Calabria comes alive with song and dance: how a new generation is revitalising southern Italy’s quiet villages

<p>The small communes of Lago and Conflenti are putting themselves back on the map with a series of community-run music and food festivals</p><p>On the lamp-lit steps of a sombre gothic church, a young woman stands before a microphone. Beside her, a man plucks a slow melody from his guitar. Arrayed on chairs and cobblestones in front of them, a large crowd sits in an expectant silence. From a nearby balcony, laundry sways in the sultry Calabrian breeze.</p><p>The guitar quickens, and the woman issues a string of tremulous notes with all the solemnity of a muezzin. She clutches a hand drum, beating out a rhythm that draws the crowd to its feet. As people surge forward, stamping and whirling around the square, the singing intensifies and the drum’s relentless thud deepens. The <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sustaria.festival/">festival of Sustarìa</a> has begun.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2025/nov/06/calabria-italy-community-run-music-food-festivals-revitalising-villages">Continue reading...</a>