Movement and exchange. Communication routes
Itinerary 5
Movement and exchange. Communication routes

Transhumance is one of the oldest cultural and economic activities attested in protohistoric times in the MolisanApennines; seasonal migration was then practiced by the Samnites who travelled the ancient paths in beaten grass accompanying flocks and herds towards the green pastures. The development of the network of tratturi (sheep tracks) was later maintained by the Romans who structured the road network to support the passage of shepherds on public paths and to connect the urban centres of the empire with the periphery. The transhumance of livestock followed strict routes and times: in autumn the mountain meadows of Abruzzo and Molise, which would soon be covered by snow, were abandoned and the warmer ones of the Apulian Tavoliere were reached; in summer the path was the opposite and the fragrant high-altitude pastures were preferred to the sultry furrowed plains. The Aragonese are responsible for the definition of the modern tratturo system: in 1447, Alfonso I of Aragon established the “Dogana per la mena delle pecore in Puglia” through which the complex economic system of transhumance was regulated and organized. Until the 20th century,  products, prayers, practices, stories, and knowledge migrated to these grassy paths 60 Neapolitan steps wide (approx. 111 m). A precious heritage tha

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AGRO-PASTORAL CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE
The story of peoples and communities

THE BEAUTY OF THE CONSTRUCTED
reconstructed and reconfigured

MOVEMENT AND EXCHANGE
Communication routes