The cultural landscape of the rocky settlements of Calabrian Greek Monk

Abstract

The research project starts from a survey of the hypogean sites, on the Ionian and Tyrrhenian coasts of the Province of Reggio Calabria, where traces of “Italian-Greek” monks can be found and which have contributed to the realization of a Cultural Landscape since the times of the first immigrations. Monks deeply influenced the culture of the places in which they settled due to their knowledge. They devoted themselves to manual work and working in the fields, teaching local populations the new agronomic techniques imported from the East. Consequently, in the vicinity of the monasteries, urban agglomerations were created, which reflected specific techniques of sustainable land-use, which took into account the characteristics and limits of the natural environment they were established in, and a specific spiritual relation to nature. The methodology used for the historical survey, starting from the bibliographic research, also focuses on research in the area through exploration on the territory and comparing the hypogeal and epigeal sites present in the provincial territory.