Atina, Italy - Erika Gentry Visual Arts

info

Atina, Italy 2011

×

Atina, Italy 2011

×

Market Day, Atina, Italy 2011

Digital Slideshow

Escaping the bustle of Rome to live more in nature, my friends re-located two years ago to a small Italian town called Roccasecca meaning “dry rock”. Born in Roccasecca, Photographer Massimiliano Tommaso Rezza and his partner hosted me in their home and took me to explore surrounding small villages. Atina happened to be having a weekly Monday market. Like Roccasecca, Atina is void of tourists and is a small, non commercial hill top town. Seemingly more populated than Roccasecca’s hill top, yet also partially abandoned with the changing of times and industry in the 21st century, its weekly market was thriving.

Evidence of pre-Roman structures and old walls adapted into newer structures exist in the landscape. The average age of the population of these hill top towns seem much older than retirement, leaving one to wonder if they will eventually become deserted by their families of origin and be re-placed by the French and English who have purchased vacation homes there. Or, perhaps, thanks to the internet and high speed trains, a younger (40 something) generation like my friends will continue to seek solace from the larger cities and choose to live and work remotely in these ancient hill top towns located within an hour and a half outside of Rome. Scroll Right.