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cELTS, MEMORY of EUROPeThe books of history always represented Celts as 'gentle' barbars, defeated in the fate, as in the battle, by the Roman legions. The truth is very different: Celts have been the most powerful people in Europe, in the geographic area between the Black Sea and the Ireland. They anticipated the not-figurative art, and they have been the firsts to mould the iron, when the Greeks and the Romans was still using the bronze; they also invented most of the tools used up to the recent mechanization. Thousands of rivers, mountains and towns still mantain their Celtic name, like 'Paris’ - the Romans wanted to transform her name in 'Lutetia', up to Basel, Geneva, Bern and Milan. The far past of the Celts is deep-rooted in our daily scenery, in our traditions, and also in our way to conceive the time (for example with the fifteen inherited from the subdivision of the celtic month), and to scan them with the great feasts of the celtic calendar: "Halloween", the Celtic New Year's Day, reappears in our minds and those ingenious, brave and, sometimes, impulsive ancestors, that we thought was disappeared on the road of the history, here come back to life in our memory.
Asturias Autonomous Principality, located on the Spanish north-west side, with a coastline of 320 km. Located between Galicia and Cantabrian Mountains, the Principality of Asturias includes a little bit more of 1,000,000 people. It's a country rich of green mounts, it could be described as a mix between 'the almost mystical rage of the Cantabric Sea and the magical serenity of his mountains'. His famous peaks reach an altitude of 2600 mt. Oviedo, cradle of pre-Romanic Asturias and declared ‘Human Heritage site ’, is the capital of this Principality. It's a city subject to continous transformation, after a long period in which the main form of industrialization was the mining. Gijon, endowed with an important harbour, it's the most populous city.
Cornwall The Cornwall, capital Truro, it's a county with 400.000 people and it's located in the south-west area of Great Britain. Washed by the Gulf Stream, it's the ‘Riviera’ of the English. Originated from the same branch of Breton and Welsh, the Cornish is a miraculously-saved language: disappeared at the end of XVIIIth century, has been recovered thanks to some medieval manuscripts and then reenacted, and recently achieved a rebirth. Moreover, groups of students increase the study of Cornish music heritage.
Scotland Located in the Far North of Great Britain, the name ‘Scotland’ evokes the Highlands, the good whisky, the kilt (whose colors and draws are peculiar of the clans), the pipe, the weirdest sports (like the caber toss), the rugby, the Loch Ness monster, the thistle, the Saint Andrew's Cross… The Scotland, native land of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, it's all that, and everything is kept together thanks to a strong and proud identity. The Scotland shows itself easily to whom who wants to visit it. Ready to reaffirm itself, to catch the chances, Scotland now more than ever keeps up with the times. The Gaelic language is continuously renewing thanks to a strong political will, that brings to the opening of schools and radio and TV channels in Gaelic language.
Brittanyetagna The Breton - or brezhoneg - and also the Gaulishil languages are not extinct, but they do need some help to survive. the Breton culture, on the contrary, in her entirety, is wide connected with the present and open to the future. The Festival Interceltique of Lorient and the 'festoù noz', among the others, keep to maintain the Breton culture in a dynamic actuality. In the past, Celtic tribes were established in Armorica and they left as heritage the names of several towns (Vénetès is Vannes, Redones Redon, Namnètes Nantes etc.). The Breton people coming from Great Britain were chased away by the English and the Saxons, so they moved to Armorica in numbers, creating their new country. They bring as memory the Irish catholic traditions, so they build parishes, monasteries and abbeys, always recurrent in Breton toponymy. After the victory against Charles the Bald, Brittany claims the independence and keeps them up to XVIth century.
Galicia Placed at north-west of Spain, between Portugal and Asturias, Galicia is an autonomous community with a population of 3 millions people. The capital is Santiago de Compostela and the main towns are Vigo, La Coruña, Ourense and Lugo. Funnily enough, the most important town of Galicia is Buenos Aires. The emigration towards Argentina was very intense , that's why the Argentineans usually call the Spanish people 'the Galicians'. Green and winding, Galicia reminds in some way the Brittany, moreover in the coastal area of the ‘rias’, where the fish, tourism and aquaculture industries are more developed. The Celtic language has been lost during the Roman occupation, but has left some tracks especially in the names of some places. Today the Galician, as well as the Castilian, it's an official language, and the study of them it's compulsory everywhere. Galicia is famous also because of the Way of St. James, performed today by tens of thousands pilgrims from all the world.
Isle of Man Located in the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man has an area of 570 kmq and a population of 60.000 inhabitants, half of which are resident in the seaside resort of Douglas. This tax haven inherited from the Vikings one of the oldest Parliament of the world, based since more than a thousand years on the Tynwald Hill. The overview could remind Scotland, because of the winding roads and the mildest landscapes. The Isle of Man is well known for the motorbike racing, the Manx cats, the Loaghtan sheep and the horse-drawn trams. The Manx music has been revised to enjoy the modern style, and developed by groups of young musicians. Ireland Ireland (Eire in Gaelic), on the west area of British archipelago, has four and a half millions of inhabitants, three quarter of which live in the South, in the Independent Republic (capital Dublin); the area in the North, Ulster (capital Belfast) is still owned by United Kingdom. Known because of the originality of her landscape, tipically green, and because of a lifestyle still kept intact thanks to the insularity, Ireland has a very special place in the heart of the Celts, that celebrate St. Patrick as their symbolical patron saint. Is an island of peat and broom, of whiskey, pints and pubs; Ireland fighted tooth and nail for her culture, and the music is like a second nature for Irish people. Gaelic language is known by about one million of people, and spoken by 200.000 of them.
Wales Placed in the west side of Great Britain, the country of Wales has a population estimated at three millions. Wales lost his Parliament in XVIth century, has been annexed to England for four centuries and recently regained his autonomy thanks to a referendum. Actually the country is administered by a 'National Assembly'. Cardiff (300 000 inhabitants) is the young capital of this country, who reached a copious prosperity in the industrial era, and this richness is well reflected in the name of her buildings. Since more than seven centuries several sumptuous fortresses, built by Anglo-Normans, shows the scars of the unceasing fights against the Gauls. Wales boasts an exceptionally preserved nature thanks also to three National Parks. The effort to make the Welsh language survive is tightly challenged. All the study courses can be followed in Welsh, and the study of it is compulsory during the primary school. There is a TV channel only in Welsh language, and the channel of BBC is bilingual.
the 'celtic friends' nations Australia Australia, the biggest isle-continent of the world, is located in the southern hemisphere between Indian and Pacific Oceans. Is made up of a Federation of States and Territories,the capital is Canberra.
The history of this country is fascinating, and her celtic roots are strictly connected to her past as penal colony; anyway later on there was an evolution that permitted to reach, nowadays, a real identity in what is commonly known as music of the 'bush'. This traditional music, who's been for a long time the only amusement for the prisoners, and later on for the pioneers, tells the exciting history of this population with a strong accent, that call to mind the Irish influences.
Acadia This first French colony in America has been constituted since 1604 on the lands that now are called New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine.
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