L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano M o n t a l t o Uffugo is an ancient t o w n i n e a s t e r n Calabria that offers a gratify- ing choice for travelers look- ing for a lesser-known desti- nation with abiding cultural clout in the region. Its historic center sits on five hills facing the Tyrrhen- ian Sea, while downstream are the two hamlets of Setti- mo and Taverna that repre- sent the economic heart of the municipality. T r a v e l e r s a t t u n e d to genius loci- the spirit of a p l a c e - a n d o p e r a l o v e r s undoubtedly embrace their passion there. The beautiful hill town of Montalto located in Cosenza province is most famous as the place where opera com- poser and librettist Rug- gero Leoncavallo (Naples 1857- Montecatini Terme 1919) lived his childhood and adolescence. H e m o v e d t o M o n t a l t o Uffugo at 5 when his father was posted there as a judge. Ruggero's childhood home was a happy nest until an i n c i d e n t o c c u r r e d i n t h e nighttime right before his eyes. It was March 4, 1865. The painful event inspired his most famous opera, I Pagliacci, the second of nine operas and the only one set in town. The subject of Pagliacci is based on Leon- cavallo's account of that trag- ic fact. But what happened that night of 1865? Two brothers, Luigi and G i o v a n n i D ' A l e s s a n d r o , k i l l e d a 2 2 - y e a r - o l d m a n named Gaetano Scavello di Carmine outside Ruggero Leoncavallo's home. Scavello w a s i n t h e s e r v i c e o f t h e Leoncavallos as a childmin- der for young Ruggero and his brother Leone. The cause of the murder was the jeal- ousy by Luigi D'Alessandro over a local woman he loved. Scavello had publicly insult- e d t h e t w o b r o t h e r s w h o turned into ambushers in the night as Scavello came out of a t h e a t r e a f t e r a p e r f o r - mance. They attacked him near t h e L e o n c a v a l l o s ' h o m e , stabbing him several times. Scavello died hours later, and his last words were his k i l l e r s ' n a m e s . R u g g e r o Leoncavallo's father, Vincen- zo, presided over the trial. The actual crime inspired a famous verismo opera 25 years later. Leoncavallo had the masterful ability to bal- ance humor, romance, dark- l y v i o l e n t m o o d s s u c h a s m u r d e r o u s r a g e t h r o u g h words and music. In a letter to his publisher S o n z o g n o , t h e c o m p o s e r insisted on his childhood r e c o l l e c t i o n s a s t h e o n e authentic source of his mas- terpiece. He spoke of "an event that made a deep and lasting impression on my c h i l d i s h m i n d , t h e m o r e s i n c e m y f a t h e r w a s t h e judge at the criminal's trial." The Pagliacci premiered in Milan on May 21, 1892 with A r t u r o T o s c a n i n i conducting. The opera plot mixes fact and pure fiction borne out of Leoncavallo's imagination. It tells the story of an acting troupe led by a jealous man who murders h i s a c t r e s s w i f e a n d h e r lover. T h e a n n u a l R u g g e r o Leoncavallo Festival in Montalto Uffugo continues to fly the flag for the town's cultural fabric. The munici- pality also hosts a museum dedicated to the great opera composer and librettist. The village accumulated a rich cultural history through- o u t t h e m i l l e n n i a . T h e f a m o u s R o m a n historian Livy mentioned Au fugum - the town's ancient name- in his book Ab Urbe Condita as the place where the Brutii or Bruzi people took refuge to escape Hanni- bal's perilous march into the Roman territory. N o r m a n s , J e w s a n d Waldensians lived in Mon- talto for centuries. The local Jewish community was one of Calabria's most flourish- ing and vital since the 15th century. The Jews of Montal- to prospered as traders, espe- cially in silk, and their old shops are still visible in the old town. During the seismic reli- gious changes of the 16th and 17th centuries, the region became a scene of atrocities-- the Waldensian colonies suf- fered violent repression after coming out into the open. Under Spanish rule in 1561, t w o n e a r b y v i l l a g e s w e r e burned to the ground. The soldiers of the Viceroy of Spain in Naples imprisoned 1,600 Waldensians in the Montalto castle, a Norman, then Angevine-Aragonese, f o r t r e s s . T h e m a s s a c r e reached its height at Montal- to Uffugo on June 11 when t h e n u m e r o u s m u r d e r s already committed that day were capped by the outright s l a u g h t e r o f 8 8 Waldensians. In the 13th century, the Waldensians had erected the San Rocco Church. But all the Montaltesi are primarily d e v o t e d t o t h e M a d o n n a della Serra, the town's patron saint. The Madonna statue is beautifully hand-carved from oak. She sits in a 13th-centu- ry shrine, otherwise known as the Duomo. There are several other notable churches in Montal- to. The Baroque Church and C o n v e n t o f O u r L a d y o f M o u n t C a r m e l a r e w o r t h m e n t i o n i n g . T h e y w e r e founded in the 17th century by a Carmelite, Polibio Fos- carini. In 1601, his brother Paolo Antonio Foscarini, a noted mathematician and theologian who supported Galileo's works, established MARIELLA RADAELLI Montalto Uffugo, a beautiful corner of Calabria (Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons agreement. Author: Fernando Santopaolo. License: CC BY-SA 4.0). Epic journeys, transcendent tales from Calabria's Montalto Uffugo ALL AROUND ITALY TRAVEL TIPS DESTINATIONS ACTIVITIES Continued to page 22

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