National and Regional Identities: The region of Calabria

1. National and Regional Identities
One State…One Nation?

2. Unità d'Italia, Amato: "Tenere insieme
le tante identità regionali"
• Roma, 12 mar 2011 - ”The many regional
identities are a treasure for Unified Italy , and
keeping them together is an objective that must
be remembered during this celabration”.
• ”The Country was born trying to overcome the
division North-South. Many batlles have been
faught but the war is not over yet.”
• “I believe that the Mezzogiorno, for centuries a
victim of the central government, a federal
solution can constitute an opportunity.
Federalism must unite Italy not divide it".

3. What does keep Italians together?
The love for GOOD FOOD!

4. La cucina calabrese

5. Some History
• Calabria, in antiquity
known as Bruttium or
-formerly- as Italia, is
a region in southern
Italy, south of Naples,
located at the "toe"
of the Italian
Peninsula.

6. • The capital of the region is Catanzaro. The
most populated city of Calabria is Reggio.
• It is bounded to the north by the region of
Basilicata, to the south-west by the region of
Sicily, to the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, and
to the east by the Ionian Sea.
• The region covers 15,080 km2 (5,822 sq mi)
and has a population of just over 2 million.
• In ancient times the name Calabria was used
to refer to the southern peninsula of Apulia
also known as the heel of Italy or Salento.

7. • It is mainly a
mountainous region.
Three mountain
ranges are present:
Pollino, La Sila and
Aspromonte. All three
mountain ranges are
unique with their
own flora and fauna.

9. • In general, most of the
plain in Calabria has been
agricultural for centuries,
and exhibits indigenous
scrubland as well as
introduced plants such as
the prickly pear cactus.
• The lowest slopes are
rich in vineyards and
citrus fruit orchards. The
Diamante citron is one of
the citrus fruits.

10. Moving upwards,
olives and chestnut
trees appear while in
the higher regions
there are often dense
forests of oak, pine,
and beech trees.

11. The climate is
influenced by the
mountainous and hilly
relief of the region: cold
in the area of Monte
Pollino, temperate with
a very limited
temperature range in
the area of
Aspromonte.
The Sila and Serre massifs ensure greater humidity on
the Tyrrhenian coast and a drier climate on the Ionian
coast.

12. • Calabria was first settled by Italic Oscan-
speaking tribes.
• Greeks settled along the coast.
• Kroton (Crotone) was the birthplace of the
mathematician Pythagoras.
• Calabrian urban centers were leading cities of
Magna Graecia during the 6th and 5th
centuries BC.

13. Magnia Grecia

14. • The Greeks were conquered by the 3rd
century BC by Oscan tribes from the north,
including the Lucanians and an offshoot of the
Lucanians called the Bruttii.
• The Bruttii conquered the Greek cities,
established their sovereignty over present day
Calabria and founded new cities, including
their own capital, Cosenza.

15. • The Romans conquered the area in the 3rd
century BC after the fierce Bruttian resistance
• After the fall of the Roman Empire, the inhabitants were in
large part driven inland by the spread of malaria and, from
the early Middle Ages until the 17th century, by pirate raids.

16. • In 1098 the Norman King Roger formed what
became the Kingdom of Sicily.

17. • Beginning with the subsequent Angevin rule,
which ruled Calabria as part of the Kingdom of
Naples, Calabria was ruled from Naples right
up until unification with Italy.

18. • Aspromonte was the scene of a famous battle
of the unification of Italy, in which Garibaldi
was wounded.

19. Where was he wounded?

20. The Economy
• A typical feature of agriculture in Calabria is
the high fragmentation of the farm structure.
Holdings of less than two hectares made up
69% of the total in 2000.
• The main cultivation in Calabria is olive tree.
• 137,938 farms on a total of 194,600 produce
olives.

22. Within the industrial sector, manufacturing
contributes to gross value by 7.2%. In the
manufacturing sector the main branches are
food industry and tobacco.

23. • Tourism also plays an important part in the
economy of Calabria.
• Its beautiful mountains, natural parks and
coastline attract hundred of thousands of
tourists each year.
• “Sustainable cultural tourism” is also being
promoted.
• One of the treasures of Calabria are the
“Bronzi di Riace”.

25. • The Bronzi di Riace are two famous full-size
Greek bronzes of nude bearded warriors, cast
about 460–430 BCE .
• They were found by Stefano Mariottini, a
chemist from Rome, on a scuba diving vacation
at Monasterace, on August 16, 1972, perhaps at
the site of a shipwreck, off the coast of Riace,
near Reggio Calabria.

26. La cucina calabrese

27. The history and geography of Calabria have
strongly influenced the cuisine of the region
which, like most southern Italian cooking, is
characterized by essentiality, simplicity and
“poverty”.

28. PRESERVES
PRESERVES were first introduced in the region by the
Phoenicians and Greeks.
It allows to store food for more than a year and live through
winters, droughts, and even SIEGES!

29. Many families still today, use salt, vinegar, olive
oil or lard to store: pork meat, salami, olives,
eggplants and sun dried tomatoes.

30. Vegetables are not the only thing to be dried.
The Byzantines introduced the tradition of drying and salting
fish, specially anchovies.
Anchovies and wild plants, as the nettle, are used in the
preparation of stuffed bread.

32. Eastern Innovation
• Basilian Monks coming from the Byzantine Empire,
taught local populations new farming techniques.
• The quality of the produce had a great impact of the
cuisine but also on the quality of life.
• Pigs and goats were raised in the monasteries.
• Most of the salamis were produced to avoid wasting
meat.
• Giblets, which were generally used in religious
sacrificial rites, begin to be used for human
consumption.
• Even pigs’ blood is not wasted and is used in the
preparation of SANGUINACCIO

33. Mazzacorde con patate

34. Sanguinaccio dolce

35. The Arab influence
Arabs introduced many dishes that were then
modified and became typical of the region.
Purpette and Iaccatieddri are two examples.

36. Mushrooms are a big part of the cuisine from
Calabria. There is a real “mushroom tourism”.
On the mountains of Pollino and Sila thousands
of mushroom hunters gather between Septmber
and November looking specially for PORCINI.

37. Every family used to own a pig.
During Carnevale the animal was slaughtered
and the first “nduja” and “soppressata” of the
new year used to be prepared. Not many
families still follow this ancient tradition.

38. Pisci-spatu ccu chiappari e limuni
Swordfish with capers and lemon

39. Ingredients
• Servings 4
• 2 lb swordfish
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 oz capers, in vinegar
• 1 sprig parsley
• 1 pinch oregano
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

40. Preparation
• 20 minutes preparation + 5 minutes cooking
• Brown the garlic in oil, then remove it and add
the fish and capers.
Season with salt, parsley and oregano.
• Drizzle the lemon juice over and finish cooking
lid-on.

41. Lasagna with chickpeas

42. Ingredients
• Servings 4
• For pasta
• 1 lb all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• for the soup
• 3 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb chickpeas
• 1 bay leaf
• ⅛ oz wild fennel fronds
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 ¾ oz celery
• 3 oz onion
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 ¾ oz Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• ⅛ oz baking soda

43. Preparation
30 minutes preparation + 1 hour cooking
Step 1
Make a dough from the flour and egg, and roll it out into many thin sheets. With the aid of a
knife, cut into sheets.

44. Step 2
• Leave the chickpeas to soften in water and
bicarbonate for about 12 hours. Drain them and
cook them in a pan with water and salt, a drop of
oil and a bay leaf.
• Blanch and peel the tomatoes, remove their
seeds and toss them in a pan with a little oil.
Season with salt and pepper and then purée
them. Keep hot.
• In a pan containing the rest of the oil, gently fry
the finely chopped onion, celery and garlic and
flavour with the wild fennel.

46. Step 3
Add the chickpeas with a little cooking liquid, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and
continue cooking.

47. Step 4
Cook the pasta in abundant boiling salted water.
Remember to stir frequently to avoid it sticking.
Once it is cooked, drain it.
Step 5
In a large pan, add the tomato sauce to the
chickpeas and adjust the seasoning. Add the
pasta sheets, mix and serve piping hot. Sprinkle
everything with the grated Parmesan.

50. Buon appetito!