L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 34 L'Italo-Americano B lessed with one o f t h e m o s t b e a u t i f u l l a n - guages, Italy is also home to a plethora of linguistic minori- ties, twelve to be precise, across fourteen regions, with a l m o s t t h r e e m i l l i o n speakers. The Occitan lin- g u i s t i c m i n o r i t y of the Alpine valleys of Piedmont and Liguria is probably one of the most well known, also because of the importance t h e l a n g u a g e h a d i n t h e history of European culture and literature: the Langue d'Oc and its poetry inspired the troubadours of Provence who were themselves inspi- ration for our Scuola Sicilia- n a a n d D o l c e S t i l N o v o . Dante was, in fact, the one to give to Occitan the name of language of Oc, from the word used to say "yes;" he also called Italian the lan- guage of Sì and French the language of Oïl. In those days, Occitan was spoken in the South of France, from the A t l a n t i c t o t h e A l p s , b u t today only small pockets of Occitan-speaking people exi- sts, mostly across the Alpine valleys of France, Liguria, Piedmont and in Guardia Piemontese, in Calabria. How did Occitan speaking p e o p l e e n d u p f r o m t h e mountains of Northern Italy to its boot? It's a long story, one that brings us back to the 13th century, to a religious mino- rity and to the fact Calabria is known for being a welco- m i n g l a n d f o r a l l t h o s e s e e k i n g r e f u g e , f r o m Albanians to Roma, from Greeks to Jews. Guardia Piemontese was founded by a group of Waldensians from the Alpine valleys of Piedmont, more precisely from Bobbio Pellice. This r e l i g i o u s m o v e m e n t h a d developed in the Cottian Alps between France and Italy towards the end of the 12th century, most likely thanks to the contributions of Peter W a l d o ( f r o m w h o m t h e movement took its name). Waldensians lived a life of asceticism and poverty, but some of their more extreme views — lack of faith in tran- substantiation and having associated the Catholic chur- ch with the "harlot of the Apocalypse" — turned them into religious pariah and vic- tims of persecution across Europe. They were condem- ned as heretics in 1184, but their teachings kept sprea- ding, especially in Germany a n d A u s t r i a a n d s o m e o f their ideals became pivotal a l s o f o r t h e P r o t e s t a n t Reform of the 16th century. While we know who brou- ght the Occitan language to C a l a b r i a , w e d o n ' t k n o w exactly when it happened. Some believe Waldensians m o v e d t o C a l a b r i a i n t h e 13th century to escape per- secution, while others, this theory being the most accre- dited, think they didn't reach the South of Italy until the early 14th century and that it wasn't religious persecution they escaped, but poverty a n d f a m i n e . T h e l a n d o f Calabria proved to be a bles- sing, because its fertile soil allowed the development of a prosperous community, cen- tered on the village of La Gardia, as it was originally known, which was recogni- zed as a local commune by Ferdinand of Aragon, King of Naples. In fact, La Gardia wasn't the only place where the Waldensians settled, nor t h e o n l y o n e , t h e r e f o r e , where Occitan was spoken: other small villages along the c o a s t o f t h e R i v i e r a d e i Cedri, including Montalto U f f u g o , V a c c a r i z z o , S a n Vincenzo La Costa and San S i s t o d e i V a l d e s i , h a d O c c i t a n c o n n e c t i o n s . However, La Gardia was the only village where Occitan kept being spoken throu- ghout the centuries, probably because of its more secluded position, high up on a hill, 514 meters above sea level and protected by defensive walls. For the first century, the c o m m u n i t y o f L a G a r d i a cohabited peacefully with their Catholic neighbors, but things tragically changed when the Waldensians deci- ded to join the Protestant Reform: then, they became the enemy and victims of a religious persecution that was to obliterate them in the early summer of 1561. Those tragic events are still remem- b e r e d t o d a y i n G u a r d i a P i e m o n t e s e , t h a n k s t o a monument called La Porta d e l S a n g u e , ( t h e d o o r o f blood), a memento to the violence that killed so many and forced many others to conversion. But the language of these people remained alive and still is today. Locally known as guardiolo or lingua guardiola, it is the only example of Occitan in the South of Italy; guardiolo is still very much spoken in the village city center and up to the 1950s, there were in fact three different varieties of it — quite an incredible feat, if y o u c o n s i d e r t h e v i l l a g e never had more than 2000 residents since the unifica- tion of Italy — because of the three different Piedmontese valleys from where those first Waldensian migrants came from. Throughout the centuries, La Gardia changed its name several times, from Casale di F u s c a l d o t o G u a r d i a F i s c a l d a , a l l t h e w a y t o Guardia dei Valdi, Guardia Lombarda and, more recen- tly, Guardia Piemontese, to honor the geographical ori- gin of its founders. T o d a y , G u a r d i a P i e m o n t e s e i s n o t o n l y known for the languages its people speak and for its long, eventful history, but also for being close to a famous ther- m a l c e n t e r , t h e T e r m e Luigiane and for having a beautiful marina: the hamlet, k n o w n a s G u a r d i a P i e m o n t e s e M a r i n a , h a s developed only recently, to give an opening to seaside life and activity to the origi- nal village (now known as Guardia Piemontese paese). T h e h i s t o r y o f G u a r d i a Piemontese came, perhaps, full circle when, in 1975, a l a r g e s l a b o f A l p i n e r o c k from the Valle Pellice, the area of Piedmont the village founders came from, was placed in Piazza della Chiesa Valdese, the square were the old Waldensian church used to stand. Engraved on it, a passage from Isaiah, look to t h e r o c k f r o m w h i c h y o u were cut, bears witness to t h e c o m m u n i t y ' s w i l l t o never forget its roots. Just beneath it, a plaque remem- bers the names of the 118 people who were killed in 1561. GIULIA FRANCESCHINI The Occitani di Calabria: the history of Guardia Piemontese LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Traditional Occitan costumes (Photo: Lorenzo Fortunati/ Shutterstock.com)

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