Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

1. “…Cosenza is a city, but not that kind of big cities where the swarming with people mingles its characteristics and smells. Each street or lane, green area or square, has got some peculiar qualities which make them so different and, at the same time, so similar one to another… Some streets are as dusty as battlefields. There are some very patient streets which are waiting for the time to go up to them and there are some frenetic which run after time. Roads where nothing changes and others where things are always changing. Especially in the historical centre, there are some singular and odds alleys with houses as old as the ladies who live there, dear old ladies as wary and lonely as lizards which never leave home except for going to the church. There are gossiping and indiscreet streets like the old ladies who spend their time talking behind people’s back. There are streets which, still being streets, try to stay young hosting dozens of young people. There are enigmatic streets; jealous and humble streets. There are also shy and outgoing streets; polite or coarse streets, which have less reserve than an old maitresse. There are silly streets and others with a clever look, where it seems to smell the perfume of a book glanced for the first time. There are noisy streets, where the cobblestones raised by the pedestrians’ feet let you imagine drums sounds, or maybe, of a jambé. Cosenza has got seven spirits, as well as cats, seven as its seven hills. Finally, Cosenza is comparable to a big and precious leaf. In every vein and in each part of its tissue a fragment of the very same city is hidden. But it has got a pliant character, turning out as weak as any other ‘object’. Weak in men’s hands, as a leaf is in the arms of wind…’ Pascale Fortino II I Liceo Classico B.Telesio - Europeo Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

2. This is Calabria… Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

3. The old part The new part …and this is Cosenza Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

4. MONUMENTS AND PALACES THE SVEVIAN CASTLE Built on Pancrazio hill, one of the seven hills on which Cosenza stands, it was severely damaged by wars and earthquakes. The first nucleus was probably built in the X century by Arab people and it was later modified, especially by Federico II: the architecture of the time is still visible. The castle gave hospitality to a lot of kings, like Federico’s son, Enrico VII, Luigi III of Angiò and Alfonso of Aragon. In the XIV century it gained great military importance, but it was also abandoned because of earthquakes that caused the collapse of the walls and of the superior floor. The castle was empty and unused for some centuries and only in 750 was bought by the archbishop Capace Galeotta that made it a summer place for seminarists. In the XVII century it turned into a military office of defence and became a jail but, unluckily, new earthquakes damaged it. A peculiarity of this castle is the octagonal tower, which draws on the castle built in Puglia with an octagonal plant. Monuments and palaces Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

5. THE CHATEDRAL Located in the historical centre of Cosenza, it was restored in the XIII century and in 1222 was consecrated. Inside, on the left side, there is the chapel of Virgin Mary of Pilerio. She is our patron saint: in 1576 she saved the people of Cosenza by the plague. The chapel was built in 1777 and in the transept there is the mausoleum of Isabella of Aragon, married to Philip, king of France. On the right side there is the sarcophagus of Meleagro with Enrico VII’s bones, Frederick's son. SAINT DOMENICO‘S CHURCH It was founded in the XIII century by the Sanseverino family of Bisignano, a small town near Cosenza, and it was renovated in the XVIII. The church is a mixture of styles : baroque, renaissance and gothic, and in the inside there are a lot of works of art painted by Antonio Granata, an artist of the XVI century. In the outside there is an ancient monastery that was converted in a barrack dedicated to Bandiera brothers. In this ex monastery, in which for some times stayed Tommaso Campanella (a famous philosopher from Cosenza), there’s a wonderful kiosk with some columns in the Spanish style and a well with the coat of arms of a calabrian old family. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

6. THE CONSERVATORY The Academy of Music of Cosenza was founded in 1970 by the maestro Giuseppe Giacomantonio. It immediately found fortune and a large number of pupils. They studied seven subjects: Main Piano, Violin, Cello, Clarinet, Theory and Solfeggio, Trumpet, Classic Guitar. On January 1999 it found its present location in S. Mary of Sanity's convent, in the oldest and most prestigious part of the city. The convent was built in 1481. It was damaged by the earthquake that struck the city in 1638, together with the contiguous church, and was restored in the XVIII century by Antonio, Paolo and Saverio Bove. It was Franciscus Antonio Ferrari which wanted the works to be made, and another restauration is due to Paolo Antonio Ferrari. In 1866 it was given to military command by the Cosenza Province, to be used as depot during the construction of some rooms of the near military hospital. The earthquake of 1905 damaged it so much that it was closed to after the mayor’s order. In 1909 it was given to the parish of S.Mary of Sanity in Portapiana, to move there the parish itself. The most important among the architectural elements of the building is the portal, made with tuff crafted in ovals, dentils, lancets and leaves made by local workers in the XVII century. Today, the Conservatory is one of most important Italian academies. We can listen to the "Orchestra of the Conservatory", mainly composed by a part of the students and teachers. They usually perform in the cloister of the school, where all people can enjoy magnificent music. The atmosphere of the school is fun: among students there is competition, but that is also the cause of interesting meetings, and friendship or love can be born in the classrooms. If we cross the main door, problems disappear, time stops and only love for music has importance. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

7. ARNONE PALACE It was edified by Bartolo and Ascanio Arnone at the beginning of the XIV century, but it was sold to the State to be transformed in a jail. After an earthquake in the XVII century it was not rebuilt, and in these years it was restored and used as an art gallery that is home to an important exhibition. S.FRANCIS’ CHURCH The church was built in 1510 together with a monastery. Inside there are the marble sepulchre of Ottavio Cesare Gaeto (XVII century) and a famous work by Pietro Negroni, the Virgin Mother with the Child and the Saints Paul and Luke. On the walls of the sacristy there are the rests of frescos (1500-1600) representing scenes of S. Francis’s life. THE CIVIC LIBRARY The civic library in cosenza was built in the XVII century by the Cosenza academy with the aim of increasing and making education easier, preserving not only old books, but also new ones, for advantaging the students’ work. It was closed for some years because of a money oversight, and it was only re-opened 1898. Today, it has been taken on by a city hall administrative council and helps a lot of people in their researches. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

8. THE CHURCH OF MOTHER OF THE VIRGINS The Church of the Mother of the Virgins and the relative convent, which gave hospitality to the nuns of the Cistercense order, was built in 1515. At the beginning, women from different classes could enter and later only noble women. The earthquake that struck on Cosenza in the 1639 seriously damaged the convent, whose main entrance is a big door made of stone and precious wood. In the inside there is a wooden altar rich with decorations, made in the XIV century. Today, the convent gives hospitality to unmarried girls who have children and insures them support and protection. MARATEA CROSS It was built in the 1941 on the tomb of the citizen Biagio Vitalo, on the saint Biagio mountain in memory of the soldiers that came back from the war. The cross overlooked the city for twenty years and in 1963 another Maratea citizen, the count Stefano Rivetti, gave to the city a statue of Jesus Christ that became the second biggest Christ statue after the San Paulo one. So the cross was dismantled and taken on a hill and the redeemer Christ became a pride for Maratea citizens, and is still today one of the most attractive places in Calabria. RENDANO THEATRE It was built between 1877 and 1909 and modified after the war bombing in a neoclassical style. It is named after Alfonso Rendano, a famous calabrian pianist that introduced the pedal reform. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

9. SAINT PAUL SANCTUARY The sanctuary was originally a very little chapel, later transformed in its nave and entrance: the chapel is called “chapel of remains” because in the little church monks preserve the saint remains, giving the believers a chance to visit them. Outside the sanctuary, people can follow the same way that the saint ran at his time, called “miracles way”. This way skirts a stream, the Isca, on which there’s the “devil bridge”: the legend tells that saint Paul met the devil who promised to help the monk in building the bridge in exchange of his soul: the cunning Paul told the devil that he could take the soul of a dog passing near them, but the devil, angry, struck the hand on the stone of the bridge. Also today, people came from far places to have a look at that sign. • A view of the historic centre of Cosenza Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

10. UNIVERSITY The university, planned by Vitorio Gregotti is located in Arcavacata. It’s made by a lot of multi-purpose buildings, which are connected each other by external ways, and by some spaces where students can meet and discuss about things. Calabrian university, called also Unical, is organised as an American campus. The idea was to build a campus where students may live and study together, inside the university. Besides, accommodation is offered to lecturers who live outside Cosenza. Unical has been in Calabria for 25 years, and teaching method and scientific research improved overtime. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

11. POLLINO PARK Situated on Pollino mountains, it’s the biggest recently protected area among the parks of Italy, and covers the space between the Tirreno and Ionio sea, along the Pollino and Orsomarso massif, stretching out in Calabria and Lucania. The area, created in 1993, exists to protect the most important landscape and natural environment. It was created in 1993 also for preserving its symbol, the Bonian Pine, which can only be found in Calabria. SILA MOUNTAINS The Silan upland takes its particular orographic formation from the incessant erosive action of the atmospheric agents and of the glaciers that covered its summits until only 10.000 years ago.The north of the upland, situated on the Sibari plain, takes the name of "Sila Greca", a denomination due to the ancient migratory flows of Greek and Albanian populations. These ethnic groups and cultures are still alive and present in the villages placed on the slopes of these mounts. Cosenza,a city between the mountains and the sea Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

12. . DIAMANTE It is one of the most famous sea places in Calabria, and most of the people who live in southern Italy go there on summer holidays. Diamante is characterised by a beautiful seafront, close to which there are a lot of shops that sell typical calabrian products. One of the most attractive peculiarities of this town is “Ninì bar” in which people can taste a delightful nuts caffè. TROPEA This gorgeous little town is characterised by a lot of wonderful panoramas on the sea which is always painted of a intense blue. On the headland there are some XVI century palaces with richly carved main doors. At the feet of this promontory there are almost 4 kilometres of coast, and young people can have fun in many places and discos. For all these reasons, Tropea is one the most loved Italian sea places. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

13. MATTIA PRETI His artistic output is truly notable and much of it was produced in Malta, where he lived during the last 40 years of his life. Most of the great museums in the world have works by Mattia Preti including a great collection in Naples and his own town in Taverna. The Museum of Fine Arts in Valletta has probably the finest nucleus of Preti’s works anywhere. PIETRO NEGRONI He’s a painter of the XIV century, born in Cosenza and mainly active in Naples. He was also known as “Il giovane zingaro” (“the young gypsy”). He painted an “Adoration of magi” and the “Scourging of Christ” for the church of S.Maria in Naples and “The Virgin with Child and Angels and Saints” for S.Agnello’s church. He painted in Aversa and Cosenza and an altarpiece in a church of Mongrassano, near Cosenza. Moreover, he has painted a portrait of a young man now at the Borghese Gallery in Rome. Famous people, among art, litterature, policy and philosophy. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

14. BERNARDINO TELESIO Italian humanist and philosopher, was born in a noble family of Cosenza in 1508 and died in 1588. He was a radical opponent both to the method and the content of aristotelean philosophy. Among the most ardent disciples of Telesio was Campanella. TOMMASO CAMPANELLA Campanella, born in Stilo, wrote on a wide range of subjects, from Telesian philosophy to political philosophy and astrology. In 1622 he published his “Apologia pro Galileo” ("Defense of Galileo"), in which he defended the Copernican system and the separate paths of Scripture and nature leading to the knowledge of the Creator. He argued that truth about nature is not revealed in Scripture, and claimed freedom of thought in philosophical speculation. His writings were influential not because of any scientific discoveries but because of an animistic and empirical interpretation of nature. Campanella was a great admirer of Galileo and corresponded with him for many years. In his animistic, Neo-Platonic, astrological approach to nature he was, however, very different from the Florentine scientist. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

15. BANDIERA BROTHERS Attilio and Emilio Bandiera dedicated their whole lives to freedom and the political ransom of Italy. On the 15th of march 1884 a revolt (independent from the Mazzinian one) broke up in Calabria, caused by a dramatic misunderstanding: the Borbonic army repressed a revolt that the Bandiera brothers thought had already been won. So, in June, they came in Calabria from Corfù with 19 comrades but, when they came here, they learnt the truth: Calabrian people, for hundredth time, has not supported the revolt. The defeat ended tragically: one of their comrades told their master plan to the Borbonic police, and Attilio and Emilio were shot on the 25th of July. In the historical centre, there is still a plaque that reminds us the heroic sacrifice of these brothers, who greatly influenced our national history. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

16. Shops! This is Corso Mazzini, a pedestrian part of the town in which most of the shops are situated. Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

17. This is our high school! Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’

18. Brochure made by: • Ilaria Pastore II C • Brenda Bozzo II C • Paola Perri II C • Anna Spada II C • Eugenio Alimena II C • Simone D. Nardella I G Comenius Project ‘Respecting Differences, Appreciating Similarities: A Pathway to Peace’