Africo
Encyclopedia
Africo is a comune
in the province of Reggio Calabria
, in the Southern Italian region of Calabria
at 74 km from Reggio Calabria
.
Africo consists of two main centers. The first, Africo Vecchio (Old Africo), is located some 15 km in the mainland at the feet of the Aspromonte
. The old town was destroyed by disastrous floods and landslides in October 1951 and abandoned. The second, Africo Nuovo (New Africo), was reconstructed around 15 km away, on the Ionian coast
near Bianco
. The remnants of the old town are situated in the Aspromonte National Park
.
. It remained so until the end of feudalism
in Calabria in 1806.
An earthquake in 1783
, partially destroyed the town, killing six people. Earthquakes in 1905 and 1908 again hit the town.
Africo has become the symbol of hunger, floods, wandering and the dispersion of the inhabitants of inland Calabria. In 1931 the Calabrian writer Corrado Alvaro
described a famine which had afflicted Africo. In 1946, Umberto Zanotti Bianco
published a book on the people of Africo, Tra la perduta gente (Amongst the lost peoples) describing the dire conditions and hunger. At the time the village could only be reached by a 6/7 hour ride on a mule.
In 1948 the journalist Tommaso Besozzi
and photographer Tino Petrelli
published a report in the magazine L’Europeo, showing the misery and hunger of the people of Africo. The article, entitled Africo, symbol of disparity, and the series of documentary photographs produced an outrage from national public opinion which, at the time, was rediscovering the dramatic situation of the "southern question". The inhabitants of Africo left their village from 1949 onwards and moved to new houses built along the Ionian coast, to New Africo.
, Reggio Calabria
and Fiumara di Muro. Africo Nuovo has been constructed around 15 km away from the old town, on the Ionian coast, near Bianco
.
The town is home to the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia
-type criminal organisation based in Calabria. Several of the criminal clans are sometimes involved in bloody feuds.
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the province of Reggio Calabria
Province of Reggio Calabria
The Province of Reggio Calabria is a province in the Calabria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Reggio., it has an area of 3,183 km², and a total population of 565,866. There are 97 comuni in the province, see Comuni of the Province of Reggio Calabria.- Economy :The region is...
, in the Southern Italian region of Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
at 74 km from Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
.
Africo consists of two main centers. The first, Africo Vecchio (Old Africo), is located some 15 km in the mainland at the feet of the Aspromonte
Aspromonte
Aspromonte is a mountain massif in the province of Reggio Calabria . The name means "rough mountains", so named by the farmers who found its steep terrain and rocky soil difficult to cultivate. It overlooks the Strait of Messina, being limited by the Ionian and Tyrrhenian Seas and by the Pietrace...
. The old town was destroyed by disastrous floods and landslides in October 1951 and abandoned. The second, Africo Nuovo (New Africo), was reconstructed around 15 km away, on the Ionian coast
Ionian Sea
The Ionian Sea , is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, south of the Adriatic Sea. It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria, Sicily and the Salento peninsula to the west, southern Albania to the north, and a large number of Greek islands, including Corfu, Zante, Kephalonia, Ithaka, and...
near Bianco
Bianco
Bianco is a town and comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria,in southern Italy. It is a seaside town and a popular tourist resort. The main attractions are the remainings of an old...
. The remnants of the old town are situated in the Aspromonte National Park
Aspromonte National Park
Aspromonte National Park is situated in the southern section of the Apennines, in Calabria, Italy.The park lies near the sea and includes mountain summits nearly reaching the 2,000 meters of height ....
.
History
The origin of the name is unclear. According to some scholars, the name may have derived from the Latin name apricus (airy and sunny) which is from the Greek aprokos. Others believe it comes from the Latin africus (ventus), winds from Africa.Africo Vecchio
The old centre was founded around the 9th century by inhabitants from Delia or Deri. In 1195 the town became a fief of the Archbishop of Reggio Calabria granted by Henry VI, Holy Roman EmperorHenry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry VI was King of Germany from 1190 to 1197, Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 to 1197 and King of Sicily from 1194 to 1197.-Early years:Born in Nijmegen,...
. It remained so until the end of feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
in Calabria in 1806.
An earthquake in 1783
1783 Calabrian earthquakes
The 1783 Calabrian earthquakes were a sequence of five strong earthquakes that hit the region of Calabria in southern Italy , the first two of which produced significant tsunamis. The epicenters form a clear alignment extending nearly 100 km from the Straits of Messina to about 18 km SSW...
, partially destroyed the town, killing six people. Earthquakes in 1905 and 1908 again hit the town.
Africo has become the symbol of hunger, floods, wandering and the dispersion of the inhabitants of inland Calabria. In 1931 the Calabrian writer Corrado Alvaro
Corrado Alvaro
Corrado Alvaro was an Italian journalist and writer of novels, short stories, screenplays and plays. He often used the verismo style to describes the hopeless poverty in his native Calabria...
described a famine which had afflicted Africo. In 1946, Umberto Zanotti Bianco
Umberto Zanotti Bianco
Umberto Zanotti Bianco was an Italian archaeologist, environmentalist and lifetime senator ....
published a book on the people of Africo, Tra la perduta gente (Amongst the lost peoples) describing the dire conditions and hunger. At the time the village could only be reached by a 6/7 hour ride on a mule.
In 1948 the journalist Tommaso Besozzi
Tommaso Besozzi
Tommaso Francesco Besozzi , also known as Tom, was an Italian journalist and writer...
and photographer Tino Petrelli
Tino Petrelli
Valentino Petrelli , better known as Tino, was an Italian photographer, well known for his documentary photography....
published a report in the magazine L’Europeo, showing the misery and hunger of the people of Africo. The article, entitled Africo, symbol of disparity, and the series of documentary photographs produced an outrage from national public opinion which, at the time, was rediscovering the dramatic situation of the "southern question". The inhabitants of Africo left their village from 1949 onwards and moved to new houses built along the Ionian coast, to New Africo.
Africo Nuovo
On October 15–18, 1951, floods and landslides destroyed Africo and the nearby hamlet Casalinuovo. People were evacuated to Bova MarinaBova Marina
Bova Marina is a comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about 120 km southwest of Catanzaro and about 30 km southeast of Reggio Calabria...
, Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
and Fiumara di Muro. Africo Nuovo has been constructed around 15 km away from the old town, on the Ionian coast, near Bianco
Bianco
Bianco is a town and comune in the Province of Reggio Calabria,in southern Italy. It is a seaside town and a popular tourist resort. The main attractions are the remainings of an old...
.
The town is home to the 'Ndrangheta, a Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
-type criminal organisation based in Calabria. Several of the criminal clans are sometimes involved in bloody feuds.
Economy
The economy is based on agriculture and greenhouses for the cultivation of fruits, the production of cement, and forestry. Tourism is, to date, poorly exploited even though it has enormous potential.External links
- Africo, Reggio Calabria, Calabria,Italy - Civil Records 1866 to 1910. Nella tana del brigante Musolino in mezzo ai picchi dell’Aspromonte, by Paolo Rumiz, La Repubblica / L'Espresso, August 6, 2011