Dal familismo alle reti di relazione Rapporti sociali e pratiche patrimoniali in tre Comuni dell’area interna “Mercure - Alto Sinni - Val Sarmento”

The thesis presents the results of the ethno-anthropological study carried out as part of the 'municipal' PhD project, which was established through agreements between the University of Basilicata and three municipalities in Lucania recognised by the Strategia Nazionale per le Aree Interne (SNAI): Francavilla in Sinni, Chiaromonte and Terranova di Pollino. These municipalities are part of the Mercure - Alto Sinni - Valsarmento area. The collaboration with the Osservatorio scientifico regionale per la salvaguardia del patrimonio etno-antropologico della Basilicata, named after the American sociologist and political scientist Edward C. Banfield (who conducted research in Chiaromonte in the 1950s and developed the concept of 'amoral familism' in “The Moral Basis of a Backward Society” [1976]) was motivated by the desire to review and update the scope of social change processes and public action mechanisms in the area. The research focuses on the community relationships within the area, which were explored through collaboration with local institutions and associative networks of various kinds. The aim is to gain in-depth understanding of the forms of civic participation and social inclusion. The understanding of the transformations that have taken place in the inland areas studied by Banfield is key to identifying traces of permanence and signs of break with respect to his work and the memory of his presence, evaluating the factors that influence social relations and levels of political action today. The research has therefore been refocused on local society, which is involved in new agencies and multi-level intervention strategies. This is achieved through case studies dedicated to specific communities, following the intertwining of family, associations and informal networks, as well as the role of pivotal institutional and non-institutional figures. The results of the fieldwork contribute to a complex view of the interaction between institutional spheres and bottom-up practices. Similarly, research experiences in other areas of inland Lucania can be considered, such as the interdisciplinary research project “RI.P.R.O.VA.RE. - RIabitare i Paesi. Strategie Operative per la Valorizzazione e la Resilienza delle aree interne” which involved six villages in the Agri Valley. In the "lands of the bone", global cultural processes are often grafted onto local dynamics, and relations are stratified across generations and places, thinning the boundary between individuals, groups (formal and informal) and institutional bodies. By reconstructing the study from a multi-sited perspective and emphasizing the various roles of the researcher in the field, we can highlight the frictions and convergences between institutional and project orientations of the actors and activists engaged in the territories. These dynamics show the multiple nuances of relationships in fragile areas recognized as marginal due to the extreme lack of material and immaterial infrastructures, while participant immersion provides access to intimate spaces of community life and close points of view. The need to apply diversified approaches of investigation and interaction with institutions and people is revealed, not only to respond to different needs, times, and modes of research, but also due to the essential interest in the specificity of countries, which are unique and cannot be categorized in technical definitions. At the same time, the delicate permeability of closely defined fields of study that are remote and sheltered from massive "external" gazes explains the potential of working together with inhabitants, organizations, and institutions, and emphasizes ability to mediate and the facilitating function of ethnographic activity. The intention to understand the difficulties and possible horizons, bringing local experiences into dialogue with each other and opening up comparisons with other regional and national contexts, corresponds to the proposal to develop the Osservatorio's presence and to relaunch the value of the anthropological perspective, as a connection between social institutions, scientific interests, and personal initiatives in the area.