These Villages May Be
A Relic Of The Byzantine Conquest In The Sixth Century, When
Southern Italy Was, To A Great Extent, Re Peopled From The Eastern
Empire, Though Another Theory Suggests That They Were Formed By
Immigrants From Greece At The Time Of The Turkish Invasion.
Each of
the women had a baby hanging at her back, together with
miscellaneous goods which she had purchased in the town:
Though so
heavily burdened, they walked erect, and with the free step of
mountaineers.
I could not have had a better opportunity than was afforded me on
this day of observing the peasantry of the Catanzaro district. It
was the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and from all around the
country-folk thronged in pilgrimage to the church of the Immaculate;
since earliest morning I had heard the note of bagpipes, which
continued to sound before the street shrines all day long. Don
Pasquale assured me that the festival had an importance in this
region scarcely less than that of Christmas. At the hour of high
mass I entered the sanctuary whither all were turning their steps;
it was not easy to make a way beyond the portico, but when I had
slowly pressed forward through the dense crowd, I found that the
musical part of the service was being performed by a lively
string-band, up in a gallery. For seats there was no room; a
standing multitude filled the whole church before the altar, and the
sound of gossiping voices at moments all but overcame that of the
music.
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