The "Marine" of Calabria

Bibliographic Data

ID4488068
AuthorsGeorge Kish (0000-0002-7769-4675, corresponding author)
Year1953
Volume43
Issue4
Pages495
Publication date1953-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGeographical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0016-7428 • E-ISSN: 1931-0846
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/212035
OpenAlexW2327564019
LanguageEN
Citations received8

SETTLEMENT in coastlands of Mediterranean was governed primarily by two factors: defense and trade. The early Greek polis was nearly always centered around a high, rocky hill or mountain spur, easily defensible against an enemy. Later, when defense became a secondary consideration and trade and fishing could be carried on with reasonable safety, people came down to sea, built their towns around good harbors, and established that symbiosis of husbandman and seaman which has characterized much of Mediterranean life since its beginnings. The mnarina, or seashore town, of Calabria, the toe of Italian boot, is unique in that its development was motivated by desire of people to be near land they could till, not by a desire to go to sea, or to participate in trade. It is unique because nowhere else in Mediterranean can one find crowded into such a small area so many examples of old hill town and new town by sea. It is unique because entire development of marina has taken place within past hundred years. The first census of united Italy, in i86i, lists one marina in Calabria; in I952, during a trip that took writer along entire shore line of region, 58 such settlements were found, and several nuclei were in process of developing

Geography · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology

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