Tra abbandono e ricostruzione. Note da un carteggio inedito degli ingegneri impegnati in Calabria dopo il terremoto del 1783

Earthquakes sometimes determine and continue to feed the phenomenon of abandonment with the irreversible destructive effects on territories and communities. An effect which a large area of Calabria suffered, devastated by an earthquake in 1783. This essay, through the reading of archival documentation produced by the “Cassa Sacra”, an institution appointed by the Bourbon government for reconstruction, investigates a theme which is often left in darkness.The reading of these documents tried to capture the feelings and doubts that animated the communities in the aftermath of the earthquake, between the lines of official documentation. In some cases, these communities were resigned to abandoning their destroyed villages, in others, however, they were induced to move to new built-up areas. The exoduses were not always spontaneous, and were sometimes strenuously opposed, while others chose to stay. There were also cases in which the convinced intention to “emigrate” elsewhere was, instead, prevented, in order to protect certain interests that were not entirely coherent with official guidelines, which, in promoting relocation, always prefigured a better life elsewhere for the affected populations.