A very pleasant and well attended afternoon, that of last Thursday at the Arena castle, where, thanks to an initiative of the “Fai giovani” Vibo, and the collaboration of Promoarena and the municipal administration under the Nino Schinellawe had the opportunity to participate in an interesting initiative of culture and tourism promotion. The millenary Norman manor house, where we met to reiterate its history and find out the latest news on the archaeological excavations in progress, curated by the professor’s team Carlo Citterassociate professor of archaeology at the University of Pisa, which makes use of students, undergraduates and graduates of the same and of the University of Rome.
The principal opens the dance Catherine Calabrese who, referring to a book she herself wrote, “Il Castello di Arena”, retraced the historical traces of the manor that, from the Norman “Conclubet”, to the dawn of the year one thousand, with Ruggiero I, arrived at the Caracciolo, who transformed it from a residence intended for war purposes to a cultural center, complete with library and theater, passing through the various families who alternated in the management of the prestigious building. Until the worst and most tyrannical of the “masters” arrived, the most destructive: the earthquake of 1783, the “Rabbi”, as the contemporary poet defined him Piergiovanni Salimbeniwho lost a son in the same. A disastrous event that, in addition to the Arena castle, destroyed the most precious thing that was then “Calabria Ultra”. Important remains remained and, thanks to the Caracciolo family, and, subsequently, to the Scalamogna family, who acquired the rights, a large archive comprising 40 thousand copies of books and documents, which will soon be available to the public. Carlo Citter has the task of reconstructing the history (not strictly dynastic but archaeological) of the structure. The same, starting from what was already said in a previous meeting last August, retraced the various phases of sedimentation of the castle, explaining it to at least six groups of visitors who took turns during the afternoon. «A structure – he explained – compromised by various renovations, which, fortunately, have not affected the various sedimentations, from which, also thanks to comparisons with similar buildings, a lot of information can be deduced. First of all – Citter continued – the dating, which is proto-historic and prior to the Normans (10th century BC). The Nordic conquerors settled there between the 11th and 12th centuries, giving the manor its greatest lustre, which continued in the post-Norman era – he continued – when, there being no longer any military needs, the imposing structure was transformed into a fortified residence, useful for showing off the power of the various notables who owned it”. The last “Lord”, the earthquake of 1783, determined its epilogue. From which today we are trying to recover thanks to these excavations, whose conclusion is scheduled for next August. We await with anxiety and hope the outcome can be profitable for Arena and the entire district. Alias: let’s go back to the year 1000 when things were better!