Transhumance(or I'll be away from blogging...)

While I usually like to post around three things a day, I'm afraid that my blogging's going to be rather irregular this week, since it's time for our biannual "transhumance."

According to Wikipedia,

"Transhumance is the seasonal movement of livestock between mountainous and lowland pastures. It occurs throughout the world, including Scandinavia, France, Italy, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Switzerland and amongst the Sami people of Scandinavia. This practice is based on the difference of climate between the mountains (where the herds stay during the summer) and the lowlands (where they remain the winter). Its importance to pastoralist societies cannot be overstated. Milk, butter and cheese - the products of transhumance - often form the basis of the local population's diet. In the past transhumance was widespread throughout Europe, in some areas - such as the Isle of Lewis in Scotland - within living memory. Today much of the Alpine transhumance is carried out by truck. In other parts of the world a more traditional approach is maintained; for regions of the Himalaya transhumance still provides the mainstay of several near subsistence economies - for example, that of Zanskar. Often traditional nomadic groups that have subsequently settled into a regular seasonal pattern are described by anthropologists as practicing transhumance."

Okay, okay... I don't really own livestock. But we still migrate back and forth to Italy with the changing seasons! :-)

In the meantime, please feel free to browse my archives or my subject categories... In three short months, I've posted over 250 goodies on Venice, Italy, History and Humor (among other "michellaneous" things!) Enjoy!!

(Coincidently, on a related note... ANSA.it announced yesterday that the award for the most beautiful stamp in Italy has gone to one celebrating the traditional transhumance between Abruzzo and Puglia, which you can see above.)

Ci rivediamo a presto!

("See you again soon!!")

Michelle

Categories: Blogs, Italy