With the wicker and straw produced in Calabria, traditional “cannistri” are prepared, that is, containers for the collection of fruit, “panari” or “fulazze” for the sun exposure of tomatoes, figs or aubergines. A place of honor in this sector belongs to Soriano where there is a differentiated and relevant production also from a quantitative point of view. Straw chairs, baskets and utensils are produced there, including the beautiful fan to stoke the fire.

The Costa dei Gelsomini is a coastal area in the province of Reggio Calabria, washed by the Ionian Sea. The Riviera takes its name from the typical cultivation of the jasmine plant, beautiful and delicate, but also robust and climbing. The species cultivated along the coast is the “Jasminum grandiflorum”, of Indian origin, one of the most beautiful species. It has large, sweet-smelling flowers that open from June to October. Jasmines were collected by women (called jasmines), sold by weight and exported to France to prepare perfumes.

Jasmine work began in the early hours of dawn and ended around eleven in the morning. It was once a good source of income for local families, although the effort was enormous. Three hundred kilos of jasmine flowers were needed for a kilo of essence.

The oldest of the textile fibers is linen. The etymology of the word “linea”, from the Latin linum, derives from flax, as the term “filo” derives from the Greek λίνον [linon].

Today linen is still loom woven by a few elderly women but only in the Calabrian hinterland. Flax fibers are used for fabrics, paper, felts; flax seeds while its oil is used for food, paints and linoleum; other partsof the plant are used for gardening, isolation, bedding or potting soil. Every part of the plant can be used actually.

Up to a few years ago in Calabria the processing of the broom was very popular. It was done in almost all counties, given the need to create an economic yarn and the great abundance of broom that colored and perfumed the hills of the region. The broom belongs to the Leguminose family, it is also called with dialectal names, depending on its geographical location in Calabria. The broom is a shrub from 50 to 105 cm tall which has very resistant and erect cylindrical green stems with a few leaves.

Continue Reading

The art of weaving in Calabria has ancient origins. It belongs to the history of each family as the loom has been a symbol of female patience and industriousness. There was no house that did not own one and even today, in many counties it is possible to see old looms, often worm-eaten, which have taken on the color of the hearth where they stayed for years and years. The Calabrian poet Vincenzo Padula exalted this industrious instrument, comparing its sound to a musical instrument, such is the feeling of sweetness that emanates from it.

Continue Reading

Griko, sometimes spelled Grico, is the dialect of Italiot Greek spoken by Griko people in Salento (province of Lecce) and (sometimes spelled Grecanic) in Calabria. Some Greek linguists consider it to be a Modern Greek dialect and often call it Katoitaliótika (Greek: Κατωιταλιώτικα, “Southern Italian”) or Grekanika (Γρεκάνικα), whereas its own speakers call it Greko (Γκραίκο or Calabrian Greek, in Calabria) or Griko (Γκρίκο, in Salento). Griko is spoken in Salento while Greko is spoken in Calabria. Griko and Standard Modern Greek are partially mutually intelligible, meaning speakers can understand each other without having to know each others’ language.