Wild places of Calabria – Pentedattilo
Wild places of Calabria- Pentedattilo Driving dow south, in one of the southern corners of Italy. All the way to the very toe. Only 250 m from the sea. You can spot an incredibly fascinating place. For there rises Monte Calvario and the ghost village of Pentedattilo. The place goes all the way back to […]
Linguistic influences around Calabrian Dialects
In ancient times, the territories of Calabria were known as Ausonia, the ancient Greek name for lower Italy, after the name of a population settled between the rivers Liri and Volturno and then extended poetically to all Italy; Esperia, which meant “Western land”, from the Greeks perspective; Enotria, from the name of Enotro King of […]
The Ravaschiera Tower of Satriano
“In the first half of the 16th century, a reorganisation of the defence system began on all the coasts of the ancient Kingdom of Naples to deal with enemy incursions”. The Ravaschiera Tower is located almost on the banks of the Ancinale River, precisely in the area of Satriano Marina, about one kilometre from the sea. It is a quadrangular […]
The extraordinary creative sphere of Mattia Preti, the “Cavaliere Calabrese”
Among the greatest names in the 17th century, among the many talented artists to emerge, one name stands alone: Mattia Preti. Son of South Italy, his creative sphere extended over sixty years in different places where numerous influences, combined in his paintings, enriched his artistic training during a prolific creative period. The 17th century was […]
Origins of Guardavalle: the twelve towers village
By the 6th century B.C. in the south of Italy the Byzantines had come into power. Under their rule, Calabria and towns such as Stilo and Rossano achieved great wealth and status; still today, these two villages retain much of their Byzantine heritage seen best in their churches–Stilo’s La Cattolica and Rossano’s San Marco Evangelista. […]
“Calanchi” landforms -Guardavalle, Calabria, Italy
We are along the side of the road that leads us to Guardavalle where a scenic landscape all dominated by the color white fits well in the context where this little village is located. A magnificent play of light and shade contrasts strongly with the intense colors of vegetation. A naturalistic monument shaped by primeval […]
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 […]