000			01881n a2200241 a 4500
001			027374
005			20231009192522.0
008			021814s2003 nyuab b 000 0aeng
010			_a2003042052
020			_a978086547271
042			_apcc
050	0	0	_aDG975.C15 _bR64 2003
082	0	0	_a914.5 ROT
100	1		_aRotella, Mark
245	1	0	_aStolen figs and other adventures in Calabria _c/ Mark Rotella.
250			_a1st ed.
260			_aNew York _b: North Point Press _c, 2003.
300			_aviii, 310 p. _b: ill., map _c; 24 cm.
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [307]-308).
520			_aCalabria, 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.
651		0	_aCalabria (Italy) _v--Fiction
942			_cMO
999			_c240277 _d240277