A History of Calabria

• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Ancient Origins and Early Settlements
• Chapter 2 The Greek Colonies and Magna Graecia
• Chapter 3 Roman Domination and Infrastructure
• Chapter 4 The Byzantine Period and Religious Influence
• Chapter 5 The Lombard Invasions and Byzantine Resistance
• Chapter 6 The Normans and the Kingdom of Sicily
• Chapter 7 Swabian Administration and Urban Growth
• Chapter 8 The Angevin Dynasty and Noble Conflicts
• Chapter 9 Aragonese Rule and Territorial Expansion
• Chapter 10 Spanish Domination and Legislative Reforms
• Chapter 11 Cultural Renaissance Under Spanish Patronage
• Chapter 12 The Bourbon Monarchy and Administrative Changes
• Chapter 13 Enlightenment Ideas and Social Movements
• Chapter 14 The Risorgimento and the Fight for Unification
• Chapter 15 Post-Unification Integration and Challenges
• Chapter 16 Economic Shifts and Migration in the 19th Century
• Chapter 17 Emigration Trends and Diaspora Communities
• Chapter 18 World Wars and Regional Impact
• Chapter 19 Post-War Recovery and Infrastructure Development
• Chapter 20 Cultural Traditions and Folk Heritage
• Chapter 21 Environmental Changes and Agricultural Practices
• Chapter 22 Artistic and Architectural Legacy of Calabria
• Chapter 23 Maritime Trade and Economic Networks
• Chapter 24 Political Movements and Regional Autonomy
• Chapter 25 Modern Challenges and Historical Preservation

Calabria, the rugged toe of Italy’s boot, has long stood at the crossroads of Mediterranean civilizations. Its jagged mountains, fertile coastal plains, and strategic harbors have attracted Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Lombards, Normans, and countless other peoples who left indelible marks on the landscape and the collective memory of its inhabitants. Yet, despite its pivotal role in shaping the broader currents of European history, Calabria has often been relegated to the footnotes of national narratives, its rich tapestry of cultures, conflicts, and contributions overlooked or oversimplified. This book seeks to correct that imbalance by presenting a comprehensive, chronologically ordered account that treats Calabria not as a peripheral appendage but as a dynamic actor in its own right.

The narrative begins in antiquity, tracing the earliest human settlements that dotted the region’s rugged terrain and exploring how geography dictated patterns of habitation, trade, and defense. From there, we follow the waves of Greek colonization that ushered in the era of Magna Graecia, examining how these settlements transformed local economies, introduced new forms of governance, and sowed the seeds of a Hellenic identity that would persist for centuries. Subsequent chapters delve into the Roman imprint—roads, aqueducts, and urban centers—that knitted Calabria into the imperial fabric, before turning to the Byzantine period, where Orthodox Christianity and imperial administration intertwined to create a distinct socio‑religious milieu.

Each major epoch is examined through a multilayered lens that blends political history with social, economic, cultural, and environmental perspectives. We consider how Lombard incursions challenged Byzantine authority, how Norman conquests re‑oriented Calabria toward the nascent Kingdom of Sicily, and how Swabian, Angevin, and Aragonese rule each left their administrative and architectural signatures. The book also highlights the often‑understudied contributions of Calabrian artisans, merchants, and peasants whose daily lives sustained the region through plague, famine, and war. By integrating archaeological evidence, archival documents, literary sources, and oral traditions, the narrative aims to present a nuanced portrait that respects both the grand sweep of events and the texture of everyday life.

Beyond chronicling dynasties and battles, the work underscores Calabria’s enduring cultural legacy—its festivals, music, cuisine, and linguistic idiosyncrasies—that have survived centuries of external domination and internal migration. Chapters devoted to artistic and architectural heritage, maritime trade networks, and environmental stewardship reveal how the region’s natural resources have shaped, and been shaped by, human agency. The discussion of modern challenges, from depopulation and economic disparity to efforts at historical preservation and regional autonomy, connects past trajectories to present‑day realities, inviting readers to see Calabria as a living landscape where history is continuously negotiated.

Ultimately, this introduction promises a reading experience that is both scholarly and accessible: rigorous in its use of sources yet engaging in its storytelling. It invites academics, students, travelers, and anyone with a curiosity about the lesser‑known corners of Italy to appreciate Calabria not as a footnote but as a vibrant protagonist in the Mediterranean saga. By the final page, readers should come away with a deeper understanding of how a small, mountainous region can exert an outsized influence on the currents of history—and how its story continues to unfold in the present.

Long before the Greeks arrived with their marble temples and philosophical debates, long before Roman legions marched their straight roads across the peninsula, the land that would become Calabria was already home to human beings making their way in a world that offered no guarantees. The story of this region begins not with written records or monumental architecture but with stone tools, charred animal bones, and the faint traces of fires lit in caves tens of thousands of years ago. To understand Calabria, one must first understand the deep, slow, often violent process by which its earliest inhabitants carved out a life in a landscape of extraordinary beauty and equally extraordinary difficulty.

The Italian peninsula, jutting into the Mediterranean like a boot kicking a ball, has always served as a natural bridge between continents. Calabria, forming the very tip of that boot, occupies a position of singular geographic importance. To the east lies the Ionian Sea, to the west the Tyrrhenian, and to the north the rugged massif of the Pollino range, which separates the region from Basilicata and the rest of southern Italy. This configuration of sea and mountain has shaped every aspect of Calabrian history, from the earliest patterns of human settlement to the most recent waves of emigration. The mountains, while providing shelter and defensive advantage, also imposed isolation. The coasts, while offering access to maritime trade, also exposed communities to raiders, invaders, and the unpredictable moods of the Mediterranean.

The geological history of the region is itself a story worth telling. Calabria sits atop one of the most seismically active zones in the Mediterranean basin. The Apennine mountain chain, which runs like a spine down the length of Italy, reaches some of its most dramatic and unstable expressions in this southern extremity. Earthquakes have been a constant companion of Calabrian life, reshaping coastlines, swallowing villages, and forcing communities to rebuild generation after generation. The landscape that presents itself to the modern visitor, with its steep gorges, terraced hillsides, and narrow coastal strips, is the product of millions of years of tectonic upheaval, volcanic activity, and erosion. It is a landscape that rewards resilience and punishes complacency.

The earliest evidence of human presence in Calabria dates to the Lower Paleolithic period, roughly half a million years ago. Stone tools discovered in various sites across the region, particularly along the Ionian coast and in the foothills of the Pollino, suggest that bands of Homo heidelbergensis and later Neanderthal populations roamed these lands in search of game and shelter. The caves that pockmark the limestone cliffs of the coastal ranges provided natural refuge from the elements and from predators. Archaeological excavations at sites such as the Grotta del Romito, near the modern town of Papasidero in the northern part of the region, have yielded some of the most significant Paleolithic finds in all of southern Italy.

The Romito cave, discovered in the early 1960s, offered a window into a world almost unimaginably remote from our own. Within its chambers, archaeologists uncovered the remains of Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherers who lived approximately 26,000 years ago, during the last great Ice Age. The cave's walls bear engravings of aurochs, the massive wild cattle that once roamed the Italian peninsula, rendered with a skill and sensitivity that speaks to an artistic tradition of considerable sophistication. The human burials found within the cave, including the famous double burial of two individuals interred side by side, one of whom exhibited signs of a severe physical deformity, suggest a community capable of compassion and complex social behavior. These were not brutish cave dwellers but people with rituals, relationships, and a sense of the sacred.

The transition from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic period, roughly between 6000 and 5000 BCE, brought profound changes to the Calabrian landscape. The shift from a nomadic, hunting-and-gathering existence to a settled, agricultural way of life was one of the most momentous transformations in human history, and Calabria was no exception. Communities began to cultivate wheat, barley, and legumes. They domesticated sheep, goats, and cattle. They built permanent dwellings from stone, wood, and mud brick. The fertile coastal plains and river valleys, particularly those along the Ionian coast and in the Crati river basin, became the cradles of this new agricultural society.

Neolithic settlements have been identified at numerous sites across Calabria, from the Tyrrhenian coast near Praia a Mare to the Ionian lowlands around Crotone. The pottery styles found at these sites, including the distinctive impressed ware known as "ceramica impressa," link Calabrian Neolithic communities to broader cultural networks stretching across the central Mediterranean. These were not isolated villages but nodes in a web of exchange that connected the Italian peninsula to Sicily, the Aegean, and even the coasts of North Africa. Obsidian, the volcanic glass prized for its sharp edges, was traded from the island of Lipari in the Aeolian archipelago to sites throughout Calabria, providing tangible evidence of maritime commerce in an era long before the invention of writing.

The Chalcolithic, or Copper Age, spanning roughly from 4000 to 3000 BCE, saw the gradual introduction of metalworking to the region. Copper, sourced from deposits in the Calabrian highlands and possibly from more distant locations through trade networks, began to supplement and eventually supplant stone as the primary material for tools and weapons. This technological shift, while seemingly modest by modern standards, had far-reaching implications. Metal tools were more efficient, more durable, and more versatile than their stone counterparts. Their production required specialized knowledge, which in turn fostered the emergence of craft specialists and, with them, new forms of social hierarchy.

The Chalcolithic period also witnessed the construction of megalithic monuments and fortified settlements, suggesting that competition for resources and territory was intensifying. The defensive walls and strategic hilltop locations of many sites from this era speak to a world in which violence was an ever-present possibility. The landscape of Calabria, with its natural strongholds and commanding vantage points, lent itself to this kind of fortified existence. Communities perched on hilltops could survey the surrounding territory, spot approaching threats, and control access to vital resources such as water, arable land, and trade routes.

The Bronze Age, from approximately 3000 to 1000 BCE, represents a period of significant cultural and demographic development in Calabria. The region's population grew, settlements expanded, and social organization became increasingly complex. The emergence of hierarchical societies, with chiefs or petty kings presiding over networks of villages and controlling the distribution of prestige goods, marks a decisive step toward the kind of political organization that would later characterize the Greek colonial period.

Bronze Age Calabria is particularly associated with the so-called "Apennine culture," a term used by archaeologists to describe the pastoral and agricultural communities that inhabited the mountainous interior of the Italian peninsula during the second millennium BCE. These communities, while not producing the grand monuments or elaborate art of their contemporaries in the Aegean or the Near East, developed a distinctive material culture characterized by coarse pottery, bronze weapons and tools, and a way of life adapted to the harsh realities of the Apennine highlands. Their settlements, often located on defensible hilltops or in caves, reflect a society organized around pastoralism, small-scale agriculture, and the defense of territory.

Along the coasts, however, a different picture emerges. The Bronze Age saw the growth of maritime trade networks that connected Calabria to the wider Mediterranean world. Mycenaean pottery, produced in Greece during the late second millennium BCE, has been found at several Calabrian sites, providing evidence of commercial contact between the Italian peninsula and the Aegean civilizations. These connections, while perhaps limited in scope, were nonetheless significant, for they introduced Calabrian communities to new technologies, new ideas, and new possibilities. The arrival of Mycenaean goods on Calabrian shores was a harbinger of the much more intensive Greek contact that would follow in the centuries to come.

The transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, around 1000 BCE, was a period of upheaval and transformation throughout the Mediterranean. The collapse of the great Bronze Age civilizations, the Mycenaean palaces, the Hittite empire, the Egyptian New Kingdom, ushered in a period of instability, migration, and cultural reorganization. In Calabria, as elsewhere in Italy, this transition was marked by the emergence of new peoples, new languages, and new forms of social organization.

The Iron Age in Calabria is associated with the arrival and settlement of the Italic peoples, the various tribal groups who would come to dominate the Italian peninsula in the centuries before Roman hegemony. Among the most significant of these groups were the Oenotrians, the Itali, and the Sicels, though the precise relationships between these peoples and their movements across the peninsula remain subjects of scholarly debate. What is clear is that by the early first millennium BCE, the population of Calabria was a mosaic of different ethnic and linguistic groups, each with its own traditions, its own gods, and its own way of life.

The Oenotrians, according to ancient literary sources, were among the earliest Italic inhabitants of the region. Their name, derived from the Greek word for wine, suggests that viticulture was an important part of their economy and culture. They occupied much of what is now southern Calabria, particularly the interior highlands and the Ionian coast. Their settlements, while not large by later standards, were well-established and self-sufficient, based on a mixed economy of agriculture, pastoralism, and trade.

To the north, in the area around modern Cosenza and the Crati valley, other Italic groups established themselves, including the Brettii, or Bruttians, who would later play a significant role in the region's history. The Bruttians, whose origins are debated, may have been a mixture of indigenous Italic peoples and later arrivals, possibly fugitives or rebels from other parts of southern Italy. By the fourth century BCE, they had established a confederation of sorts, controlling a significant portion of the Calabrian interior and posing a persistent threat to the Greek colonies on the coast.

The relationship between the indigenous Italic peoples and the Greek colonists who began arriving in the eighth century BCE is one of the central themes of Calabrian history. It was a relationship characterized by both cooperation and conflict, by cultural exchange and mutual suspicion, by trade and by war. The Greeks brought with them the institutions of the city-state, the art of writing, and a tradition of philosophical and scientific inquiry. The Italic peoples brought their own rich traditions of oral poetry, religious practice, and social organization. The interaction between these two worlds would produce a culture of remarkable vitality and complexity, one that would leave an indelible mark on the history of the Mediterranean.

But before the Greeks arrived, the indigenous peoples of Calabria had already developed sophisticated systems of social organization, religious belief, and economic production. Their villages, while lacking the monumental architecture of later periods, were carefully planned and well-maintained. Their religious practices, centered on the worship of natural forces and ancestral spirits, reflected a deep connection to the land and its rhythms. Their material culture, while less elaborate than that of the great Mediterranean civilizations, was well-adapted to the specific conditions of the Calabrian landscape.

The study of these early communities relies heavily on archaeology, for the pre-Greek inhabitants of Calabria left no written records of their own. What we know of them comes from the material remains they left behind, pottery, tools, weapons, burial sites, and the foundations of their dwellings. These remains, painstakingly excavated and analyzed by generations of archaeologists, provide a fragmentary but increasingly detailed picture of life in Calabria before the arrival of literate civilization.

One of the most important sources of information about the pre-Greek inhabitants of Calabria is the evidence of their burial practices. The dead, as in most ancient societies, were treated with care and respect, and the manner of their burial reveals much about the beliefs and social structures of the living. Inhumation, the burial of the intact body, was the predominant practice throughout most of the prehistoric period, though cremation became more common in certain areas and periods. Grave goods, pottery vessels, bronze ornaments, weapons, and personal items placed alongside the deceased, provide clues about social status, gender roles, and religious beliefs.

The necropolis sites of Calabria, scattered across the region from the Tyrrhenian to the Ionian coast, have yielded a wealth of information about the prehistoric communities that inhabited the land. At sites such as Torre Galli near Vibo Valentia, archaeologists have uncovered elaborate burials dating to the Iron Age, containing bronze fibulae, amber beads, and imported pottery that attest to the wealth and connections of the local elite. These finds suggest that even before the arrival of the Greeks, Calabrian communities were part of extensive trade networks that linked the Italian peninsula to the broader Mediterranean world.

The religious life of the pre-Greek Calabrians, while difficult to reconstruct in detail, appears to have been centered on the worship of natural forces and the veneration of ancestors. Sacred sites, springs, caves, hilltops, and groves of trees, were scattered across the landscape, serving as focal points for ritual activity. The cave of the nymphs at Scalea, the sacred groves of the Sibyls in the Pollino mountains, and the numerous springs and wells that dot the Calabrian countryside all bear witness to a religious sensibility deeply rooted in the natural world.

The role of women in these early societies is a subject of considerable interest and debate. Archaeological evidence, particularly from burial sites, suggests that women held positions of some importance in prehistoric Calabrian communities. Female burials containing rich grave goods, including jewelry, mirrors, and ritual objects, indicate that at least some women enjoyed high social status. Whether this reflects a broader pattern of gender equality or the exceptional status of a few elite individuals is difficult to determine, but the evidence is suggestive.

The economy of prehistoric Calabria was based on a combination of agriculture, pastoralism, hunting, and trade. The fertile coastal plains and river valleys supported the cultivation of cereals, legumes, and olives, while the mountainous interior provided pasture for sheep and goats. Hunting, though declining in importance as agriculture expanded, continued to supplement the diet, particularly in the more remote highlands. Trade, both local and long-distance, played an increasingly important role, as Calabrian communities exchanged surplus agricultural products, raw materials, and crafted goods with their neighbors.

The landscape itself was a crucial factor in shaping the economic and social life of prehistoric Calabria. The region's rugged terrain, while offering natural defenses and abundant resources, also imposed significant constraints on communication and movement. Mountain passes were few and often treacherous. Rivers, while providing water and fertile alluvial soil, could be unpredictable and dangerous during the winter rains. The coasts, while offering access to maritime trade, were exposed to storms and raiders. These geographic realities fostered a pattern of localized, semi-autonomous communities, each adapted to its particular niche in the landscape.

The climate of Calabria in prehistoric times was broadly similar to that of today, though there were significant fluctuations over the millennia. The region enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters, but the specific conditions varied with altitude and proximity to the sea. The coastal lowlands were warmer and drier, suitable for the cultivation of olives, grapes, and citrus fruits. The interior highlands were cooler and wetter, better suited to cereals, pasture, and forest products. These climatic variations contributed to the diversity of economic activities across the region and to the development of distinct local traditions.

The forests that once covered much of Calabria's mountainous interior were a vital resource for the prehistoric communities. Timber was essential for construction, fuel, and the production of charcoal. The forests also provided food, wild game, nuts, berries, and honey, as well as medicinal plants and raw materials for crafts. The management and exploitation of forest resources was a critical aspect of the prehistoric economy, and the gradual deforestation that occurred over the millennia, driven by agricultural expansion, grazing, and the demand for timber, would have profound consequences for the region's ecology and settlement patterns.

The fauna of prehistoric Calabria was considerably richer than that of the modern region. The forests and grasslands supported populations of deer, wild boar, wolves, bears, and a variety of smaller mammals, birds, and reptiles. The rivers and coastal waters teemed with fish and shellfish. This abundance of wildlife provided a crucial supplement to the agricultural diet and supported a tradition of hunting that persisted well into the historical period. The gradual decline of these animal populations, driven by habitat loss and overhunting, is one of the less visible but no less significant transformations in the region's history.

The question of when and how the first permanent settlements appeared in Calabria is one of the central problems of the region's prehistory. The transition from temporary camps and seasonal shelters to permanent villages was a gradual process, driven by the adoption of agriculture and the increasing sedentism that it entailed. By the Neolithic period, permanent settlements of considerable size had been established in the most favorable locations, particularly along the coasts and in the river valleys. These settlements, while modest by later standards, represented a fundamental shift in the relationship between human communities and the land.

The architecture of these early settlements was simple but functional. Dwellings were typically constructed of stone, wood, and mud brick, with thatched or wooden roofs. The layout of the settlements, often clustered around a central open space or arranged along a main thoroughfare, suggests a degree of communal planning and social organization. Defensive walls, where they existed, were constructed of rough stone, sometimes reinforced with earthworks or wooden palisades. The construction of these settlements required considerable collective effort, implying a level of social coordination and leadership.

The social organization of prehistoric Calabrian communities is difficult to reconstruct in detail, but the archaeological evidence suggests a progression from relatively egalitarian bands of hunter-gatherers to increasingly hierarchical agricultural societies. The emergence of social stratification, visible in the differential treatment of the dead and the concentration of wealth in certain burials, marks a significant development in the region's social history. By the Iron Age, the existence of chieftains or petty kings, individuals who controlled resources, directed labor, and led their communities in war, is well attested by the archaeological record.

The technological achievements of the prehistoric Calabrians, while less dramatic than those of the great Mediterranean civilizations, were nonetheless impressive. The development of agriculture, the domestication of animals, the invention of pottery, the discovery of metalworking, and the construction of permanent settlements all represent major advances in human capability. These achievements, built up over millennia of trial and error, laid the foundation for the more complex societies that would emerge in the historical period.

The linguistic landscape of prehistoric Calabria is one of the most challenging aspects of the region's early history. The indigenous peoples of the region spoke languages that belong to the Italic branch of the Indo-European family, but the precise relationships between these languages and their distribution across the region remain poorly understood. Place names, personal names, and a handful of inscriptions provide tantalizing clues, but the picture is far from complete. The arrival of the Greek colonists would introduce a new linguistic element, and the subsequent Roman conquest would eventually impose Latin as the dominant language, but the pre-Italic and Italic linguistic substrata would persist in various forms, influencing the development of the local dialects that survive to this day.

The artistic traditions of prehistoric Calabria, while less well-known than those of the Greek or Roman periods, are nonetheless significant. The cave engravings of the Romito, the decorated pottery of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages, and the bronze figurines and ornaments of the Iron Age all attest to a rich and varied artistic heritage. These works, while often modest in scale and technique, reveal a creative impulse that was deeply rooted in the life of the community. The motifs and styles found in Calabrian prehistoric art, spirals, geometric patterns, animal and human figures, connect the region to broader artistic traditions stretching across the Mediterranean and beyond.

The question of external influences on prehistoric Calabria is a complex one. The region's position at the center of the Mediterranean made it a natural crossroads for the movement of peoples, goods, and ideas. Trade connections with Sicily, the Aegean, and the eastern Mediterranean brought new materials, new technologies, and new cultural practices to Calabrian communities. At the same time, the region's rugged terrain and relative isolation fostered the development of distinctive local traditions that were not simply derivative of external models. The interplay between external influence and local innovation is a recurring theme in Calabrian history, one that begins in the prehistoric period and continues to the present day.

The end of the prehistoric period in Calabria is conventionally marked by the arrival of the Greek colonists in the eighth century BCE, an event that inaugurated a new era in the region's history. But the transition from prehistory to history was not a sudden or dramatic one. The indigenous communities of Calabria did not vanish with the arrival of the Greeks; they persisted, adapted, and interacted with the newcomers in ways that shaped the character of the region for centuries to come. The legacy of the prehistoric period, the agricultural practices, the social structures, the religious traditions, the artistic sensibilities, formed the substrate upon which the edifice of classical civilization would be built.

The study of Calabria's ancient origins is an ongoing endeavor, with new archaeological discoveries continually refining and sometimes overturning our understanding of the past. Recent excavations at sites across the region have yielded surprising finds, from previously unknown Neolithic villages to elaborate Iron Age burials, that challenge long-held assumptions and open new avenues of inquiry. The application of modern scientific techniques, radiocarbon dating, DNA analysis, isotopic studies, to the material remains of the past has revolutionized our ability to reconstruct the lives of Calabria's earliest inhabitants.

The story of ancient Calabria is, in many ways, a microcosm of the broader story of human settlement in the Mediterranean. It is a story of adaptation and innovation, of resilience in the face of natural and human challenges, of the slow accumulation of knowledge and skill that made possible the great civilizations of the classical world. The people who first settled this rugged and beautiful land, who tilled its soil, tended its flocks, and buried their dead in its caves and hillsides, set in motion a chain of events that would eventually produce one of the most culturally rich and historically significant regions in all of Europe.

To walk through the Calabrian countryside today is to walk through layers of history that stretch back tens of thousands of years. The terraced hillsides that support olive groves and vineyards were first shaped by Neolithic farmers. The hilltop towns that crown the mountainsides often occupy sites that have been continuously inhabited since the Bronze Age. The caves that shelter hikers and shepherds once sheltered Paleolithic hunters. The roads that connect the region's towns and villages follow paths that were trodden by Iron Age traders and warriors. The past is not something distant and abstract in Calabria; it is woven into the very fabric of the landscape, visible to those who know how to look.

The ancient origins of Calabria remind us that history does not begin with the written word. The millennia of human experience that preceded the arrival of the Greeks and Romans, the long, slow process of settlement, adaptation, and cultural development that transformed a wild landscape into a home, are no less significant for being undocumented. The stone tools, the pottery shards, the burial sites, and the foundations of ancient dwellings that lie beneath the surface of the modern landscape are the silent witnesses to a story that is as old as humanity itself. It is a story that deserves to be told, not as a prelude to the "real" history that follows, but as a chapter in its own right, rich with meaning and consequence.

The land that would become Calabria was shaped by forces both human and natural, by the slow grind of tectonic plates and the patient labor of generations of farmers, by the violence of earthquakes and the quiet persistence of communities that refused to be defeated. The ancient origins of the region are not a mere backdrop to the dramas that would follow; they are the foundation upon which everything else was built. The Greeks who arrived on Calabrian shores in the eighth century BCE found not an empty wilderness but a land already rich with human history, already marked by the footprints of those who had come before. And it is with this deep, layered past in mind that we must approach the story of Calabria, recognizing that the region's history did not begin with the first Greek colony or the first Roman road, but with the first human beings who looked upon this rugged, beautiful land and decided to make it their home.