Lucania, where Christ stopped
Carlo Levi was a doctor, writer and painter, a native of Turin. In 1935, Levi’s anti-fascist beliefs and activism led to his banishment by Benito Mussolini’s fascist government to a period of internal exile in a remote region of southern Italy. Despite his status as a political exile Levi was welcomed with open arms, for the people of this area were naturally gracious hosts. His book, Christ Stopped At Eboli, focuses on his year in the villages of the Lucania region and the people he encountered there. The villages of Grassano and ‘Gagliano’ were extremely poor. They lacked basic goods because there were no shops in the village. A typical though meagre diet consisted of bread, oil, crushed tomatoes, and peppers. The villages did not have many modern items, and those they did were not often utilized. The one public toilet, and only bathroom, in the town did not have running water, and stood as a retreat for animals rather than people. Also, only one car was found in the area. Homes were sparsely furnished. The most frequent decoration consisted of an American dollar, a photo of the American president Roosevelt, or the Madonna di Viggiano displayed on their walls. I recently drove trough this land tracking back most of the villages and locations Levi mentioned in his book. The following pictures are my vision of a work still to be completed
