"The complex history of humanity has shaped social and territorial characterizations that have become local excellences in today's world.

Italòi is a term used by the ancient Greeks to indicate the Vituli, a population residing in the extreme southern tip of the Italian peninsula, so named because their religion involved the worship of the image of a calf. The term Vituli, in fact, literally means "inhabitant of the land of calves." The evolution of the term Italòi gave rise, between the 6th and 5th centuries BC, to the use of a new word: ITALIA, initially indicating a very specific region, namely present-day Calabria.

Calabria has thus been a land of survival and conquest by humans since the dawn of civilization, owing to its geographical position in the center of the Mediterranean, making it a territory of passage and encounter from its origins.

The Sila plateau, in the region's hinterland, is an ancient land that emerged when much of Italy was covered by the sea. This mountainous massif, rising in the heart of the Mediterranean, characterized by an eclectic and wild nature marked by the testimonies of history, art, and traditions, is striving to regain the fame rightly assigned to it by classical authors.

Life there seems suspended between tradition and progress, devoid of defined dimensions. Cattle, sheep, and goats have provided livelihoods for the inhabitants of the Calabrian mountains for centuries. However, the phenomenon observed for some time now is a slow abandonment of agricultural activities and the consequent decrease in productivity and economy, due not only to the hardships of work but also to an increasingly uncertain and poorly rewarding agricultural economy in a region considered one of the poorest in Europe.

Life unfolds simply, often laboriously; the age-old rites linked to the bond between man and animal maintain a mechanism that restores stability and regularity to a closed yet aware popular culture, continually rejuvenating itself.

Protective intervention programs aimed at safeguarding the breeding of native breeds, such as the Podolian among cattle, have partly succeeded in rectifying a situation that over time has proven rather precarious.

The Podolian cattle breed is an ancient breed raised in the southern Apennines from Campania to Puglia, reaching the heights of Calabria, known for the high quality of its meat and milk.

It is estimated that in 1940 there were around 600,000 heads of Podolian cattle in Italy, of which 400,000 were in southern Italy. By the early 1980s, the number of Podolian cattle had dropped to 100,000 heads, only present in the southern regions of the peninsula, while in 2013, the number did not exceed 28,000 units.

Podolian cattle are distinguished by their great adaptability to the territory they inhabit, even in very difficult environmental conditions. The breeding is extensive, mainly based on the exploitation of natural pastures. In fact, the herds, once they have grazed the coastal pastures, with the advent of the warm season and the lack of water, move in transhumance to the inner plateaus of the regions, returning to the lower pastures at the end of autumn.

In fact, the term 'transhumance' itself comes from the Latin "trans" (across) and "humus" (earth), meaning "across the earth," "beyond the earth," evoking the image of the journey towards new pastures.

Native breeds in Italy have drastically reduced in number. In the case of the Calabria region, this has occurred not only due to the abandonment of livestock activities but also because other cattle breeds, considered more productive by breeders, have been introduced into the territory in an attempt to revive their economies. It was therefore essential to implement a project for the defense of biodiversity, starting with cattle breeds, and gradually extending it to other endangered species. In this regard, the management of the Podolian breed constitutes a good practice to imitate and export.

Multi-year protective intervention programs, supported by European funding, such as the current Rural Development Program (RDP) and the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) being worked on, are partly succeeding in rectifying a situation that has proven rather precarious over time. They allow individual Italian regions to support and finance interventions in the regional agricultural-forestry sector and enhance the development of rural areas.

The defense and protection of these places and the realities that inhabit them are important not only for the Calabria region but for the entire Italian territory, as the loss of these identities is not only an economic but also a cultural loss.

It's a reflection to which we are increasingly invited, to instill an awareness that leads to effective actions.