In a small town in Italy they adopted a famous Argentine custom: tomar mate. So much so that Lungro -the town in question- was nicknamed the European Capital of Mate and even has a festival in honor of this infusion.
Tradition has been established for more than a century in this destination in the Calabria region.
And since we adopt such customs of the immigrants who arrived between the 19th and 20th centuries, they did their thing with mate.
The Italians who came to Argentina, in search of better opportunities, sent weed as a gift – like a souvenir curious- to their family and friends who stayed in Europe, and who returned to Italy, spread the knowledge about how to prepare it.
In Lungro stores it is very easy to get weed. Also the mate, which they call pumpkin and until a few years ago some families made it with pumpkins. The bulb is called plumber and the container in which water is heated is called chocolate bar.
“These terms do not derive from Italian but from arberesha minority language that Lungro has maintained for more than six centuries due to the arrival of the Albanians around 1400,” explains Clemente Rennis, who manages the Instagram account @VisitLungro-Ungra.
In this town of just 2,500 inhabitants, drinking mate is also a ritual. Brings together families and lactation (the neighborhood in the Arbëreshë language) and, just like in Argentina, everyone takes from the same light bulb.
However, mate in Lungro has its particularities. “He pumpkin is prepared with sugara piece of coal hot, which is then removed, and a skin of orange to improve the flavor. Then the yerba mate and hot water are added,” says Rennis, while ensuring that he drinks mate every day.
Mate, a tourist attraction in Lungro
Anna Stratigò is the great standard bearer of mate in Lungro: she is the president of the Mate Academyan organization that for 10 years has held the Mate’s Day in this town. An event with music, dance and comedy shows where people can also find different products for sale, all related to mate.
“Mate is part of our identity. It has been installed for more than a century. We are born in homes where we drink mate around the fire, all together. I thought we had to let the world know that we were a little Argentina”says Stratigò in communication with Clarín.
The Lungro Mate Academy operates in the Stratigò Palace. Photo FB Lungro Capitale del Mate.The festival, which this year will have its tenth editionalways begins with the interpretation of The mate’s songcomposed by Stratigò and performed by children in Arbëreshë.
Most activities take place in the Mate Squarein front of the Stratigò Palace, a house museum that has been in Anna’s family for 15 generations and is very popular in Lungro.
There is the Mate Academy, the Risorgimento House Museum, the Music Office, a Bed and Breakfast and the Casa del Mate, the only one in Europe.
Argentine products for sale on the streets of Lungro. Photo FB Lungro Capitale del Mate.In the latter there is a exhibition in which a large number of mates, rutabagas, various types of yerba mate, paintings, the Argentine flag and different photos are exhibited, among which the one of Pope Francis taking a mate that Anna herself offered him during a visit to Calabria stands out. .
What to do in Lungro beyond mate
Lungro is not only a place known for mate but also for keeping alive the traditions of the albanian immigrants who founded this place in the second half of the 15th century.
Arbëreshë is spoken there and different customs are maintained.
Interior of the Cathedral of San Nicola Di Maria. Photo Clemente Rennis.Whoever comes here will not be able to leave without trying one of the gastronomic specialties Calabrio-Albanese: sweets based on honey and lying down with beansa pasta served with tomato sauce and beans, a typical dish of the area.
Furthermore, Lungro is a religious capital and seat of the Eparchy of the Greco-Byzantine rite.
Religious celebrations such as Easter are very popular (Easter) and the famous Carnival (Carnival), during which the city streets come alive with traditional costumesdances, songs and parades.
The Cathedral of San Nicola di Mira, of the Greco-Byzantine rite, is a must-see. Its interior is beautiful: mosaics and frescoes decorate the walls and ceiling.
Mountains and trails, natural landscapes of Lungro. Photo Clemente Rennis.Another attraction is the Diocesan Museum where you can see religious silverware, paintings and liturgical vestments from different periods.
On the other hand, this town is linked to mining activity, which contributed to the economy of the entire territory until 1976, when the salt mines were closed.
The miners of Lungro were protagonists of the unification of Italy (and that is why Lungro is the city of the Resurgence) leading the first workers’ struggles and the first mutual aid societies.
He Historical Museum of the Salt Mines “GB Rennis” opened in 2012. Objects, photographs, uniforms and documents recovered from the mines are preserved there. It is a testament to one of the oldest and most important mines in Europe, used by the Greek settlers of Sybaris and Turij, the Romans and the Normans, who created a flourishing trade in salt transported by mule.
Currently, there is a project to recover the old mining area.
But this is not all. Lungro is also one of the gateways to the Pollino National Park, which has 192,565 hectares and is characterized by its large number of mountain ranges. It is a perfect place for hiking and mountain biking.