Mundunur: A Mountain Village Under the Spell of South Italy

Montenero is a village in the mountains of South Italy. It lies about 90 miles east of Rome and is the homeland of the author’s family. Yet it is not until at least two-thirds of the way through the book that the reader is invited to visit the village. Before these pages, the whole history and pre-history of Italy are unrolled. This is a bonus, an unexpected chance to read about a country seen from a perspective beyond the customary highlights of magnificent age-old cities, Renaissance art, fine wine, and opera rather than life in an ancient, simple village.

The author expresses disappointment that when starting to explore his heritage, local leaders appeared to show little interest in is research, a situation likely similar in any place where an outsider, unknowingly, seems intrusive.

Mundunur, as the village is known, has attractions depicted in both words and visual images. The book displays glorious color images sharing space with all manner of information, and numerous family photos supporting the author’s unvoiced contention that the past should be re-introduced in the present. This present offers attractive features to visitors, a modern overlay to a lengthy, varied past.