A Trullo in Time

Pictures taken of the same scene at different periods in time are always evocative. I believe the following two pictures are of the same trullo. Notice that there is a child seated in the exact same spot.

from a 1930's era National Geographic article 

 STONE SHELTERS by Eward Allen 1969

Edward Allen, the author of "Stone Shelters" cited the February 1930 issue of National Geographic in a footnote so there is the possibility that he set up the picture. It is also curious that the address number is not the same.

A brindisi to "intellect" from a contadino

A brindisi is an Italian word for a toast. The root of the word is from an old German phrase meaning "I offer it to you" (Ich bring dir es). The town of Brindisi  may have influenced the contraction of the phrase, but the words are not etymologically related.

Here the caretaker and his dog, Vigilante, entertain the author and her company with a salute to "Intellect".

This excerpt is from:

 

The Land of Manfred, Prince of Tarentum and King of Sicily:Rambles in Remote Parts of Southern Italy, with special reference to their historical associations

1889

by Janet Ross

Illustrated by Carlo Orsi

 

 

source

The Land of Manfred  by Janet Ross, 

 

 

 

Terra Di Bari

 Here is a description of the Terra Di Bari from the:

"Penny Cyclopaedia, of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" published by Charles Knight, London, 1835

"BARI, TERRA DI, 

   One of the fifteen provinces of the continental part of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. It extends about eighty miles along the coast of the Adriatic from the river Ofanto, the ancient Aufidus, which divides it from the province of Capitanata, to within five miles north-west of Ostuni, which is the first town of the Terra d'Otranto on that side.

    Inland the province of Bari extends about thirty-five miles as far as the range of high hills, which, detaching itself from the central ridge of the Apennines, near Venosa, runs in an easterly direction towards the Adriatic, dividing the waters that flow into that sea from those which fall into the Gulf of Taranto. This range divides the province of Bari from that of Basilicata. 

   Altamura, the last town of Bari on that side, is at the foot of the range. It is one of the most populous provinces of the kingdom; and that strip of it which extends along the sea-coast, and about ten miles inland, is one of the most fertile and best-cultivated countries in Italy. It is studded with a number of towns at a few miles distance from each other, such as Barletta, Trani, Bisceglia, Molfetta, Giovenazzo, Bari, Mola, Polignano, Monopoli, Fasano; and inland, but still within a few miles of the coast, Andria, Ruvo, Nola, Bitonto, Bitetto, Conversano, &c.

Several of these towns have from 12,000 to 18,000 inhabitants, and the rest from 4000 to 8000: the whole population of the province is about 420,000. The interior of the country is much less populous than the maritime districts, vast tracts of it being left for pasture or being overgrown with woods. This part is covered with calcareous hills ; the valleys are susceptible of good cultivation.

Both the Terra di Bari and the Terra d'Otranto are called by the natives Puglia pietrosa, ' stony Puglia,' in opposition to Capitanata, which is called Puglia piana, ' flat Puglia." 

The province of Bari has no rivers except the Ofanto, which flows along its north-western border ; but abundant springs are found at little depth underground, and supply water for the purpose of irrigation.

The principal productions of the country are oil, corn, wine, silk, soda, and an abundance of fruit. Oil and corn are the chief articles of export.

The towns on the coast, especially Barletta and Bari, carry on a considerable trade with Trieste, Venice, the coast of Dalmatia, the Ionian Islands, &c. There are some manufactures of linen at Molfetta, and ship-building is carried on in all the maritime towns. The harbours, are only fit for very small vessels.

The climate, though very hot, is generally healthy, except in some spots where the water from the heavy rains is allowed to accumulate and stagnate. A good carriage-road runs along the coast from Barletta to Mola, a distance of forty miles, and this tract of country, called La Marina di Bari, is much boasted of by the inhabitants for its fertile appearance and high state of cultivation. Another and a more inland line of road runs parallel to the first, passing through Andria, Ruvo, Bitonto, &c. 

The province of Bari is administered by an intendente, or civil governor,who resides at Bari, but the civil and criminal courts of judicature are established at Trani. The province is divided into three districts Bari, Barletta, and Altamura ; and the whole is subdivided into thirty-seven giudicatore inferiori, having each a magistrate or inferior judge.

 
BARI, the chief town of the province, is situated on a slip of land which projects into the sea, and is 140 miles E. by N. of Naples, in 41° 8' N. lat., and 16° 55' E. long. It was called Barium (Bapiov, Strabo) under the Romans, and was one of the towns of Apulia. At one epoch it was probably a Greek colony, though nothing appears to be known as to its origin."

 Below is a link to the original.

"Penny Cyclopaedia, of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" published by Charles Knight, London, 1835

The Rose of Auricarro

 

 

THE LEGEND OF THE ROSE

 

 

This legend originated in the area of Palo del Colle in the year 1349. At that time someone fleeing from the pillaging by invaders of an outlying area buried a crucifix made of fig wood. Years later, on barren ground during a season of extended drought, a peasant noticed a single rose growing between the crack in the parched earth. The peasant couldn't believe his eyes. He decided to transplant the rose but could not root it out. He dug a wide pit around it and there before his eyes were the roots of the rose entwined around the crucifix of Auricarro. 

 

 

 

 

 

Because it was found at their border the adjoining towns of Palo and Toritto had a dispute over who could claim the cross. To decide which town would possess the cross two oxen were yoked to a cart and were allowed to approach a crossroads without human direction. The oxen took the road to Palo deciding the possession of the cross. Since then the cross lies in the Church of the Madonna del Porta and is brought in procession every spring past Auricarro where it was found over six centuries ago.

 

 

 

 

 

Castel Del Monte

A collectible card from a jar of "meat extract"....boullion?  Go figure...but I like the picture.

Village Justice

 Calabrian peasant bride by Francesco Cozza

Community, Family, and Popular Culture in Early Modern Italy,  Tommaso Astarita


  All men are created equal? We are not used to seeing a question mark after that sentence. It is treading on dangerous ground even to suggest it. In our  developing, coerced "egalitarian" society there are those who have been ostracized for daring, even unwittingly in the course of unbiased research, to consider the question.

   Every child entering the social arena whether it be school or sports soon discovers the difference in the abilities of their peers. They are then forced by those currently in charge to accept another ideal.

   The best that could be hoped for would be that " all men are equal in the eyes of the law". But man-made law is just that and as such can be remade, applied differently, or simply ignored. There are also specious legal arguments that find a way around this ideal. We read about these decisions everyday. An equality that is enforced is a contradiction in terms. Reality will always intrude despite our best intentions and reveal itself.

   Our English based jury system provides many advantages to the accused. A trial by a "jury of your peers" provides a safeguard against unjust laws that may be imposed by a ruling class. How many people are aware they they have this right of jury nullification. They may decide the case however they choose regardless of what a judge may "charge" them to do. If you ever need to avoid jury duty just tell the judge when interviewed that you are aware of your rights as a fully informed juror. 

FIJA.org

   The court wants to have full control to steer the trial in their chosen direction and will most likely dismiss you immediately. This is  a shirking of our obligations as citizens, but how many can afford the economic cost of being sequestered on a jury for an indefinite length of time. This makes the potential jury pool consist of the financially independent or those on welfare. Can the middle-class get a fair trial by their peers in this situation? 

   In Village Justice Tommaso Astarita treats us to a detailed study of a criminal trial from 1710 that occurred in a remote corner of Calabria. Using the original transcripts he shows the way justice was applied in a feudal society. He also shows that the Kingdom of Naples of the time was definitely in the center of European thought on judicial theory and its application, and once again how the people of southern Italy are often underestimated and misrepresented.

"   Certain notions have long accompanied the image of southern Italian villages in the minds of foreigners, and indeed often Italian observers. Ideas of poverty and backwardness, of isolation and alienness, of illiteracy and ignorance, and of beliefs and ritual practices understandable at best through anthropological analysis have long characterized outside observers' perceptions of rural society in regions south of Rome and Naples. I do not reject all these characterizations, and, indeed in this book I stress the significance of some of them. I argue, however, that the southern villages were similar to those of many regions of western Europe. More important, although undoubtedly poor and often remote, they were home to dynamic and flexible communities that were able  effectively to handle their internal tensions, to maintain a lively and autonomous culture, and to interact frequently and successfully with external authorities. The land was often formidable and the villagers mostly illiterate, but southern Italian rural people were far from passive and fatalistic victims of larger natural or human forces."pg xii

    Pentidattilo is considered to be typical of many such small towns in the Kingdom of Naples of the time. It is located at the tip of the toe of Calabria, 5 kilometers inland from the coast in an easily defended location below a group of jutting peaks which suggest five fingers; hence the name which is of Greek origin. As in many areas of Southern Italy the population centers shifted here to escape the malarial coasts and the predation of Muslim raiders, and also to enjoy the "good air" of the heights.

The now  abandoned comune of Pentidattilo

   The local dialect shows the influence of early Byzantine Greek settlement. After the depopulation caused by the Black Death further settlement was encouraged by the rulers of the kingdom and Greek speakers naturally found a home here. The Greek dialect was still reported to be spoken into the eighteenth century and official documents still contained Greek spellings and names. Professor Astarita doesn't consider this Greek influence to have been a significant factor differentiating it from any other "Latin" Calabrian town. 

   The area of Pentidattilo is hot in summer, deforested, earthquake prone and contains only seasonally flowing rivers. Despite this there were many small peasant holdings which produced grain, olives and fruit.  The economy was self sufficient and only entered international markets with the introduction of mulberry trees for silk production and later in the 1700's with citrus fruit production.

   At the time of the story Pentidattilo was still a self sufficient organic community and the villagers were highly dependent on each other  for survival. There were no deep economic divisions between it's citizens. Outsiders, better described as persons of undetermined integrity were suspect. Is this the negative "characterization" Professor Astarita doesn't reject? However, in the author's words:

"...The villagers shaped a lively, autonomous culture which long maintained its own values, rules, and traditions. Personal honor and achievements,which were reflected in each villager's reputation, remained more important than inherited wealth or status within the local community." pg XVII

"...Village culture was characterized by a practical attitude, and when villagers took a negative view of their neighbors, it happened less on the basis of abstract notions of morality than because someone's actions endangered the stability or well-being of the community. Judgment was much more severe with outsiders than with well-integrated members of the village." pg 139

   The small size of Pentidattilo enabled it to maintain a surprisingly democratic form of governing by all male heads of household. Larger and more prosperous areas soon developed an oligarchy based on wealth.

"The village was administered by two mayors (sindaci) and four or five eldermen (eletti) who all served one year terms..." pg 130

   The crime in question, at the center of this study, was murder by poisoning. Domenica Orlando was accused of poisoning her husband with the help of a neighbor and friend Anna de Amico, ten years her senior, and Pietro Crea, her lover. The accusation of poisoning and also abortion was brought by the victim's brother.The circumstances of the death and a subsequent investigation of the body by the local "barber" indicate that a poisoning did occur. There was further testimony by a young girl who fetched the arsenic which was in use locally to control rodents.
 

   The trial was held in a feudal court as opposed to a royal court. In cases such as this appeal could later be brought to the attention of the royal courts.

"Like many noble landowners throughout Europe, Neapolitan lords enjoyed the right of jurisdiction over practically all inhabitants of the villages and towns enfeoffed to them. Until the abolition of the feudal system in 1806, the term vassals was indeed used for all those subject to their lord's jurisdiction in the Kingdom of Naples. The Neapolitan feudal lords (known also as barons) were, however peculiar both in the extent of their jurisdictional powers and in the percentage of the kingdom's population subject to those powers." pp. 48,49

   The trial was conducted by a feudal governor appointed by the baron. The governor in charge of this case had no training in the law and was therefore assisted by a counselor. A scribe from the town wrote out the record of the proceedings as well as assisted in the translation and interpretation of the local dialect.

"...Neither the governor nor his counselor, in keeping with laws and traditions, was a native of Pentidattilo or belonged to village families." pg. 47

   This governorship sheds light on the sophistication of the feudal system. The baron was required by law to appoint a governor to oversee all administrative and judicial matters and could not interfere. This was an attempt at fairness by the neutrality of this intermediary position. Villagers could bring grievances against the governor after his term had expired. Counter to the impression that many have of feudal society and justice there was a true desire for the truth to prevail.The character of witnesses was also weighed as was the potential bias of friends and enemies.

"...Jurists insisted that the questioning not be leading or in any way suggestive and that the witnesses always be asked de causa scientiae, that is how they knew what they knew..." pg.60

   After giving initial testimony the three defendants were tortured, but not in a manner and for reasons  many would assume.The most common form throughout Europe at this time was suspension by rope with the hands tied behind the back.

"...When, as in most cases the defense failed to sway the court, and when the crime was punishable with corporal or harsher penalties (which was the case with a large number of crimes), the judge could order the torture of the defendant in order to obtain a confession. The use of torture was justified not only by the concern with the repression of crime but also the very emphasis on avoiding the arbitrary decision of the judge on creating absolute, objective standards of proof. Torture was carefully regulated in law and doctrine, as to duration and method. Unlike its twentieth-century incarnation, early modern torture was a regular, thoroughly structured part of criminal procedure. Because it could not simply be applied until the defendant confessed, torture could therefore be resisted."

"   The defendant was to be encouraged  and threatened until the very last minute before torture and throughout its duration, in the hope of diminishing the infliction of pain. A medical examination was necessary before torture could be applied, and a physician was to attend the torture, in order to prevent life threatening pain. To avoid excessive pain and vomiting, torture had to be inflicted several hours after the defendant had eaten. Certain categories of defendants, such as the old, the infirm, the very young, or pregnant women were exempted from torture, as were at least for most crimes, privileged groups such as priests, nobles, and -perhaps unsurprisingly- judges and illustrious jurists."

"...Torture could usually be applied up to three times in separate days, though again for grave crimes it was possible to continue further. A confession given under torture had no validity unless ratified the next day by the defendant. Refusal to ratify, however usually resulted in renewed torture. Although we do not know much about the effectiveness of torture, it seems to have been, if not a "relatively mild ordeal," certainly not as effective as legislators might have hoped."  pp 62,63

   Although there was no formal jury, 

"...Public opinion and the reputation of the parties involved in a crime were, as we have seen, essential elements in early modern judicial practice...when it came to the final assessment of what the events had meant the court turned to the men of Pentidattilo, to solid citizens, to give confirmation and legitimation to, and offer a commentary on, what the court had done and learned. In this sense, these seven witnesses played a role not unlike the Greek tragic chorus." pg. 78

   In spite of this or maybe because of it, Professor Astarita claims that family connections often determined the outcome of trials. As the older of the two female defendants Anna de Amico was considered to be more responsible for the crime and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Domenica Orlando fled the village but was also never convicted. Perhaps the villagers, who knew intimately the character of the two women, determined that the younger Domenica was put up to the crime. Pietro Crea was also released.

   "Village Justice" by Professor Tomasso Astarita is a highly recommended study from primary sources, and should be read by every student of southern Italian history.

Posted by Il Saccente
















   

The Palio Del Viccio of the town of Palo Del Colle in Puglia

                                                                                                                                                              

A "Palio" is a competition between different neighborhoods of a town often commemorating an historical event. The competition can involve horse racing, jousting, or archery with the competitors dressed in the attire of the Middle Ages.  The Palio of Siena is the most well known and publicized. These events, however,  take place throughout Italy. The Palio del Viccio of Palo del Colle  developed into the present form  in the fifteenth century.

 In Italian Palio means banner or racing silk. The various neighborhoods of a town each have their own colorful and symbolic banner. In Palo del Colle there are ten rione, or districts represented. Each rione would select a horseman to participate. The participants carry long poles while standing on horseback and attempt to pierce a leather bag of water suspended high in the air over the street. A plump turkey called viccio in the local dialect was the original prize.

 The Palio del Viccio presently takes place twice a year. The winter event takes place on the last day of Carnival, or Fat Tuesday, which is the day before Ash Wednesday in February. The summer event is held on the last Sunday in July and is a recent addition to attract tourists.

The original object of the race was a suspended live rooster which the horsemen had to decapitate in order to win. This may seem a bit gory to our modern sensibilities; the reason why a water bag has been substituted. This tradition is very ancient however, and has its roots in our agrarian past. Our forefathers saw everything in the natural world as imbued with a spirit, a living entity which had to be dealt with in order to survive. The rooster represented the spirit of the grain. It was sacrificed in order to insure a plentiful harvest after the planting which took place soon after the season of the present Palio. Over time the sacrifice of the rooster was allied with the importance of horse raising for military defense, and the turkey was substituted for the rooster after it was introduced from the New World.

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 Below are some of the banners of the various rione of Palo del Colle.

CONTRADA AURICARRO

LAGO SAN GIUSEPPE

SAN SEBASTIANO

PORTA REALE

MADONNA DELLA STELLA

SAN VITO

CASTELLO

RUGA PIENA