Stromboli the land of God

Sixty years after Roberto Rossellini's film that made the island famous, the identity of Stromboli receives fresh impetus from the Teatro del Fuoco ® (Theatre of fire).
It is about sixty years since the spring of 1949 when Roberto Rossellini chose this setting for his film « Stromboli the land of God ». The production of the film saw the birth of the love between the director and Bergman and also ratified the beginning of the island's economic recovery. Stromboli was emerging from difficult times ; the last event to have caused a mass exodus of inhabitants following the earthquake in 1908 and the eruption in 1937 was the war. When the troupe landed there to begin the filming there were only 100 islanders left, many of whom were taken on for manual work and walk-on parts. The most elderly amongst them recall that they were paid the full daily rate even if they only actually did an hour's work in the day, and it was with this money that some of them started renovating old houses with the addition of extra bedrooms, thus laying the foundations for the hotel business on the island. The arrival of the first holiday-makers, curious to experience what was shown in Rossellini's film, marked the official beginning of tourism on the island, which was to transform many aspects of life on Stromboli.
The development of the tourist industry gradually enticed the islanders away from traditional activities, causing the wane of traditional activities such as the cultivation of capers, vines and olives. Even fishing, which was the livelihood of numerous families right up until the 80's, is now practised only by a very small number of inhabitants, amongst whom Antonio and Gaetano Cincotta still earn their living with their small fishing boat. The sons of Stefano Cincotta , born in 1922, belong to a family for whom fishing has always been more a tradition than just a way of earning a living. Stefano Cincotta is the oldest islander and was a fisherman until 2002 when Lisetta, the little sailing boat he used for his fishing trips, was destroyed by a tsunami caused by a landslide on the Sciara del Fuoco.
He too was employed during the shooting of the film, and recalls when Bergman saw him climbing the volcano barefoot and advised him to put on a pair of shoes so that he wouldn't hurt his feet. He then invited Bergman to touch the calluses which had formed on the soles of his feet, explaining at the same time: « You see, these are better than shoes because they don't get worn out and anyway I need my boots to go out in my boat, I can't ruin them on the rocks. » Stefano has published two little books of poetry, and is wise as only those who have spent their lives in close contact with nature, learning to interpret its signals, can be. Even though he has never lived away from the island, or visited the cities of the big continent, he is convinced that the involvement of the islanders with tourism has induced them to neglect those typical activities which characterised Stromboli until the 60's and 70's. In his view the reduced availability of typical local products, and the importing of fish from the nearby ports of Naples and Messina, place Stromboli at risk of becoming uniform to other localities, thus gradually losing the special features which triggered the birth of its tourist development.
What has never changed is the constant presence of Iddu, as the islanders call the volcano, classified as the most active one in Europe. The periodical eruptions occur every 15-20 minutes, giving the trippers moments of pure emotion, ample compensation for the effort spent in climbing the 918 metres from the village of San Lorenzo to the top of the crater.
Iddu has always accompanied and regulated the life of the islanders, and the Teatro del Fuoco® which is held on the island reinforces this link between man and the many aspects of fire. Jugglers from all over the world mount acts and scenes with pagan, oriental or futuristic tones, creating really spectacular scenarios in the most fascinating corners of the island. Stromboli, together with Vulcano, is the only Aeolian island still to have active craters, but Stromboli, as Stefano Cincotta affirms, «besides being beautiful, has absolutely no equal. » The Teatro del fuoco ® underlines this identity and has received the medal of honour from Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian republic and a longstanding frequent visitor to the lava beaches of Stromboli.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Stromboli
• Fire
• Artists Festival
• Roberto Rossellini's
• earthquake
• eruption
• islanders
• island
• holiday
• Antonio and Gaetano Cincotta
• boat
• Stefano Cincotta
• fisherman
• Sciara del Fuoco
• volcano
• Iddu
• eruptions
• climbing
• San Lorenzo
• Jugglers
• Aeolian
• Eolie

[SistaWeotch]

Fantastico! Great job, love it! Thanks so much for posting. Really makes me miss Stromboli.

[coincidancer]

Wow ! Alfredo ! Non sapevo ! Che bello ! Grazie !

Ti vorrei parlare, la prossima volta che ti vedo on line o Skype....

saluti di buon annoauguri per 2011 !

un abbraccio

Gusti