October is here: the perfect time for one last Long Walk before winter!
I'm off with three friends - Mariella, Francesca, and Daniela - to walk for eight days on the Cammino Materano - Via Peuceta.
The Cammino Materano is not a religious pilgrimage route, but a cultural and historical itinerary. Or rather, a set of four itineraries, two of which are still under preparation, while the other two are already fully mapped out, signposted and organised with accommodations: the one-week Via Peuceta, from Bari to Matera, and the two-week Via Ellenica, from Brindisi to Matera via Martina Franca.
We're going to start with the shortest route, this time!
A bit of history...
As a cultural itinerary, the Cammino Materano focuses on three key themes:
1. The cultural legacy of the Norman and Swabian ages
The Normans sure got around: from Norway to Normandy, to Great Britain (following the Norman conquest of 1066), Sicily and southern Italy. In the 11th and 12th centuries Norman culture flourished in southern Italy, where it came into contact with Roman, Byzantine and Arab influences and excelled in statesmanship, the construction of fortifications, castles and great cathedrals, the development of the cities and the countryside, and the establishment of sanctuaries of international importance to take advantage of the flourishing phenomenon of pilgrimage.
After the Normans came the Swabians, the most famous of whom is the Emperor Frederick II, one of the best-known figures of the Middle Ages. In the early 13th century the court of Frederick II not only commanded a large part of western, continental and Mediterranean Europe, but promoted dialogue and exchange of knowledge between northern and southern Europe, and among Christians, Jews and Arabs. Literature, education and the arts flourished under the reign of this enlightened monarch.
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| Ramparts of the Norman/Swabian castle in Bari |
2. The rural landscape and farming civilisation
The Normans divided the land into small parcels of property passed down by inheritance, based on the Byzantine korìa system. This division of the land, resulting in the construction of small rural villages initially inhabited by only a few families, made an indelible mark on the rural landscape of southern Italy, leading to the amalgamation of neighbouring villages into larger towns and the establishment of the well-known masserie, centres of agricultural production that still survive today. A farming civilisation centring around intimate knowledge of natural cycles and deep respect for the land evolved in the masserie; we could stand to learn a lot from them, in the context of today's ecological transition and focus on sustainable development.
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| A rural stone hut on the Via Ellenica between Brindisi and Ostuni |
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| Autumn squash harvest in a modern-day masseria |
3. Slow travel
The Norman age was a time of great movement of both people and goods. Long-distance trade flourished, and the phenomenon of pilgrimage emerged, increasing traffic both overland and at sea. Ideas travelled along with people, driving changes in society.
The phenomenon of people travelling these routes under their own power continued until the beginning of the twentieth century, and is now being rediscovered in the form of slow travel, on foot or by bicycle: a way of discovering yourself and the world around you, of meeting people from cultures and traditions different from your own and learning to interact with them.
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| The author, on a section of the Via Francigena that coincides with the Cammino Materano |
These are the three themes that inspired the creation of the Cammino Materano - with no need for the excuse of going to visit the tomb of a saint at the end of the road!
But although the Cammino Materano is not a religious pilgrimage, it does have its own patron saint: Saint Euligio. A saint who is entirely a figment of the wayfarers' imagination!
...And a bit of fun!
According to the Cammino Materano website at https://camminomaterano.it/san-euligio:
"There has been much talk on the Via Peuceta of legend of Saint Euligius of Marbella. In order to avoid the risk of excommunication, this author wishes to emphasise that Saint Euligius is not a true saint, but purely a figment of the imagination, a bit of highly refined fun, involving an ironic mix and match of some of the most astonishing attributes to be found in traditional hagiography.
In view of the enormous success this curious personage has met with among wayfarers on the Via Peuceta, here is his story, as it was recorded, for your and our amusement.
'The figure of Saint Euligius of Marbella has ancient origins, shrouded in an aura of mystery. The most widely accredited version, attributed to a certain Magister Racanus, places Euligius in the days of the late Roman Empire, and has it that the young man, upon achieving the status of knight, was sent to put down a Barbarian revolt in the territories to the north of the Rhine.
Having successfully quelled the rebellion, Euligius set off to return home, but was surprised by a blizzard while crossing an Alpine pass. Just when everything seemed to be lost, the young knight spotted a lamb with a crow-black fleece. The animal miraculously spoke to Euligius, and led him to a clearing, where a fountain flowed with amber ale and succulent shanks of meat hung from the tree branches. Thus the knight was able to refresh himself before resuming his travels.
Upon returning home, the young knight gave up his military career and sought refuge in a beautiful hilly place in southern Italy, which may, according to the legend, be identified as Cassano delle Murge. Here the holy man dedicated the rest of his life to the worthy art of good cooking, opening the doors of his inn to offer sacred hospitality to passing hungry wayfarers.'
The prodigious story of Saint Euligius, the man of the great pork shanks, soon became legendary, and the faithful flocked to his inn. His devotees report that miracles have taken place at the site, during which the icon of Saint Euligius has been seen to burst out in hearty laughter."
Though we're skeptical about the legend of Saint Euligius and his miracles involving bubbling ale and laughing icons, my friends and I have been wanting to walk the Cammino Materano for a long time, and October seems like the perfect season! It's rainy and dull in northern Italy, but still sunny and warm in the south. So here we go!!!
But first, a day exploring Bari, starting with a tour of the theatre, Teatro Petruzzelli. And continuing on to the cathedral, the Basilica of San Nicola and the streets of old Bari!
Source of information: https://camminomaterano.it/
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