Stolen figs and other adventures in Calabria / Mark Rotella.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [307]-308).

Calabria, the southern foot-shaped part of Italy and the birthplace of Rotella's forebears, first captivated the author when he visited the region with his father in the early 1990s. This candid travel memoir is a synthesis of his successive return journeys of exploration and kinship alliance. Enlisting a knowledgeable and affable local photographer as a guide/companion, Rotella tours Calabria's larger centers (Catanzaro, Cosenza, Reggio di Calabria), coastal towns (Crotone, Ciro, Sibari, Locri), and remote villages of the Aspromonte region (where Mafia kidnappers have long sequestered their victims for ransom). His genuine curiosity, genial informality, and Calabrese origins facilitate encounters with custodians of museums and churches as well as craftspeople (weavers, coppersmiths, potters, artists) who would otherwise be more suspicious, reticent, and aloof. Rotella delights in and evokes the simple pleasures of breaking bread or sipping a caffe with relatives and strangers, of tucking into pure and unembellished Calabrese food or gorging on plump, luxuriant figs. His narrative, at times a bit leisurely, lures the reader into this passionate affirmation of blood and belonging.