Vallefiorita, the Land of Calabrisella

Calabrisella, the most vivid image of the peasant tradition

Calabrisella is the title of the most famous of Calabrian folk songs, but even more upstream it is also the term that embodies the beauty of its festively dressed women. When one thinks oftypical Calabrian dress, a female figure comes immediately to mind that is very dear to the tradition throughout southern Italy: the pacchiana.

The female costume in its fine details

The term, probably of Greek derivation, denotes the young peasant girl who wears traditional dress. Such clothing, documented in Calabria since the 17th century in its many variants, basically consists of a long skirt decorated in various colors and an arabesque bodice of black velvet under which a white blouse with wide sleeves, often three-quarter length, sprouts. The dress is completed by a long stole covering the head and shoulders, an apron overlapping the skirt, white thread stockings, and black shoes. The hair, styled in a long braid gathered at the nape of the neck. Finally, the so-called brillòcchi, the familiar jewelry, necklaces and brooches.

A contest for the dress most faithful to tradition

Some ethnographic museums boast important collections of historical clothing, but there is one occasion that brings them to life in a sui generis beauty contest, Miss Calabrisella, for the best regional costume. Organizing it every summer since 2000 is the pro loco of Vallefiorita with great participation both from those who remember them wearing their grandmothers and from vacationers who are fascinated by such timeless beauty.