Le vie della transumanza in Calabria: un itinerario culturale percepito tra geostoria, economia e letteratura

According to Alessandro Clementi, there are phenomena that, such as underground rivers, furrow through the history and geography of Italy determining its basic lines and than appear, except for short distances and for sudden emergencies, on surface. One of these is the transhumance that was the backbone of a large part of the Italian
economy, at least in the south, and no one has consistently ever considered it, as if it was an extremely marginal matter in the human adventure. In fact, pastoral activities have imprinted on the landscape – more or less – marked and durable transformations in relation to various factors, among which are effectively overriding
the geographical context (and vegetation), the burden of breeding and its economic role. This volume, therefore, wants to analyze the phenomenon of transhumance in Calabria, southern Italy, through a geo-historical, economic and literary pathway, dwelling in particular on the direct testimonies of Calabrian shepherds. The work also has been
enriched by a Learning Module about the perception of transhumance, carried on in a primary school in Calabria, whose children watched with astonishment the pastures downhill from Sila mountains to Crotonese plains.