The history of Abruzzo has been considered very poor,useful only to fill up the empty areas of the national events. This book, on the contrary, offers an image of Abruzzo, as moving forward in perfect agreement with national events, offering them much in relation to their identity,it is almost their heart. The community is the protagonist, instead of politicians, economists and ideologists. This community may sometimes have narrow horizons, but it is ever endowed with spirit of sacrifice. Therefore not only will the reader find all that is peculiar to Abruzzese history, the Risorgimento bandits, emigration, D'Annunzio, wars, earthshakes, political parties, literary men, heroes, but also new and different stories, economic growth, women, crimes, family, demography, following a chronological development which touches our days, up to the 2000 regional elections.

   Here is a large summary of pages 158 and 159 from part four, Abruzzo Today, Pax et Libertas(Peace and Freedom) about reconstruction and emigration in the fifties.

Reconstruction and emigration,a summary.

   Abruzzo was struggling to emerge from its ruins, as it had been one of the most seriously damaged Italian regions during the conflict; a stripe of distructions showing, like a deadly injury, the places where the German defence lines had been situated and where the bombings had broken up the main production and communication centres. Avezzano, Pescara, Francavilla and Ortona had been widely destroyed.

   The first and most visible consequence of this serious situation was the immediate resumption of emigration, part of which was headed abroad, most of all towards North European countries, Venezuela, Canada and Australia. A second flaw went towards Northern Italy and Rome.

   Once again, the people from Abruzzo show their attitude to sacrifice and adventure. It is not casual, indeed the fact that the people from Abruzzo offer a very relevant contribution to the hardest and most extreme Italian emigration (towards Canada and Australia).

   The movement in and out the region, to Rome and to the Adriatic coast was relevant, too. All these processes were finally upsetting and resulted in a complete eradication of the population.

   The emigration of the second post-war years was very different from the one of the end of the 19th century. Not only, in fact,did surplus peasants leave, but also technicians and managers. Almost all the new emigrants came from families which had suffered long separations. As they wanted to imitate their parents' adventurous lives, but not to repeat thier errors, they quickly moved their families, definitely settling in the new reality. So whole villages were emptied and towards the mid-fifties a real process of mountain desertification took place. An example is the total extinction of Rocca Calascio. the highest village of the Appennini mountains, an escape from difficulties, cold, and hard agriculture.

   Statistical data rapidly show dramatic changes in the region. The most traditional areas lose their population,whereas new,densely populated ones grow up fast,most of all towards the sea....