato built it as a wood construction 1100 and around 1260 the warmongering Ruffo Family turned it into a stone stronghold, which […]
The wine in the catoja of Badolato, Southern Italy, as trait d’union between past and present
The word catóju comes from the Greek catagheou and means a room on ground floor or in the basement. The changes in the use of the catóju has gone hand in hand with the social and economical transformation of the village. In the past the catoju was reputed even more important than the house itself. […]
An ancient place of worship guarded by a Giant: the stone of Sant’Antonino
While legend has it that the first inhabitants of Calabria were the sons of the ingenious Daedalus, builder of the famous Minotaur’s labyrinth, historical facts attest to the brief but intense period of splendour that this land had between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, when, better known as Magna Graecia (along with other areas […]