Transhumance
Roads of grass and memory
For centuries, Basilicata, and in particular the area now included in the Lucanian Apennines National Park, has been crossed by a slow and continuous movement of people, animals and cultures: that of transhumance. An ancient practice that has shaped the landscape, economy and identity of local communities, leaving deep traces that can still be seen in the sheep tracks, the large grassy paths travelled seasonally by flocks. These routes, the itinera callium of Latin origin, connected plains and mountains according to the rhythm of the seasons, distinguishing and at the same time connecting the world of nomadic shepherds with that of settled farmers, united by common exchanges, customs and rituals.
In late spring, the flocks moved up to the high pastures (monticazione), while in autumn they descended to the plains (demonticazione), following an ancient knowledge made up of unwritten rules, customs and a deep understanding of the territory. Along these routes, a dense network of main sheep tracks, smaller tracks and branches developed, crossing the interior of Basilicata, from the Agri valley and the Sinni plain to Raparo and Sirino, connecting Matera to the mountains of Accettura, Calvello, Laurenzana and Viggiano, often following major historical routes such as the Via Appia, the Via Popilia and the Via Herculia. Alongside the routes were stazzi (sheepfolds), riposi (resting places), masserie (farms) and water points, places to stop and meet, but also churches and sanctuaries that became spiritual and commercial landmarks, animated by fairs and markets linked to the pastoral cycle. Ancient traces have been found in Val d'Agri or evidenced, for example, by the remains of the sanctuary of Heracles in Serra Lustrante (Armento).
Transhumance was not only an economic system but a true cultural universe, marked by sounds, gestures and symbols. The bells tied around the necks of the Podolica cattle with wooden collars, varying in size and tone depending on their role in the herd, constituted a sound language capable of communicating movements, dangers and presences. The shepherd's crook, made from local wood, accompanied their journey and posture, becoming a guiding tool and a sign of identity. Vocal calls and whistles, which differed according to the species of animal, were also part of a knowledge handed down from generation to generation.
This agro-pastoral world found natural expression in popular religiosity. Festivals and pilgrimages coincided with key moments in the agricultural and pastoral calendar: the spring departure for the mountains and the autumn of sowing and descent. In Christian times, St. Michael the Archangel became the protector of pastoral communities (replacing the Italic Heracles Clavigero), but the Marian cult, linked to the fertility of the land and the abundance of pastures, was particularly important. It is no coincidence that along the sheep tracks of the Lucanian Apennine Park there are numerous shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary: the Tratturo Seta di Calvello (also known as Salve Regina), the Sanctuary of Monteforte di Abriola, the Tratturo dei tre confini (Calvello, Laurenzana and Viggiano) and the Tratturo di Serra Giumenta, which runs from Piani di Maglia to the Tyrrhenian coast of Bosco La Conserva sul Sirino, routes that are now recognised as protected landscape and cultural assets.
In this context, the Black Madonna of Viggiano, a figure deeply rooted in the agropastoral tradition, takes on particular significance. Her dark face symbolically recalls the earth, the telluric dimension of the “mother goddess”, and at the same time protection for the journey and work of shepherds. According to a tradition widespread in Cilento and the Lucanian Apennines, the Black Madonnas are “seven sisters”: the Madonna of Loreto, the Madonna of Novi Velia, the Madonna of Carmel, the Madonna of Serino, the Madonna of Padula, the Madonna of Grace and the Black Madonna of Viggiano, scattered along the ancient transhumance routes, as if watching over the paths and communities on the move.
The history of transhumance, formalised as early as Roman times[1] and then regulated in the Middle Ages[2] and in the modern age by the Regia Dogana della Mena delle Pecore[3], has seen centuries of prosperity and a slow decline since the 19th century[4]. However, its legacy remains alive in the landscape, place names, oral traditions and rituals.
In 2019, UNESCO recognised transhumance as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, emphasising its sustainable value and its ability to create balance between humans, animals and ecosystems, while Basilicata's regional law elevated it - together with sheep farming - to regional heritage, establishing the figure of the “shepherd guardian of the Lucanian territory” (Regional Law no. 54/2021).
Today, in the territories of the Lucanian Apennines Val d'Agri Lagonegrese National Park, those ancient grassy paths are not only vestiges of the past, but opportunities for the future: paths, cultural and tourist itineraries that tell the story of a civilisation of movement, hard work and faith.
A heritage that continues to unite landscape, memory and Marian devotion, restoring to Basilicata the profound sense of its relationship with the land and with time.
[1] To encourage the creation of large estates, the Romans introduced the “alternate grazing economy”, regulating the use of public roads by shepherds - the tractoriae - and pastures, subjecting it to the payment of a toll.
[2] Frederick II of Swabia laid down precise rules for the use of pastures in the Constitutions of Melfi of 1231, setting rental fees and compensation for damage caused by herds; he also established the Mena delle Pecore di Puglia, a special body responsible for taxation, surveillance and protection of pastoral areas.
[3] Alfonso I of Aragon completed and consolidated the organisation of transhumance by establishing the Regia Dogana della Mena delle Pecore di Puglia (Royal Customs Office of the Sheep Drive of Puglia), initially based in Lucera and then permanently in Foggia, entrusted to state officials and subject to the control of the highest administrative bodies of the Kingdom. The customs system, based on the payment of a tax for each transhumant animal, guaranteed the regulated use of the Tavoliere pastures for flocks and promoted the marketing of pastoral products, concentrated mainly in the large annual fair in Foggia. Transhumance thus became a compulsory activity above a certain livestock size, marked by an official calendar and an impressive infrastructure network. A vast network of livestock trails - tratturi, tratturelli and bracci - was defined and regulated, marked by stone markers and organised according to main axes and secondary connections, covering a total distance of over 3,000 kilometres between Abruzzo, Molise, Puglia, Campania and Basilicata. The backbone consisted of four sheep tracks: L'Aquila-Foggia (243 km), Celano-Foggia (208 km), Lucera-Castel di Sangro (128 km) and Pescasseroli-Candela (211 km), to which was added the Melfi-Castellaneta (142 km) from Basilicata. Millions of sheep and entire communities of men moved seasonally along these routes: shepherds, farm managers, cheese makers, transporters and herdsmen, giving rise to a complex economy involving tens of thousands of people. The system encouraged the growth of trade, the development of the wool industry and a more structured administrative management of the territory.
[4] The Bourbons attempted to reform the established system due to numerous abuses and conflicts over the use of pastures, but the abolition of the Customs Office in 1806 marked the beginning of the decline of large-scale organised transhumance, paving the way for a new system based on the liberalisation of land and the gradual establishment of modern agriculture.