I PARCHI LETTERARI® IN CALABRIA “JOURNEYS TO THE FUTURE OF MEMORY” - THE ITINERAY FOR THE JOURNEY

Calabria seems to have been created by a fickle God, who after having made a number of worlds, enjoyed himself by blending them all together. (Guido Piovene)

There are a variety of possible itineraries that can be taken in Calabria.
We shall follow those that have been outlined in the pages of literature and which will lead us up and down the region. Our itineraries shall be developed in four essentially homogenous areas, in the places of literary inspiration, where the possible themes for I Parchi Letterari® can be developed:

the isthmus of Catanzaro; Sila, both large and small; the “Marquisate of Crotone” the area of Locri.

In these areas, there are pages and testimonies by Cassiodorus and Costabile, Abbot Giocchino da Fiore, the legendary Pythagoras and his disciples and the great contemporary author Corrado Alvaro. Ancient authors from Magna Graecia, great religious spirits from Medieval times and the many travellers who followed them throughout time.
The authors that have been inspired by the territory of Calabria have been numerous and varied from the time of ancient authors, making it is truly impossible to name them all, however, some of them will help us to relive the marvel of these places.

During I Parchi Letterari® “In Search of Magna Graecia” itinerary, we shall be accompanied by an exceptional guide, a Storyteller, a true bridge between the past and the present, who will allow us to relive the pages written by the travellers from both the most distant past and more recent times.
In I Parchi Letterari® the Storyteller allows us to move among different dimensions of time and compare the pages taken from the literature of the past with the present.

Neither the enquiring tourist nor the impassioned cultural aficionado will be deluded… this type of journey, because it is an emotional one, can be taken by anyone, as long as the traveller is willing to be seduced and transported to other dimensions of space and time for a while. In the end, the “traveller” may discover that he has actually taken a journey within himself, finding those lost echoes, and reawakening ancient and comforting memories.

...................Let the Journey Begin!...

...........in Calabria

"In truth, in this very fertile and even joyous country, almost all of those things necessary not only for the lives of mortals are born, but also those things that exist for their delight and pleasure as well. And this is why I said that modern day Calabria should be included as a part of Magna Graecia; I therefore would like to describe the praises of this land, of what in any case belongs to it, which is included in this name. It is this land that is almost completely filled with mountains, and beautiful, fruitful hills and elusive valleys. Therefore, there is wheat, barley and other fodder, with wine of all types, simple and other kinds, oil, figs and other flavourful fruits, sugar, apples, wax and mineral and sea salts, gold, silver, wool, cotton and saffron, with other similar things. There is much silk that I dare say, when compared to others that come from the rest of Italy (they are similar), can be considered as equal. Here there is flax, hemp and manna falls from the sky. Something that is certainly rare. Near the beaches of each of the mentioned seas, and likewise the Mediterranean, there beautiful gardens filled with Citrons, Oranges and Lemons of all types. There are useful rivers, the pleasant hills of the Apennines, and dense forests of tall oaks. There are also fertile, productive valleys of wheat and other fodder, as I mentioned. … These places are home to many men of great genius, and of ornate civilised traditions, as shall be shown from place to place".
Leandro Alberti, “A Description of the Whole of Italy” (Bologna, 1550)

The journey begins with a welcome from the natural surroundings that are not only beautiful, but which also bear fruit, this is what bursts forth from the chronicles by the first travellers.

“This magnificent province is fertile beyond measure. Not only does all that is needed for life grow there, but also all that is needed for pleasure and excess […]. All of the mountains and the valleys are useful and productive. There is a great abundance of all types of wheat, wine and fruit, all of the highest quality. The same can be said for the oil, the cheeses, the sugar, the honey, the wax, the saffron, the cotton, the anise, the coriander which is found in great quantities, as well as the resin, the tar, the turpentine and the snowdrop bushes. There are also gold, silver and iron mines [.].
On the shores of both of the seas, as well as in the hinterland, there are the most beautiful groves of lemons, citrons and oranges of all types. The country is rich with sources of water, both large and small, as well as dense pine, maple, larch and oak forests in the Apennine hills where the Agaric mushroom, white and perfumed, grows, lighting up the night.”
Hieronymus Megiser, author of Neapolitan Delicacies, which appeared in Leipzig in 1605.

Ancora una descrizione con accenti enfatici. La proposizione di un Eden terrestre che in parte contrasta con gli stereotipi e le leggende fiorite in Europa su questa regione.

Here is yet another description with some emphatic remarks. The portrayal of an earthly Garden of Eden that provides a partial contrast to the stereotypes and legends about this region that flourished in Europe.
“The method of travel adopted by my companion and myself, in order to allow us to write these diaries, was the simplest and least expensive, in fact we carried out the entire journey on foot. A horse to carry what little baggage we had brought with us, and a guide. (…) Since there are no hotels in those provinces, other than along the carriage roads that run down the western coast, the traveller must always rely upon the hospitality of a family in each city he visits.”
(Edward Lear “Diary of a Journey on Foot in Calabria and in the Kingdom of Naples”, Editori Riuniti Nov.1992)

Edward Lear, a landscape painter, travelled through Calabria in 1847, following the Aspromonte mountain massif. The areas he visited are described in precious detail in his “Travel Diary” which also includes observations by travellers. Among Edward Lear’s pages there is the frequent echo of the term “picturesque” which is used to indicate landscapes and valleys that remind him of Ann Radcliffe, and the customs of daily life, which are objects of attention for travellers and artists.
"Calabria! This harmonious name, has an element of romance. No other region of the Neapolitan kingdom includes the promise of such a number of surprising and beautiful elements. As soon as this name is pronounced, a new world emerges in front of our eyes, opening up spacious horizons to the imagination: streams, fortresses, scenes of mountain cliffs high above smooth, white beaches, caves, brigands, pointed hats – Mrs Radcliffe and Salvator Rosa -, customs, traditions, atrocities and never-ending beauty". (Lear, 9).

And another of the main elements that stands out during a journey through Calabria emerges, in other words, the hospitality of its people.

"But the feature that continues to emerge is that of the hospitality that has no common place.”
"Nothing could have been more kindly and well mannered than the cordial welcome given to us by this family… But the desire to welcome us, which we noticed is common throughout all of Calabria, was demonstrated perfectly by the surprising appearance of maccheroni, eggs, olives, butter, cheese, and naturally wine and snow on the table that was set with the whitest of linen tablecloths..."

All in all a good viaticum to enjoy the beauty of the places that will also follow for many other travellers and writers. Among these is Norman Douglas who with his Old Calabria of 1915, penned the famous pages that describe the nature and the customs of the region.

“It was a splendid journey crossing those plateaus, with the view of the Ionian Sea from high above and the panorama of the wide Crati valley and from the high chain of the Pollino mountains, covered in the haze of early autumn, with the view falling upon the sides of the hills covered in olive trees. The road winds around the cliffs, where the streams come down from the mountain; they are covered in cork oak trees, live oaks and other vegetation; Golden Orioles, Jays , Hoopoe and other coraciform bird species can be found among the tree branches. During the winter, the cold winds from the Apennines blow through these mountains, but during this season, the area is stupendous.”

Anyone travelling in Calabria will discover the surprising and ever-changing corners of nature and culture found in this area. It is a genuine “labyrinth” of emotions...

“Travelling in Calabria means continual comings and goings, just as if one were to follow the winding route of a labyrinth. Interrupted by steep streams, not just different from area to area, but changing with brusque passages of the landscape, the climate and the ethnic origins of the inhabitants. It is certainly the most peculiar of our regions. In its vast mountain plains, it sometimes resembles Switzerland, the Alto Adige or Scandinavian countries rather than Southern Italy. Then, from this imaginary northern region it transforms into olive groves along the coast that are typical of the Mediterranean region. Canyons that are reminiscent of the United States infiltrate the region, as well as tracts of African deserts and some areas where the buildings preserve Byzantine memories...”
G. Piovene, A Journey Through Italy, 1957, p. 659

More recent travellers provide us with a description of places that gradually become more similar to those that are still visible to us today.

Luigi Vittorio Bertarelli, the head of the Italian Bicycle Touring Club, later known as TCI, (Calabria and Basilicata, five days of bicycle excursions, 1897) needed to provide an overview of the region from the viewpoint of a modern traveller for the first Italian Touring Guide of Calabria. He departed by train from Milan and reached the city of Reggio Calabria after a journey of 1,400 kilometres; he then got on a bicycle and headed north. In Villa San Giovanni he encountered another cyclist: the only one until he arrived in Salerno.

“There were a number of small fishing and cabotage boats, nets, winches to tow the boats ashore, small shipyards for caulkers, wash houses, a few rudimentary beach huts, financiers’ sentry boxes, rowdy groups of bare-legged, boys and girls, angling for fish and gathering seafood: a beach buzzing with life, just like in Liguria.”

Bertarelli saw orange, citron, bergamot and lemon groves along a crystalline sea marked by a line of sea foam. The dusty road was bordered by Mimosa bushes and blooming Broom shrubs. He quenched his thirst at a pure spring, hidden in a wood, sipping the water surrounded by water lilies and lotus flowers.

"However, Calabria still remains the land of “incredible, stupendous landscapes, with resolute patriarchal traditions, and the warm humanity of its inhabitants,” as affirmed yet again by Gerhard Rolfhs in the mid 18th Century.

Now the journey continues, with some of the itineraries to the places…of I Parchi Letterari® in Calabria.