|
May 8, 2004
NATURAL TREASURE LOST
By Tina Di Clemente
The Hamilton Spectator, Forum Page
Natural treasure lost
Red Hill expressway suggests
many Hamiltonians lack passion for nature
Since 1993, I have had the good fortune to frequently visit the small Italian village in Abruzzo where my parents grew up before they established roots in Hamilton in 1951. My parents' home village lies within the beautiful Maiella National Park of Abruzzo.
One of the most remarkable traits about Italians who never left their native soil is how deeply they feel a sense of home about where they live. The following true account happened in this small Italian village just a few years ago.
One day, a mysterious car drove through the town square. The passengers were a team of museum representatives who had arrived to collect the beloved wooden statue of Saint Bartholomew for restoration purposes.
Without informing the community, these officials snatched the statue from the 13th century chapel in the mountains and simply drove away. Within minutes the rumour had spread that the precious relic had been stolen.
Like the unfolding of a Fellini film, the town was in an uproar. Church bells clamoured. People scurried to the town square to see what the fuss was about. When they discovered that their "San Bartolomeo" had been stolen, the people demanded its safe return. Leading the charge was a 90-year-old woman who vowed she would not leave the public square until she saw with her own eyes, the safe return of her beloved saint. With a desperate yelp, this woman declared she could not die knowing that the saint was missing.
Public officials were forced to act. Within a few hours, the mysterious car came back. The door swung open and out emerged the carved wooden saint. The crowd cheered and cried. The drama was over; all was well again.
I was so impressed with this story, because it demonstrated how deeply these people felt a sense of home and heritage for their community. After experiencing many other similar episodes, I came to sadly realize how the people of Hamilton lack this same passion for where they live.
This realization slowly revealed itself over the years and specifically through my involvement with the fight to save Red Hill Valley . I learned how poorly we value the treasures within our home. Many people here see their treasures only within the property lines of their own dwellings. A real community can never be created on such a self-centred view.
All of this made me wonder how the people of my parents' homeland would look upon the treasure of Red Hill Valley , the last natural corridor that connects the renowned Niagara Escarpment to Lake Ontario .
So I pondered "what if Red Hill Valley were situated in Italy ?"
My relatives once told me that forest officials caught a visiting Italian-American cutting down a few trees within the park boundary. The penalty was so harsh that he was never allowed to visit Italy again. I wonder what Italian forest officials would think of the removal of 40,000 trees from Hamilton 's Red Hill Valley ?
Red Hill Valley could be be one of the largest urban parks in all of Canada . I wonder what Italians would think if a highway was proposed through one of their largest urban parks, such as the Borghese Gardens in Rome ?
More than 20 archeological sites have been discovered in Red Hill Valley . One is an 14th century native village. Another is an 11,000 year old settlement that marks some of the earliest records of human life in Ontario . Not even the Roman Forum is as old as this settlement.
In Italy , if an archeological find is made, the earth just about stops. Barricades are erected, experts carefully work to reveal all the treasures buried within. In time, the site becomes a new monument to the past and it will attract tourists for generations to come. I wonder what Italian archeologists would have thought if they had stumbled upon the buried treasures of Red Hill Valley in their country.
While hiking with a group of Italian tourists through the Valley of Orfento in Abruzzo, I paused to soak my aching feet in the icy waters of the valley stream. People glared at me with disdain. I was confused and asked my relatives why the terrible looks. They replied it was improper to soak my feet when people further downstream were drinking from the very same stream. What a striking contrast this is to Hamilton , where for years raw sewage has been illegally allowed to spill into Red Hill Creek, the very last of 14 creeks to naturally flow through Hamilton .
Since the Second World War, my parents' home village has had to re-invent itself if it was to survive today's economic realities.
Now it depends heavily on the natural beauty of the park to attract tourists. Hamilton is fortunate to be positioned at the head of Lake Ontario . The Niagara Escarpment, classified as a World Biosphere Reserve, graces our city.
Thus I wonder what the fate of Red Hill Valley would have been if it were nestled in the Appenine forests of Abruzzo?
Maybe there it would find a people who would embrace it and defend it with the love one has for home.
Tina Di Clemente is a resident of Hamilton for more than 40 years and is a teacher with the Halton Catholic District School Board.
|
