Connections Across the Miles on my 10th Blogiversary

When I sat down to write my first blogpost 10 years ago, I wasn’t even sure what a blog was. I knew I had visited blogs on occasion, searching google for various topics, but I would have had to stretch my mind to picture someone on the other side of the earth doing the same thing and ending up on my blog. However, that is exactly what has happened! And for my 10-year blogging anniversary (aka blogiversary), I would like to focus on my readers and share just a few comments that demonstrate how important these connections across the miles can be, the memories they spark and the feelings they evoke.

I have many faithful followers and appreciate all the comments from both subscribers and non, readers from all over the world. If you would like to catch up, you can read my first post Welcome to My Blog and the 164 others in-between on My Italian Blog. For this anniversary post, I would like to highlight four comments, from both regular readers and those who happened upon my blog, as a letter in a bottle. Their brief stories demonstrate the potential blogs can have. I encourage you to follow the post links and read the articles with the full comments to get a better feel for these incredible connections across the miles.

A REMINISCENCE FROM NEW ZEALAND

One day during my first year of blogging, I received a comment on my Paul Theroux on Calabria post that began with “G’day.” Not a greeting I was used to hearing, I was delighted to read a detailed account of a New Zealander’s visit to Reggio Calabria. Albert had the opportunity of an in-depth visit of Reggio through a friend he had met in his home country. While there, he picked up my translation of a little book about the Riace Bronzes at the archeological museum and later stumbled on my blog. It’s a small world.

Le Sirene dello Stretto – Sirens of the Strait, wood sculpture by Reggio artist Ermonde Leone

In addition to his high praises of Reggio while acknowledging the city’s challenges, he addressed the classic Italian response to a foreigner’s mention of time spent in Calabria. He described it as the “standard, often overly melodramatic” reaction, “Ma perché? Why, why Calabria?” But the intrepid Kiwi had “survived” the adventure, much to the amazement and respect of his interlocutors. It piqued curiosity and opened up conversation.

“Corso Garibaldi” pedestrian street in Reggio Calabria

Albert reminisced on his time spent in Reggio Calabria, the region’s largest city at the very tip of the toe. If he had the opportunity to visit again, he would do so “at the drop of a hat” and enthusiastically summed up the calabresi: “They say that Calabrians wake up every morning to be ‘kissed by the sun’ and it is true. I found them to be warm and generous, kind and affectionate, loud and expressive, while their love of family is infectious.”

A POEM FROM TEXAS

My blog has several posts that explore local languages, from popular sayings to Greek and Albanian influences, which even dominate the patois of several villages. Proverbi Calabresi, A Few Expressions from Calabria is one such blogpost, and as animals feature prominently in proverbs from rural areas, I organized it around various creatures. Alan, a frequent commenter from Texas, took inspiration from sayings that referred to the donkey, noble beast of burden, and graced my blog with a touching poem he had written about his grandfather.

Donkey in Calabria

Many commenters reflect on family members who emigrated from Southern Italy. As a foundling, Pasquale Altomonte had a particularly difficult early life, which Alan encapsulates beautifully in the image of his grandfather as a youngster in 1908, trudging up a steep incline on a cold winter morning in a village near Gerace. He served as altar boy for a small church in exchange for alms, but the priest thought only of himself, waiting in his chilly rooms for the poor boy to tug the firewood-laden donkey up the hill, start the fire, and perform his churchly duties at Mass. The clergyman forgot to toss a coin to the youth, whose stomach gnawed, but no one cared. Who wouldn’t understand Pasquale’s lack of interest in attending church later in life? Or understand why he, and so many others, came to America…

An ecclesiastical tomb in the floor of the Cathedral in Gerace

A REFUGEE STORY FROM THE UK

Speaking of leaving one’s homeland with hopes for a better future, we’ve heard a lot about refugee boats landing ashore in Southern Italy over the past few years. This isn’t a new phenomenon. From time immemorial, vessels of all shapes and sizes have sought haven along these coastlines.

Calabria coastline

When I posted Badolato, Calabria – Locals, Migrants, Emigrants and Vacationers, I never imagined that one of the 339 refugees welcomed by this Calabrian village back in 1997 would come upon my blog and comment.

Three-year-old Ali was one of those Kurdish refugees on that old, crowded, dangerous boat and “loved reading” my blogpost. “The day we arrived at the dock, although I don’t remember, my parents say that the locals were already waiting, eager to welcome us. We stayed there for just under a year – loved it. I vaguely remember our neighbour always bringing us eggs and other groceries for breakfast, bless her.” The family emigrated to the United Kingdom where they had relatives, and Ali wonders how life would have turned out had they stayed…

View of the Ionian Sea from Badolato

A LOVE LETTER FROM CALIFORNIA

The final comment I selected for this 10^th-anniversary post is truly like a letter in a bottle. The impetus was my blogpost My Friend, the Duchess, about Tava, American born, of “common” origins as the British might say, who became the Duchess Avarna di Gualtieri with her marriage to Giueseppe Avarna, Duke of Gualtieri, Marquis of Castania and Baron of Sicaminò – Sicilian nobility of the highest order.

Avarna coat of arms on a wall in Gualtieri Sicaminò, Sicily

This particular blogpost has received numerous comments over the years, including one from a reader who enjoyed listening to her father’s stories, when he reminisced of his uncle, who had worked as cook and bodyguard for the duke. Talk about connections across the miles, or perhaps kilometers! Other readers remarked on how romantic and touching the relationship between the duke and duchess was.

Ducal Chapel in Sicaminò, destroyed by fire

More recently, Homer felt sad as he read of the love story and contributed with a telling of his chance meeting with the duchess as a first-class Pan Am passenger on a flight from London to San Francisco. “Seated for a wonderful dinner, we were served by one of the most beautiful women I ever met. I sipped cognac after dinner while the other diners went back downstairs. Tava sat with me, and we had an amazing conversation. I was overwhelmed with attraction, but always a polite gentleman.” Alas, upon landing, he wasn’t able to stand as he and several other passengers were hit with an attack of food poisoning. The encounter didn’t end as in a dream. However, Tava helped him through his ordeal, and upon landing, “found a wheelchair, dug in my suit coat for my passport, cleared me through customs, and flew on to San Francisco, taking care of me…. I recovered enough to continue the conversation with my angel.” A lost phone number and decades later, a reconnection with the memory of one of the most beautiful women he had ever met…

TO MY READERS

When I started this blog, my goal was to continue my journey, which began with my book Calabria: The Other Italy, then expanded to my many blogposts, then on to my second book Basilicata: Authentic Italy, and finally to organizing and leading tours to these two beautiful regions of Southern Italy. I thank everyone who has come along on the journey, whether through my writings, social media pages or in person on a tour. I’ve put messages in virtual bottles, you have found them and have responded in many ways.

Karen Haid at the Strait of Messina

Thank you, and here’s to the next 10 years!

Visit Calabria or Basilicata on one of my SMALL-GROUP TOURS, beautiful Southern Italian regions, outstanding food and historical treasures within their context!

Cover photo: The author’s hand meets that of a giant Roman, whose ancient bronze arm is at Calabria’s Scolacium Archeological Park and Museum.

Read all about the fascinating Calabrian region in my book Calabria: The Other Italy, described by Publisher’s Weekly as “an intoxicating blend of humor, joy, and reverence for this area in Italy’s deep south,” and explore Calabria’s northern neighbor in my book Basilicata: Authentic Italy, “recommended to readers who appreciate all things Italian” by the Library Journal.

Follow me on social media: Basilicata Facebook page, Calabria: The Other Italy’s Facebook page, Karen’s Instagram and Karen’s Twitter for beautiful pictures and information.
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CALABRIA: The Other Italy and BASILICATA: Authentic Italy make great gifts!