Nicodemo Misiti, photographer and researcher, has devoted his work to documenting the ancient traditions of Southern Italy, combining his passion for photography with a deep historical and anthropological knowledge. Misiti’s project spans the fields of history, culture, and tradition in the southern regions of Italy, aiming to safeguard and promote customs, festivals, religious traditions, gastronomy, and imagery from small southern villages. His work particularly highlights the cultural richness of Calabria.
Misiti has photographed, for instance, the Festa della Pita, an ancient fertility rite held in the Pollino mountains, and the Carnevale Alessandrino, known for its white masks adorned with colourful decorations such as mirrors, flowers, and feathers, along with large shawls that completely conceal the identity of the wearer. Other traditions include the Vattienti of Nocera Terinese, a public self-flagellation ritual rooted in popular religious devotion, and the Festa degli Spinati of San Rocco in Palmi, where barefoot participants walk through the streets of the town wearing a conical basket made of thorny broom branches, known as the Spalas. Misiti has also documented the Arberëshe Dances, an ancient tradition of the descendants of Albanians who migrated to Italy in the 15th century. Their dance, La Vallja, involves men and women dressed in traditional costume who move through the streets of the village, holding handkerchiefs in a chain and performing traditional songs and dances.
The exhibition, organised by the Italian Cultural Institute of Sofia, was held at the stage area of Centralni Halli.
