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Gregorian chant | ||||||||
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Nationalistic and patriotic songs | ||||||||
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Regional music | ||||||||
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The music of Calabria is part of the Italian musical tradition. Like other regions in southern Italy, Calabria for many centuries was an integral part of the kingdom of Naples, and, as with other regions, the musical life tended to be overshadowed by the important activities in the capital city to the north—the conservatories there, the composers, the vast amount of music performed in churches (see also Music of Naples). Yet, modern Calabria has developed a vibrant musical life based on its history and, as well, a dedication to building new musical and theatrical facilities, many of which are of the type termed polivalenti in Italian—that is, multi-purpose.
The rural Calabrian folk tradition is most closely associated with the zampogna, the Italian bagpipe, which is found across Italy but is an especially important part of the Calabrian tradition. Calabria is home to at least five different kinds of zampogna. This tradition has lately been recorded and adapted by the group Re Niliu. There is also an ancient Lira (violin) tradition, pipita and tambourine.
The most famous love songs are:
and the most famous songs for tarantella:
Catanzaro's Teatro Politeama is a new version (2002) of an older theater. It is run by the Catanzaro Foundation for the Politeama Theater and is solidly dedicated to continuing a great operatic tradition. They have already staged Franco Zeffirelli's version of Aida as well as productions of Rigoletto. There is a secondary theater, the Teatro Masciari, once famous as a vaudeville house; after the inevitable post-war decline it has known a modern rebirth as a multi-purpose facility.
The Teatro Rendano, in Cosenza, is the only truly traditional theater in Calabria. It was built in 1909, severely damaged by the aerial bombardments of World War II, closed, rebuilt and finally reopened. It has a reputation for fine acoustics and being a beautiful venue for performers and audiences alike. Two associations are connected with the very active performance schedule: the Associazione Quintieri and Associazone Jonica. The city is the site of the Stanislao Giocamantonio music conservatory, housed on the premises of the old Santa Maria delle Grazie convent.
Particularly given to emphasizing its Greek history (it was the site of the ancient academy of Pythagoras), Crotone takes advantage of some impressive archaeology as venues for music. Best-known is the Aurora Festival on the grounds of the Temple of Hera Lacinia, which featured a festival dedicated to the music of Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis.
The Teatro Comunale Cilea of Reggio di Calabria was built in 1818 and was originally one of the great royal opera houses in the Kingdom of Naples. It was severely damaged by the 1908 Messina earthquake and again by bombing in World War II. It has since been rebuilt and reopened and pursues an active operatic schedule. The city is also the site of the Francesco Cilea music conservatory, named for the "favorite son" composer.
The Fausto Torrefranca music conservatory is located in Vibo Valentia. The Solisti Calabri is an active chamber music ensemble, and the Cilea Association sponsors regular concerts.
Francesco Cilea was an Italian composer. Today he is particularly known for his operas L'arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur.
Calabria is a region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. It has almost 2 million residents across a total area of 15,222 km2 (5,877 sq mi). Catanzaro is the region's capital.
Zampogna is a generic term for a number of Italian double chantered bagpipes that can be found as far north as the southern part of the Marche, throughout areas in Abruzzo, Latium, Molise, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, Apulia and Sicily. The tradition is now mostly associated with Christmas, and the most famous Italian carol, "Tu scendi dalle stelle" is derived from traditional zampogna music. However, there is an ongoing resurgence of the instrument in secular use seen with the increasing number of folk music festivals and folk music ensembles.
The province of Catanzaro is a province of the Calabria region of Italy. The city Catanzaro is both capital of the province and capital of the region of Calabria. The province contains 80 comuni. Its provincial president is Sergio Abramo.
The province of Reggio Calabria was a province in the Calabria region of Italy. It was the southernmost province in mainland Italy and is separated from the island of Sicily by the Strait of Messina. The capital was the city of Reggio.
The province of Vibo Valentia is a province in the Calabria region of Italy, set up by a national law of 6 March 1992, which came into effect on 1 January 1996, and formerly part of the province of Catanzaro. Its capital is the city of Vibo Valentia and its vehicle licence plate code is VV. The province has an area of 1,139 square kilometres (440 sq mi), and a total population of 168,894 ; the city Vibo Valentia has a population of 35,405. There are 50 comuni in the province.
The primary languages of Calabria are the Italian language as well as regional varieties of Extreme Southern Italian and Neapolitan languages, all collectively known as Calabrian. In addition, there are speakers of the Arbëresh variety of Albanian, as well as Calabrian Greek speakers and pockets of Occitan.
Curinga is a town and comune in the province of Catanzaro, in the Calabria region of southern Italy. The settlement has historically been inhabited by an Arbëreshë community, which now has assimilated.
San Pietro Apostolo is a comune and town in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of Italy. It is about 15.3 kilometres (9.5 mi) northwest of Catanzaro, the provincial capital.
Mileto is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italian region Calabria, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of Catanzaro and about 6 kilometres (4 mi) south of Vibo Valentia.
Alfonso Rendano was an Italian pianist and composer.
Autostrada A2, otherwise known as the Autostrada del Mediterraneo or Salerno–Reggio Calabria, is a 432-km-long, Italian motorway in the south of Italy. Running between the towns of Fisciano, in the Province of Salerno, and Villa San Giovanni, in the Province of Reggio Calabria, the motorway forms part of European roads E45 and E841.
Gazzetta del Sud is an Italian national daily newspaper for the south of Italy. The paper is published in Messina. Since 2017, it owns also the Giornale di Sicilia.
A zippula is a fried dough made to a recipe from Calabria, Italy. A zippula is made with flour, water, yeast, boiled potatoes, and a pinch of salt. There are many variations: often anchovies are added, but salt cod, stockfish, cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, or 'nduja may also be added.
Catanzaro Lido railway station is one of the railway stations serving the city and comune of Catanzaro, capital of the Calabria region, southern Italy. Opened in 1875, it forms part of the Jonica railway, and is also a terminus of a secondary line, the Lamezia Terme–Catanzaro Lido railway.
Calabrian Tarantella is a generic term to include different musical-dancing expressions spread in Calabrian peninsula and different from other southern Italian dances called simply Tarantella. It is played and danced during religious festivals and other social occasions. In recent times the tradition has been revived as new groups are taking an interest in instruments which had been falling into obscurity; they played "ad usu anticu" or they modernised the sound adding a bassline or new sounds.
The Salerno–Reggio Calabria railway is the most important north–south railway connection between Sicily, Calabria and the rest of the Italian peninsula. It forms the southern section of Corridor 1 of the European Union's Trans-European high-speed rail network, which connects Berlin and Palermo. Its southern part, between Rosarno and San Lucido is also used as an RFI freight route between the Port of Gioia Tauro and the Adriatic railway.
The strada statale 18 "Tirrena Inferiore" is an Italian state road, connecting Campania and Calabria. It is among the longest and most important state highways in southern Italy, considering that it follows the Tyrrhenian coast, from Salerno to Reggio di Calabria.