| Message | Dear fellow Abruzzesi, my family are from the near-by town of Colledimacine. I was making my regular visit to the Abruzzo 2000 web site and decided to investigate the Fallascoso site. I was particularly fascinated by the the story of the 'transumanza', the yearly herding of sheep from the towns in our area to the southern region of Puglia that occurred for many centuries. I could just imagine what the valleys around our towns must have looked like with such an enormous number of sheep passing through them. When you also add the beautiful cultivated ares that existed up until about 40 years ago, as well as the Maiella mountains, it must have been a sensational spectacle. It's a bit sad now when you just see abandonded fields choked with bushes and weeds. However, all is not gloom and doom. Up until recently I thought that the towns around our area, with their elderly populations and lack of employment prospects for youth, were doomed to extinction within the next 50 years. I have since seen the tourism industry as providing new hope for prosperous survival. In Colledimacine, and I hope that this is occurring in Fallascoso and other towns, Italians from the big cities are buying and renting old homes to spend holidays and weekends in. The children and grand children of migrants who left the area decades ago are returning to discover and pay homage to their roots. Web sites like this one will contribute to that process. Auguri. |