Blowing in the Wind.....
TRATTURO
This sign sits just below my house on the road from Lucito to Castelbottaccio in the Italian region of MOLISE.
The map shows the track, or TRATTURO which runs right past my little farm.
Now it is rarely used, although a few people walk along it, and I mean a FEW... I have only seen about ten people meander past in a year.
Local farmers with land on the fields above me trundle along with tractors, but apart from that, it is deserted.
TIMES PASTMany years ago the Tratturi, a network of tracks across Southern Italy were once used by shepherds who drove their animals along with them from March to October every year.
This was called the Transumanza, which means a migratory movement of animals
They stopped to graze their animals on route, selling milk, cheese, wool and even skins as they went.
Local landowners and farmers worked alongside them, often offering them a place to sleep in a barn or stone shelter, and having the opportunity to find out about news from across the region, long before the TV, radio, internet and phones.
Goats, cattle and sheep were moved about in this way, and although it seemed a harsh existence it provided rich pastures and an income for many.
In the winter the shepherds returned to their homes and the livestock spent a few months in barns across the region.
The ROOTS of the Tratturi can be traced back for well over a thousand years, creating part the foundations on which Molise still sits today.
They are paths trodden by the Samnites, the Romans and many other pairs of feet, as well as hooves
Sadly now eleven years later still very little has been done to protect them. The only thing in their favour is they are hardly ever used, by animals anyway, or people
Although there a few that do....
My little farm sits on the Celano to Foggia Tratturo , so weather permitting I can drive up to my house.
Concerns have been raised by the arrival of wind turbines now springing up like mushrooms across the region, scarring the landscape.
MOLISE
We must not sit by and allow Molise to become like Wales, the small country, part of the United Kingdom.
There a vast forest of wind turbines has been created across the whole country changing it;s face and it's stark yet beautiful landscape irrecoverably.
NORTH WALES
For the farmers who own the land, yes they provide a valuable source of income as they are still able to graze their sheep under them so reap not only one income but two.
YES... Time marches on.
We demand more energy to sustain our lifestyle, but at what cost?
MOLISE, oh how I love you,
But PLEASE WAKE UP.....
Before it is too late....
You have so much to offer.....
and
SLOW TOURISM
is an option that will provide a much-needed income.
The Tratturi are an ideal resource for tourists, many of whom coming from Northern Europe, the states, and Canada are ardent walkers and nature lovers.
Let's tell
THEM
and
encourage
THEM
to
SHARE
No, we don't want to RUIN it,
but only to help you PROTECT it and SUSTAIN it.
Efforts made in the past, have failed. Signs like this one just a few metres from my home are a testament to this.
Come on and join us.
Let's walk these paths TOGETHER
We are preparing ourselves now to walk along the
CELANO to FOGGIA TRATTURA
Meet Barnaby he is going to join us for at least some of the way with his girls Lilly and Lotte
They are all in training already.and we want you to come too
ALL THE WAY
You might not want to come all the way, but you can join us to walk a part of the route, which we hope to walk in April or May 2018
You can come long on one of the short walking and fitness trips on the TRATTURI in this region and across Molise
which we will be running from March 2017
Think what an amazing way to get fit and to enjoy the such an amazingly beautiful array of flora, fauna and wildlife at the same time.
For more information contact me
PENNY BARRON on FACEBOOK
or email me blackandwhitemolise@gmail.com
These videos of the Transumanza tell the stories of the journeys travelled in the past and more recently
GRAZIE TUTTI
