Magna Greca

    Southern Italy was a colony of ancient Greece in the 4th century BC. The exports of grain, olives and wine contributed to the wealth of Athens. The native people were called the Lacanians. They were a friendly people that seemed to get along with everyone. They had some interactions with the Etruscans who lived in what is now Tuscany. There was some intermarriage and some exchange of ideas, including similar burial rituals. When the Greeks arrived there was also peaceful interaction. The best preserved Greek ruins outside Athens exist in Paestum, located on the west coast of Italy, south of Salerno. Another important settlement existed at Aschea, further south.  Here they found remnants of the first theater and first medical school in Italy. The Romans destroyed the Greek colonies and the Lacanian settlements. Paestum fell in 332 BC.
     The area is still known for its agricultural produce, especially olives. It is amazing how this mountainous land is so well cultivated. Most of these small towns were only connected by the sea. Most roads were finally built after WWII. The towns themselves were originally built on mountaintops because they were more easily defended from the Saracens who started invading around the 8th century. Signal towers were built up and down the coast to warn of incoming ships. Some of these were restored and turned into houses others remain in ruins. If you buy one you may not tear it down. You must restore it.

Luci di Salerno (Lights of Salerno)

Salerno, a city on the Mediterranean south of Naples, is one of 2 Italian cities (the other is in the north) to create a walk through fairyland of holiday lights. "Yes, everybody has Christmas lights "' you say, but these involve extensive plastic recycling programs and the design talents of local artists and craftspeople. Many of the plastic items used are the ubiquitous plastic water bottles. These are collected, washed, dyed and cut to form the desired shapes. Then they are mounted on wire frameworks. Fabricators wire on the lights and they are installed throughout the town. Everyone is paid for their labor, the local shopkeepers get a big boost to their sales and the city draws tourists from all over the region. Here are some examples

The Forum of the Cats

I've taken a short holiday in Italy and greatly enjoyed some wandering around Rome. One of the places of note is the Piazza di Pigna. This piazza is a street level piazza surrounding an excavation of some ancient ruins that include a few columns and numerous blocks of marble all numbered and ready to be reassembled if funds should ever be available. Sometime ago somebody decided this would be a good place to abandon some unwanted kittens. They were cute so people started to bring them food. Other strays came for dinner and the population started to grow. Tom cats decided it was a good place to meet available females. They fathered more kittens, those kittens grew up and had more offspring and people continued to abandon unwanted cats there. As the population increased more and more people brought food and soon it was estimated there were around 1000 cats there. The city decided something must be done before cats from the countryside started to move in too, so heavy fines were levied on anyone found abandoning cats there and a cat hotel was set up at one end of the piazza. Cats were caught, fed, given medical attention if necessary and altered. People were advised to contribute money rather than food. A cat adoption agency was set up and now the population is greatly diminished. Those remaining enjoy sun bathing and cat gymnastics on the marble blocks and there are definately no mice in Piazza di Pigna..