Frank Cancian | documentary and art photography | irvine ca usa
frankcancian.net ©Copyright Frank Cancian 2008 all rights reserved
LACEDONIA
From Naples you go east and up to the town of Lacedonia which sits near the top of the mountain spine that divides southern Italy. East of Lacedonia the main road goes down to Bari and the Adriatic coast.
When I went there to photograph in 1957, from January to June, I met men in the town square: teachers, artisans, officials, merchants, many poor farmers, and younger men who had been educated as teachers, but could find no jobs.
In public records for the early 1900s I found long lists of emigrants headed for New York. While I was in Lacedonia many went to northern Italy and to other European countries to find work.
Now there is a Wikipedia entry for Lacedonia and a town web site (www.comune.lacedonia. av.it) with information on local news, history, current cultural and artistic activities, municipal services and photos of historical interest. Other web sites link to concentrations of emigrants and their descendants in the United States, especially in Montclair NJ and Natick MA.
This web site adds some of my photos to the record of the people and the town as they were in 1957. By the end of next year I hope to add many more photos to this web site.
February 2009
GALLERIES
(content will change)
religious celebrations
in the the square