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A lucky barrel




Who would have said that in the third millenium you could stir local economies thanks to a walking route?


It’s four in the afternoon, we’re walking on the stretch Grotte - Aragona. Due to a last-minute change of plans, we don’t know where to spend the night.


We call Calogero of the Magna Via welcoming committee. “We already knew about your arrival,” he says. “You’ll be staying at the mayor’s.”


“The mayor?!” we say and, thanking him, pick up the pace.


Getting at Calogero’s restaurant we find the famous barrel with which many pilgrims take a picture. It’s a work of art made by Amedeo Galluzzo, local artist, and includes figures and symbols of the Aragona Easter.


“I made it in 2017 to decorate the restaurant,” Calogero says. “I didn’t know what the Magna Via was. One day a journalist comes and asks for the barrel. He hugs it, takes a picture, talks about it online.”


“From that day on, hundreds of people came here to do the same. It’s a symbol of the Magna Via.”


He takes us to Giuseppe, the mayor, who welcomes us with a recently discovered plaque dating back to the end of WWI. He seems a kind soul and someone who gives value to ancient things.


“Aragona has depopulation problems,” he says later. “In 2021 there have been 80 deaths and 30 births. We cannot find workers. In summer my son does two jobs not to leave the restaurant shorthanded.”


We liked that the story of the barrel began with the drive to make one’s own place more attractive. We also liked that it was made by a local artist and that it represents traditions of Aragona.


We realise more and more that the love and care for what’s around us are the key to the growth of this region.

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©2024 Walter Capella

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