A world that must not disappear

Rejecting what is valuable in tradition means failing to realise that it is precisely the preservation of what is precious in the old that gives value to a place and promotes it.

Just as certain things (a jewel, a work of art) acquire “added” value if they belong to other times, everyday objects too are more precious and interesting if, through the weaving of time, they bear the imprint of memories.

Think, to give just a few examples, of those small handmade masterpieces of craftsmanship, made with care, love and skill, which are a whole anti-consumerist hymn; made to last, to be repaired and in any case reused: “common” objects for making bread, carrying water, holding every kind of produce – useful, in short, for living.

Think of all the beautiful architectural structures in wood or natural stone, arches and lintels, the very thresholds of doors and balconies; the wrought iron of the balustrades, burnished by time and adorned with rust; the roofs of the houses, covered with stone slabs (chiànche) or with tiles marbled by silvery-green moss: flowering like miniature hanging gardens, thanks to the seeds of climbing grasses, succulents, daisies and snapdragons carried there by the wind…

A continuous sociability – a greeting, borrowing something, a chat… – made possible simply by an ingenious kind of French window, kept closed during the day only in its lower part by a very special lock, all in solid wood like the door itself, handmade, called the tarèncle: no isolation between those at home and the others, no “apartment”…

Over those low double doors, even in my mother’s time, girls, pretending to “look at the weather”, would furtively greet their would-be “zito” (sweetheart) – and over that same half-door the cats found safety, chased by urchins or dogs…

And the list and the suggestions could go on, long and interesting… We leave that for another place, and note instead that today in our villages the tendency is to replace, to renew at all costs, to “plasticise” and “aluminise”, when the intelligent idea is instead to recover forms and materials.

Beyond the aesthetic aspect – a homogeneous and original beauty – conservation and preservation are a truly advantageous choice, culturally, ethically, individually and socially, and economically – in the short, medium and long term – since, even with a view to quality tourism, these are the things people appreciate and seek, certainly not homologation and wild modernisation.

To be continued…