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Traces of History
Italy
Marica De Natale
Born 1987 in Naples, Italy
High school student (Liceo Classico "Duni")
"The Lucanian path, on the paving stones of history" (2006)
The growth of a city to the detriment of its surroundings is the theme of a study conducted by a group of students from the Liceo Classico in Matera, a city of 59,000 inhabitants in a region in southern Italy sometimes referred to as Lucania. The 18-year-old author, Marica De Natale, and her fellow students portray their hometown as the epicentre of a region that had been agricultural for centuries. Through conversations with experts on city history, visits to archives and excursions, the students painted a picture of serious social and economic upheaval due to early post-war reforms. In particular, the "Reforma agraria" led both to substantial exodus from rural regions and to a rapid growth of the city of Matera. Its transformation to a strong industrial and technological centre went hand in hand with attempts to preserve its cultural and social heritage, so that today tourism has taken over from agriculture as the area's most important industry. Matera is famous for the so-called Sassi, ancient cave dwellings located in the city's old section. People lived in the Sassi without electricity and water until the early 1950s. The reconstructed Sassi, today designated a UNESCO "world cultural heritage" site, are the city's most important tourist attraction.
Along with her school class, Marica De Natale achieved second place in 2006's Italian history competition: "City and country - a relationship that changes over time.
