Today is best remembered as romantic holiday named for St. Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived a few hundred years after Christ and about whom very little is known (except that he died on Feb. 14). I prefer to remember this as the birthday of a saint — St. Gaetano Catanoso, born Feb. 14, 1879 in the village of Chorio in southern Italy. Happy birthday, Gaetano. (The video here was shot in Calabria last March by Michael Frierson, a film professor at UNC-Greensboro)
The day is named for a saint, but here’s some good advice just the same on this romantic holiday.
Actually, the saint I remember fondly on February 14 is St. Gaetano Catanoso, my cousin, born on that day in 1879 in the village of Chorio in the region of Calabria, Italy.
When traveling in Calabria (and let’s face it, you really should start making plans!) it’s important to know there is a festival for every season. Cherrye Moore, at My Bella Vita, makes it easy for you to keep up and plan where to go next.
Italians living north of Rome will likely scoff at the notion, put forth here at globalfinancialworld.com, that vacation property in Calabria is an emerging investment opportunity. Calabria, which largely makes up the toe of the boot of Italy, has long, gorgeous coastlines, stunning vistas and rugged mountains. It’s also, I can fairly say, rather poor, often corrupt, mostly undeveloped, and in too many places — cities and villages alike — shabby and unkempt. I can’t speak for the entire region, but in a city like Reggio, blessed with a truly remarkable location, the lack of pride in public works and general civic appearance is evident on too many streets and piazzas. It’s heartbreaking, because it could be so beautiful.
Still, the potential for Calabria to be a genunine tourist destination for Italians, Europeans and Americans is limitless. The natural beauty is there. The history and culture and food and hospitality is there, too. But Im afraid it would require a Herculean change in attitude — in northern and southern Italy — to bring about the necessary changes.
When President-elect Obama nominated Leon Panetta as the new CIA director, Washington insiders were stunned. Later, it was my turned to be surprised when a friend in Spokane, Wash., shared this link with me. It explains that Panetta, whose parents were immigrants for Siderno, just north of Reggio Calabria, speaks the village dialect, as well as Italian, “perfectly,” according to a Calabrian relative.
Michelle Fabio, who runs the wonderful site bleeding espresso from her adopted home in Calabria, offers some sound holiday gift-giving advice here , including a much-appreciated book recommendation. Grazie, Michelle.
Julie Davis, who skillfully and lovingly manages the blog Happy Catholic, reviews My Cousin the Saint today. The review is here. It’s also here at Catholic Media Review and here at Catholic Online. Julie has generously invited me to contribute a guest post to her blog next week. Here’s an excerpt from her online review:
“In some ways, Catanoso’s story is the dream of every American whose family lost their roots when they came to this country. He receives an email one day from a woman who wonders if they might be related. It turns out that the American branch of the family has long been missing a deep heritage rooted in the Italian countryside. As well, Catanoso discovers that his grandfather’s cousin, Padre Gaetano Catanoso, is being considered for canonization. This unbelievable news, prompts a family visit to Italy where they are lovingly embraced by their newly found relatives and where they begin hearing stories about ‘the saint.’ “
My roaming the blogosphere continues this week at really interesting site called Italyville, hosted by Joe, who lives in Massachusetts, works in Italy from time to time and has family in Calabria. Not a bad combination.
