visiting the Basilicata region of southern Italy, also known as Lucania
Jan 26th, 2002, 05:17 PM
#62
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Some people who e-mailed me seemed very much interested in the pagan tree festival that I saw last May. It is possible that a revised version of the tour I took last year, which will probably be repeated this May, will include the festa del maggio in Accettura. Some of you who are not totally opposed to tours may want to consider it. However, the itinerary isn't definite yet.
Feb 12th, 2002, 05:25 AM
#65
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Just thought I'd add a little to this dialogue about the forgotten but beautiful Southern Italy region. I went with my mother, her sister and husband, a brother and a cousin in 1997 to discover our roots. My grandfather was from San Giovanni di Gerace in Calabria. (My grandmother was from Brusciano outside of Naples, which we also visited, a sad area now.) We met up with a distant cousin from the neighboring and larger Gerace, and he was our "guide" for a couple of days. We stayed in Siderno, located on the gorgeous Ionian Sea, and could see the acropolis of Gerace in the evenings. It was a fascinating trip, no official tour needed. We did our own exploring. We also found the people of this region to be exceedingly helpful and friendly, wanting desperately to promote their area which was "stinking" with Greek ruins, as my aunt liked to put it. And beautiful.
There is more information about this familial trip on a website my brother created at www.traveljack.net. He felt compelled to actually write a book about our journey, and it's a pretty fascinating(and well-written) account of the feelings Italy conjured up for him. Unfortunately it's not all posted on the site, but you can email him from it if you're interested.
He went again a year or two later and got deeper into the region, wrote another account, but has yet to post it.
But, as Carol says, GO!! It's a real "feel" for the country you will be left with, visiting this long, but no longer, neglected part of Italy. I cannot wait to go back someday.
I love Italy.
There is more information about this familial trip on a website my brother created at www.traveljack.net. He felt compelled to actually write a book about our journey, and it's a pretty fascinating(and well-written) account of the feelings Italy conjured up for him. Unfortunately it's not all posted on the site, but you can email him from it if you're interested.
He went again a year or two later and got deeper into the region, wrote another account, but has yet to post it.
But, as Carol says, GO!! It's a real "feel" for the country you will be left with, visiting this long, but no longer, neglected part of Italy. I cannot wait to go back someday.
I love Italy.
Mar 13th, 2002, 02:42 PM
#68
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Shamelessly topping again, because I would like people to know about this underappreciated area. There will be a tour going there again this May. If anyone is interested, I can pass the info along to you. It's a little different from the tour I took last year (in some ways improved, e.g., Metaponto added to the itinerary), but in most ways pretty similar.
Jun 4th, 2002, 01:03 AM
#74
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Carol, thanks for your committed posts about Basilicata; I've just discovered them. I'll be going to a meeting in Maratea in early July. Alas, I don't speak Italian, but I'd love to use some of my free time to explore more of the region. Any local guides? Suggested itineraries? Sorry to miss the recent festas [I'm an anthropologist], but am interested in all things cultural. Thanks!
Jun 6th, 2002, 02:11 PM
#75
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Deborah: I replied by e-mail in more detail. Maratea is possibly the most touristy spot in Basilicata. There should be many Italian and foreign vacationers there in summer. I'd guess that there will probazbly be tours, drivers for hire, and othe services that toruists tend to want. If you have time to go to the more areas of the region, you may find that you're the only foreigner around for miles. as I said in my e-mail, you might want to access thre Yahoo Basilicata culture group site and look up the list of links to websites that I listed under the "bookmarks" file. You can also read the old messages and possibly e-mail some of the posteers who sound like they might have helpful info for you.
