On Friday 3 January, the round table ‘Tradition and innovation of Lucanian masks and masking practices in the contemporary world: the Cucibocca of Montescaglioso’ was held in the Chapter House of the Abbey of San Michele Arcangelo.
It was a meeting with associations, institutions and the local community, organised by the Pro Loco di Montescaglioso, with the patronage of the Municipality of Montescaglioso and the Department for Humanistic, Scientific and Social Innovation of the University of Basilicata.
After institutional greetings by Rocco Oliva, Deputy Mayor of Montescaglioso, Pro Loco President Valentino Didio presented the initiatives organised for the ‘Night of Cucibocca’.
During the round table discussion, moderated by anthropologist Vita Santoro and centred on the theme of masks and, in particular, the figure of Cucibocca, speakers included Pilar Panero Garcia, an anthropologist from the University of Valladolid and project leader of the MASKS Project; Marina Berardi, an anthropologist from the University of Basilicata and photographer; Leonardo Montemurro, President of the National Confederation of Craftsmen-Basilicata; Mauro Bubbico, a lecturer and graphic designer; and Antonella D'Auria, an anthropologist involved in the MASKS Project.
This European project pursues the objective of not dispersing and enhancing the knowledge and skills related to mask-making, also for future training and professional paths in the field of craftsmanship.
The evening ended with the viewing of the audio-visual document ‘Il Cucibocca’, produced by the University of Basilicata working group with the technical support of the RWM Broadcast company, which showed how the Cucibocca mask should be considered not as a product, a defined artefact, but as a process in continuous transformation, the result of traditions that over time are modelled on contemporary needs.
