It is no coincidence that a group of English and American scholars who frequented the library of the British School at Rome – directed at the time by Thomas Ashby – began a series of explorations in the small towns of Abruzzo, focusing primarily on one of the region’s major attractions: folklore. For these scholars, Abruzzo revealed itself as a land full of charm, a cultural island with an extraordinary heritage of customs and traditions to explore.
Text by V. Tordone
Photos by Thomas Ashby, Sulmona (AQ), market in Piazza Garibaldi and medieval aqueduct, 1909, TA-XXX.022; Sulmona (AQ), women in Pettorano costume, 1909, TA-XXX.029; Cocullo (AQ), procession of San Domenico, 1909, TA-XXX-038; Pratola Peligna (AQ), feast of Madonna della Libera, 1909 TA-XXIX-081
