Locorotondo

Camanilismo is a word that reflects the Italians' pride about one's hometown. No where in Italy is this pride more apparent than in Locorotondo, a town nuzzled within southern Italy. But Locorotondo is more than community spirit.

Locorotondo might translate to "round place," but is actually an oval town, originally circled by a wall with towers. Locals believe the town has a "round feel" to it, however, due to the lungomare, a road and sidewalk with a supportive railing that loops around the south side of the town where the walls once stood. The path along this rail offers some of the most fantastic views in Italy. In addition, you'd be hard pressed to find any town within Italy that offers such a constant symbol of closeness and unity. The most prominent example is the compact circularity of the town's historical "downtown" center and occasional marketplace. Even the town's gardens are surrounded by circular paths.

The public gardens play a major role in everyday Locorotondesi life. In the book "Town and Country in Locorotondo" by Anthony Galt, he commented that "this may seem like a small distinction, but local people see it as crucial because life in the public gardens is significant." He referred to a local article in which a Locorotondesi extended the physical circularity of the town and its gardens into a metaphor, which appropriately describes "the self-contained quality and closedness typical of the Locorotondesi world view." Any visit to Locorotondo will also include a bit of religious education. Nearly 100 percent of Locorotondesi are Roman Catholics (a tiny handful became Mormon coverts beginning in the 1970s.) It's a rather unique aspect of Catholicism, however, because these rural people worship in not only a religious but a magical sense. Much of the local religious belief, then, revolves around saints - most namely Locorotondo's patron saint, San Rocco, often considered a healing saint. Almost everyone in Locorotondo bears the name of a saint, and the Locorotondesi, always looking for a party, often celebrate name days within the family.

At any given time throughout the year, visitors to Locorotondo will likely find themselves amidst a procession throughout the town celebrating various saints' holidays. The procession, normally led by a respected elder within the town, carries an elaborate statue of the saint by an equally elaborate (but hollow) base. Those who follow the procession normally do so with bare feet. Large, colorful (and loud) festivals take place after the procession around the town in complete.

If you're looking to visit during one a town festival, October is a fantastic month to visit. In addition to two saint's holidays, the first half of the tenth month brings the vendemmia, the annual grape harvest. Women cut the grapes from the vines, then men collect the grapes and bring them to an individual family wine-making facility. Should you take a walk through any neighborhood during these first two weeks of vendemmia, a heavy but sweet fragrance of fermenting grapes will take over your olfactory sense. If you listen closely, it might be possible to hear the fizzing sounds associated with winemaking through cantina doors left ajar by men hauling in weathered plastic tubs brimming with yet another load of grapes.

The people. The festivals. The local rural arcitecture and breathtaking public gardens. Locorotondo might be an out-of-the way stop, but it's one you'll remember long after you leave the "round town."

For more information about Locorotondo, visit Anthony Galt's Anthropology Web site. Pictures courtesy of Anthony Galt.