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Badlands , sculptured by winter rains making the soil as soft as butter , causing incessant landslides to change the topography . We stopped in Craco , abandoned since 1963 after one of the thousand landslides destroyed the region and the area was never again inhabited . Like Matera , this land has become a favourite location for well-paid movies and commercials .
We finally reached the city of Pisticci , also built upon three clay elevations where the history is marked by numerous landslides . Despite the danger , the population insists on living on the wonderful terrace above the Cavone Valley , looking at the moon rising from the Ionian Sea , you can ’ t help saying " they ’ re right ". Here you live by the
pace of the south where families , as compact as little armies , stroll along the avenues where elders chat and youngsters strike a pose to find a wife . In the backstreets , women sit outside their home ’ s door , discussing the daily gossip of fellow countrymen . This uncomplicated way of life encourages you to breath in the perfume of the region .
We could enter Calabria along the coastline , but decided for the coolness of Mount Pollino , the massif separating Basilicata from Calabria , uniting ancient and diverse cultures . Many towns here are populated by Arbëreshë communities , founded by Albanian refugees that came here in the fifteenth century , the region still preserves the language of that time as well as the Orthodox religion . It ’ s encouraging to see a people aware of their cultural uniqueness .
Upon this mountain , on both sides , many towns still practice the ancient “ Maggio ”, a sort of tree wedding , a pagan ritual where the top of a fir is put on a beech and transported by a pair of oxen . This long and complex fertility ritual , coinciding with the days of Christian festivities and season changes , is a symbol of identity for anyone who is from here .
For us it was time to get our revenge on Lucifer , who hadn ’ t given us a break since we left . Once we crossed slowly over the Pollino , we finally took the highway that would bring us quickly to the coast , where the crystal water of the Ionian Sea was waiting for us . AF
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