Re: American Institute of Southern Italian Studies

On 10 Apr, 12:42, "osc...@xxxxxxxxx" <osc...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Apr 9, 2:00 pm, "Basilides" <tymbar...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:





On 3 Apr, 00:00, "osc...@xxxxxxxxx" <osc...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Apr 2, 8:35 am, "Basilides" <tymbar...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Just a few words on the movie "Il Gattopardo"...
Luchino Visconti, in this movie (according to me) wanting to show how,
despite the political change: Bourbons to Savoia, the society was not
to change at all and everything was going to continue as the same as
it was. Ther was no decadence in the aristocrat family... actually
Alain Delon, by becoming "Garibaldino" made sure that his family could
keep the social position as much as before.
Luchino Visconti, however, give a very conservative view of what
really happened. He depict only the noble class and how they face the
social turmoil.
I found very interesting another movie as well: "'O re - Francesco II
di Borbone" with Giancarlo Gianni on the same subject where the last
king of The Two Sicilies is portrayed in quite a funny way and
explains a bit of what happenes and moreover why.
Anyway... what happened in 1860 is just part of the picture...
SouthernItalyhas been always a separate entity from the rest of
Italy. The conquest by the Normans during the 11th century gave way to
a powerful state, actually one of the most powerful in the
Mediterranean. It lasted for 8 centuries and I truly believe that it
would be absolutely wonderful that Southerners learn about their
history and be proud of it.
The question is... HOW???

The state created by the Normans lasted for 8 centuries but the story
of thesouthernItalians themselves is a far more ancient one. It can
be measured in millennia rather than centuries. Saracens, Byzantines,
Lombards, Goths, Romans, Greeks, Carthaginians, Phoenicians, and
several pre-classical peoples left their mark on the land to varying
degrees. And, as archaeology and DNA studies reveal, they left their
mark on the people themselves.
The answer to the question HOW give Southerners pride in their history
isn't a simple one. The formal educational systems don't givesouthern
Italyits proper place. When it mentioned at all, it is usually in a
negative way. When I was going to college I earned myself a degree in
history without ever reading or hearing more than passing mention of
SouthernItaly. What little I did learn at that time didn't fill me
with pride. I learned only of the millions of poverty-stricken,
uneducated peasants fleeing their land to America in the late 19th and
early 20th Centuries. In occasional documentaries on World War II, I
saw the battles that were fought insouthernItaly, but if any
SouthernItalians were shown, they were either those same type of
peasants or ragamuffin children begging for cigarettes or chocolate in
the streets of Naples. It was only through many years of self-
education, digging through bookstacks in libraries to find volumes of
old books that few read even when they were new, that I learned the
history of mysouthernItalian ancestors. And I finally learned to
take pride in that history.
How canSouthernItalians and the descendants ofSouthernItalians
like myself learn about their history and take pride in it? It can
only be done if the opportunity to learn that history is made
available, and only if people want to make the effort to learn it.- Nascondi testo tra virgolette -

- Mostra testo tra virgolette -

I wouldn't go so far in time. As territorial entity...SouthernItaly
came into existence only with the Normans. Before it was divided
between Arabs (Sicily), Lombards and Byzantines. Three differents
powers giving a different character to the territories they were
holding.
The immigration started soon after the conquest of the South by the
"Piemontesi"...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

WhilesouthernItalybecame united politically under the Norman, much
of the cultures found there have much older and deeper roots. Ancient
cultural survivals can be found in the religious festivals in Abruzzo,
Sicily, and elsewhere. And recent DNA studies show that a much larger
number of the present population than previously believed have links
to the ancient populations.
My site is as much about the cultural roots ofsouthernItalians as it
is about the recorded history of the region. While the Regno was
indeed a medieval creation of the Normans, much of its population had
ancient ties to the land.- Nascondi testo tra virgolette -

- Mostra testo tra virgolette -

Well, if we want to talk about anthropology, it is fine... There are
plenty of it...
If we talk as culture of Southern Italy, I prefer to talk from 1000 BC
onward...

.

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