Calabria

 

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Calabria – The majority of immigrants that left Italy back in the day came from the south of Italy. Marche, Puglia, Abruzzi, Sicily, Campania, Basilicata and…. Calabria

 

Calabria – I have a special connection with Calabria. My Father’s parents both emigrated here from the little town of Maida. Actually this is the same town where Gay Talese’s family came from.

But for those not familiar with this region… Calabria known in antiquity as Bruttium or formerly as Italia, is a region in southern Italy, forming the “toe” of the Italian Peninsula. The word Calabrisella refers to a girl from Calabria or sometimes referred to Calavrisella with the V taking the place of the B – Calavrisella / Calabresella.

 

Although the official national language of Calabria has been Standard Italian since before unification in 1861, as a consequence of its deep and colourful history, Calabrian dialects have developed that have been spoken in the region for centuries. The Calabrian dialect is a direct derivative of the Latin language, and is closer to the words spoken in Latin than the standard Italian.  

Enjoy the Video Below

Years ago it was necessary to leave southern Italy especially Calabria as can be explained below. Today you can view what has happened to Calabria in viewing this video.

Historically, there are many reasons why people decide to leave their homes. Among these are political or religious persecution, overcrowding at home, and poverty. The last reason is, no doubt, the one responsible for the great “Italian diaspora.” Much of Italy, especially southern Italy, at the time of unification was rural. Land management practices again, especially in the south, did not easily convince farmers to stay.

The unification of Italy broke down the feudal land system that had survived in the south since the Middle Ages.  Especially affected was the land that had been the inalienable property of aristocrats. The breakdown of feudalism and the redistribution of land did not lead to small farmer ownership in the south. Many farmers remained landless. Plots grew smaller and thus, more and more unprofitable. 

In the second phase of emigration from 1900 through World War I most emigrants were from the south and most of them were from rural areas.

Today however things are much different. Take a moment and view the Calabria of today in this Wonderful and Vivid

Calabrian Video below

Wonderful Video Below