How does it work?
Classes and meetings will be held in the mornings. Some afternoons will be dedicated to field trips, othesr will be left free for writing. During the two weeks of full immersion, even moments of leisure are planned to stimulate creativity through the acquired knowledge of local traditions and its context. Participants will be guided in the writing of creative works, be it poetry, short stories, parts of novels or memoirs, and they will read their writings in public in convivial late evening spaces. The works will be published by Rubbettino Editore in a dedicated volume, including an eBook format.
The workshops are in English, but the writing will be created by each participant in the language of choice.
The University of Calabria will provide a certificate of attendance. On request it is possible to issue a certificate with a value of six credits from The University of Calabria.
Why apply?
IDs promises to be a life-changing experience. It is a cultural endeavor, an occasion to search for roots and identity, and to be connected with the source, while closely interacting with well-known writers and scholars. It is also a great opportunity to visit Calabria and Lucania in a not-simply-touristic way, and at the lowest possible cost for a quality stay.
Our program is carried out in the territory involving local villages, people and institutions in order to better present their life and their rich history and beauty, and to promote a process of cognitive growth through immersion – visual, audible, linguistic, culinary – in the places from which the diaspora began and has left many traces.
The territory is now marked by the presence of thousands of immigrants, very often welcomed, as is demonstrated in the case of the town of Riace, made famous all over the world.
The immersion in the villages and the local communities will offer encounters with the present-day reality of immigration and the new Italian multiculturalism. The objective of the program is to construct a pathway of experiential cultural formation, destined to change, in the participants, the image of South Italy and the meaning of Italian origin.
Field trips
FIELD TRIPS IN CALABRIA INCLUDE:
Building on the past activities, this year’s IDs is aimed at establishing a broad transnational perspective on the Italian diaspora, through a Community-Engaged Scholarship program characterized by the mission of focusing on the South of Italy and on the importance of material culture and of historical heritage that can be experienced only by visiting the specific locales of the diaspora, such as landscapes, spaces, food, music, and dance. Our program is founded on an intersectional perspective and relies on the interpretative tools of gender, class and ethnicity.
In this transnational, interdisciplinary program, participants will experience the vibrant feeling of being immersed in a platform of dialoguing, comparing and networking with different Italian diasporas across the globe, connecting regional spaces where the issues of past migration are still present today. Formal and informal talks will create a lively and engaged program that will stimulate creativity regarding memory and writing, and will also offer participants a unique opportunity to visit the beautiful and historically rich regions of Calabria and Lucania.
FIELD TRIPS IN BASILICATA, FOLLOWING THE READING OF CARLO LEVI’S CHRIST STOPPED AT EBOLI, INCLUDE:
· At the time of the ancient Romans, Aliano was a camp of the Pyrrhus army. Later it was shelter for Basilian monks who fled from iconoclastic persecution. Carlo Levi was confined to Aliano, where he was buried.
· Bernalda is a medieval village where the castle overlooks the precious churches, squares, monuments, and palaces designed with a millennium of architectural different styles from three continents. The grandparents of Francis Ford Coppola emigrated from Bernalda.
· Matera was the first UNESCO site in southern Italy. The karst ravines have hosted the Paleolithic and Neolithic civilizations. The rock-cut architecture of the ancient city was cohabitated by many Mediterranean civilizations that have been here for thousands of years. Matera was the contact zone between the native Oenotrians and Mycenaean civilizations, the Magna Graecia and the Lucanians and Iapygians, the Romans and the Lombards, the Saracens, the Byzantines, the Franks of Louis II of Italy. The famous “Cripta del peccato originale”, for example, is known as the Sistina chapel of the rocky fresco’s painting. This year Matera is the European capital of culture, hosting a year of celebrations, exhibitions, shows, and concerts.
· The Metaponto's archaeological parks and museum preserve a civilization begun in the 7th century BCE. Pythagoras founded his own school in the city.
Accommodations and Meals
The first week will be spent in Morano Calabro, a medieval borgo in the center of Pollino National Park, on the list of the “Borghi più belli d’Italia” and “Bandiera arancione” del Touring Club Italiano.
We will be staying in the albergo diffuso “Il Nibbio”, in the historical center, whose apartments are exquisite and very well restored.
The cuisine will be local, seasonal and organic.
Lessons in cooking of local recipes are also planned on demand.
The second week will be held in the “Masseria di Torre Albidona”, an ecological farm of about 80 hectares, on a panoramic setting overlooking the Ionian Sea, with its own private beach, surrounded by a pine forest, and a swimming pool. The rooms are located in ancient farmhouses philologically restored. The cuisine, which bears the name of the chef Pietro Acciardi, combines tradition with innovation. The raw materials, strictly local and seasonal, are of high quality.
Cost of the program
EUR 3000
Duration: 15 days
Dates: May 15-29, 2019
May 15 Arrival day — May 30 Departure day
Maximum participants: 20
The price includes:
Attendance of workshops and other cultural activities offered by the program.
Transportation from the airport of Lamezia Terme to the locations of the program and back, or to the railway station of Paola (CS) and back, in the following dates: May 15, 21 and 30. It does not include transportation from different airports or railway stations and transportation in different dates.
Accommodations in single rooms with private bathrooms.
Breakfast and two meals a day for two weeks, with the exception of the last dinner before departure.
Field trips and tickets to museums.
