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Title: Misleading book description
Review: This book is a masterpiece of English literature on Italy. However the book description on Amazon is misleading. It is not about Calabria but "Old Calabria." To the ancients the area between northern Apulia (Puglia) and Calabria, and of course Calabria itself, was Calabria. The first half of the book is mostly about the area which is called Tavoliere di Puglia, which is in current-day Puglia, and parts of Basilicata (the old Lucania). Only the second half deals with current-day Calabria.Norman Douglas's knowledge and grasp of Southern Italy is unsurpassed. I also highly recommend "Siren Land." Add to these Goethe's "Italian Journey" and you will have gained the kind of insight that no contemporary, olive-tree hugging, marketing-conscious author can ever provide.
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