From Caltasinetta in Sicily to Verbano in Piedmont, there are twenty-seven Parchi Letterari Italiani. Places of inspiration for incredible writers, poets, playwrights, patrons. Those are small villages with beautiful natural parks, gardens, architectural jewels. They are part of the history of our country. They reveal the richness and diversity in the history and in the geography of our country. Each literary park is a discovery, 27 writers, authors, intellectuals, all with an interesting story to tell. They belong to different eras, from Virgilio to Pier Paolo Pasolini, it is a continuous journey through time and space. They write from poetry to novels to dramaturgy and act in beautiful territories distributed throughout Italy.
Up there in the Madonie, which is the name of the Sicilian Apennines, where I haven't returned yet, the town of my early years has room. In all the great scenery, oleanders along the classic valley, olive trees from hill to hill, clear peaks descending in rows from the acropolis of the center to the sea, finally the sea of Imera, cut into wedges, behind the last wing, is not seen othercity or village. Giuseppe Antonio Borgese describes the territory of Polizzi Generosa, the beautiful Sicilian village that has very ancient origins dating back to the IV-III century BC. Entering the town you will come across small medieval houses, churches and palaces rich in decorations, courtyards, gardens and vegetable gardens. Breathing the quiet and serenity of the village you have the feeling of going back in time. Perched on a mountain, surrounded by the high Madonite mountains, it dominates the two valleys of the Imera river: one lush with hazelnut groves, orchards and olive groves, the other barren destined for arable land.
In Basilicata we meet Valsinni, the ancient Favale, a small village perched on an extreme offshoot of the Pollino, at its foot flows the Sinni river. The medieval alleys wind between the houses passing under the gafii, covered vaulted passages. At the top, perched on a rock spur, a castle dominates. It is the ancient Morra castle where in the 16th century Isabella Morra, the first published poetess in the history, was brutally killed by her brothers.
If in the hope that approaches new embarrassment
O cruel Fortune or the impious Death,
how they solved, oh me, I don't care,
broken I will have the prison and loose the snare
In the province of Frosinone we find Pico Farnese, another enchanting medieval village that houses the literary park dedicated to the writer Tommaso Landolfi. "Imagine rather a tiny village, a village lost in the mountains." The village is accessed from the ancient gate of San Rocco and along the narrow, concentric stone-paved streets connected by stairways that run around the castle. Even the houses are made of stone and blend harmoniously with the green of the landscape where nature trails abound.
"... the undulating plain with the gray spots of the sands and the yellowish spots of the rushes, the greenish vein of the river, the white villages with the bell tower in the middle like the pistil in the flower." This is how Grazia Deledda describes the beautiful territory of Galtellì in Sardinia. The town is one of the best preserved Sardinian villages with a rich natural and historical heritage. It is a hospitable community that has embarked on a path of sustainable tourism enhancement through its ancient cobbled streets that wind through the heart of the historic center. The village is located at the foot of the Tuttavista mountain from which you can enjoy a fascinating view of the Gulf of Orosei.The sourronding countryside offers numerous nature trails such as the one that leads to the naturalistic wonder of Sa Preta Istampata, the perforated stone.
The park of Ninfa, declared a Natural Monument, it is now considered one of the most beautiful in the world. In the first half of the 1900s the patron and intellectual Marguerite Chapin Caetani took care of the arrangement of the garden, making it fascinating and romantic with an informal, free style. The ruins of the ancient village blend with the plants and are reflected in the transparent waters of the river that crosses the eight hectares of the garden. Each season offers different colors and suggestions. during springtime the ornamental cherry trees are covered with flowers, then the roses color the walls of the ruins and many other blooms. Many writers such as Virgina Woolf, Truman Capote, Ungaretti, Moravia, have found the place a source of inspiration for their creations.
"If understanding is impossible, knowing is necessary, because what happened can return, consciences can again be seduced and obscured: ours too." Primo Levi wrote.
Very suggestive is the visit to the concentration camp in the Ferramonti di Tarsia Park dedicated to the German psychotherapist Ernst Bernhard and the visit to the International Museum of Memory. Opened in June 1940, Ferramonti was the largest Italian fascist concentration camp. There were interned foreign Jews present on Italian territory, Italian Jews, Italian anti-fascists and foreign groups of Chinese and political refugees. Adjacent to the Ferramonti park are the nature reserves of Lake Tarsia and the mouth of the Crati river where you can take nature trails and spot many migratory birds, such as the gray heron and the great white heron.
"Always dear to me was this hermit hill"
And then there is Leopardi's Recanati, Virgilio's Mantua, Eugenio Montale's Cinque Terre and many other place, ready to be explored. The Italian Literary Parks are a unique opportunity, a window full of charm on our territories. Beautiful places where culture blends with wonderful nature.
Sylvie Freddi
I am a writer of short stories and novels with my hands in the earth and my head in the stories. I live in the Roman countryside where I hoe and write. I have published for Stampa Alternativa Caffè Paszkowsky and Q502; for Ensemble editions La Madre e il meteorite.
C/O Società Dante Alighieri 
