Popular traditions in our area

POPULAR TRADITIONS IN OUR AREA RELIGIOUS AND ARTISTIC CELEBRATIONS

MADONNA DELLE GRAZIE The first Sunday of July in Roccella Jonica (RC) takes place the procession of the Madonna delle Grazie, our Virgin Mary. This rite belongs to the many processions on the sea that take place throughout Calabria. The Province of Reggio is the one with the largest number of such events. The procession departes from the church in the late afternoon at the end of celebration of mass and, after making the short journey to the promenade, the statue of the Madonna for over an hour and half. After disembarking, the procession winds through the seaside town to return at night in the church. The statue is brought by the association that prefers to the navy; the wearers wear a blue shirt with the effigy of the Madonna and they walk barefoot. At the end of the procession you can see wonderful fireworks on the Ionian Sea until late. In Calabrian towns, the Blue Flag is a further attraction in the field of religious tourism.

THE TARANTELLA The term "tarantella" is related to the name of a spider, the tarantula,whose bite according to ancient beliefs triggered violent psychomotor crises. The typical movements of this popular dance reproduce those attributed to the bite of this arachnid. The dance, usually accompanied by the sound of rattle tambourines, therefore served to get the tarantula out of the state of delirium in which it was found. The Lycosa tarentula, the spider present in the areas of Southern Italy where this dance spread, is poisonous, but its bite, very painful due to the density of the poison, is tendentially harmless, causing reactions similar to those of a sting of wasp, more accentuated with the increasing size of the bite, then with the amount of inoculated poison. About 2.5 centimeters long, the tarantula does not build cobwebs but captures its prey by chasing it. According to some, the term "tarantella" could also derive from Taranto, the city where this type of dance was born. The tarantella is a wide and diversified family of traditional dances distributed in the regions of southern Italy (Puglia, Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily and Molise), which historically have part for centuries of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The name, so generalized, creates quite a few misunderstandings today to those who want to make a comparative analysis of the various forms still to be found; in fact under this denomination very different choreutical models converge, which once had other names and life of their own. Today, however, only a few areas retain a lively, assiduous and authentic tradition of dance: there are in fact processes of removing the dances of the ancestors or of profound transformation of traditional choral forms, both for the extinction of the need to express themselves with a body language coming

from the previous generations , both for the radical changes of the ways of life in the current communities. Most of the repertoires that go under the name of "tarantella" consist in dances of couple (not necessarily man-woman), but there are forms to four people, in circle and processional. In recent years, young people are witnessing an enthusiastic rediscovery of the value of traditional dances, but in the absence of valid experts, specific studies and visual documents, the recovery processes tend to take either the spectacular path of folklore that distorts and decontextualizes the dance event, or that of urban youthful revival, which empties dance into its own functions and adds forms and new purposes, more related to contemporary rock concert or disco gatherings.

The charm of tarantella (pizzica, tammurriata, tarantella calabrese, etc.) is spreading like wildfire, becoming a social and ideological emblem of a cultural alternative to globalization. In the summer or on the days of traditional festivals there is a real "lay pilgrimage" of young people.So for many young people, full of enthusiasm anddesire to know the southern dances and traditions, have by reference model other peers, the new dances are propagated with the wrong awareness of being the true "ancient forms". The most contradictory aspect of the phenomenon is that of justifying the reinvention of new dances by creating around them an aura of classicism (Dionysism, menadism, rites of possession, cult of Mother Earth, etc.).

SHORES AND BEACHES.

Our territory is important and beautiful thanks to the shores that offer to the tourist a great place on our awesome and pure beaches.

Shores are hospitality place where you can relax yourself and enjoy the view of the sea; there are also small bars and restaurants opened for breakfast, lunch and dinner where you can eat typical dishes of our area.

The most important in Roccella are: “Cuba Libre”, “Beach Club”, “Lido Delle Stelle” and “Il Gabbiano”.

Our beaches are totally pure and suggestive. There are many attractions for children and adults like volleyball and football court. We also won the famous “Bandiera blu” for our fantastic sea and beaches.

THANK YOU FOR WATCHING