Bova, Condofuri, Gallicianò, Roccaforte del greco, Roghudi can be considered the centres that still present the most evident traces of the magna Graecia culture. Calabrian greek, spoken in this places, is an object of study and research, but also a reason of cultural exchanges and initiatives to protect the historical linguistic minorities. Bova, greek capital of Calabria, presents the ruins a norman castle. It is at about 1000mt. above the level of water and it’s reachable from the main road that starts in Bova Marina. The cathedral keeps an old marble statue of the Madonna with the Baby, of 1584, attributed to Rinaldo Bonanno. The ancient village of Brancaleone Superiore (fief of noble calabrian families like the Ruffo and the Scalea), stands on top of a cliff, shows the ruins of the castle and the rests of the church dedicated to the Madonna dell’Annunziata. Along the main road to Staiti there are, in the Batia district, the remains of a byzantine-norman abbey (XI cent.) dedicated to Santa Maria di Tridetti, and that was for almost a millennium a centre of religious cult an popular pilgrimage.

The soul dance
The “viddenedda” has its origin in some rituals linked to the Magna Graecia culture, with its liberating rythm and symbols that underline the choreographical movements. Through the centuries the dancing occasions were always linked to families festivities, the agricultural one, in occasion for example of the harvest or the thresh, or religious ones. The space of the dancing was decided and then the master of the dance was chosen, and with gracious movements decided who from the public had to get in and out of his area. There was also the courting ritual, with intertwined gazes and unmistakable movements. The melody of the viddanedda was given to a small organ, an aerophone, and the rythm was given by a tambourine, made out of a skin spread onto a simple frame of thin wood generally of a round shape. To increase the sound, the tambourine enriched with a double row of tin bells.

Santa Maria of Tridetti (outer shot) Photo Archive Province of Reggio Calabria - Photo by: Alessia Campolo		Santa Maria of Tridetti (interior shot) Photo Archive Province of Reggio Calabria - Photo by: Alessia Campolo
Ruins of Brancaleone superiore Photo Archive Province of Reggio Calabria - Photo by: Antonio Muzzupappa