Land and freedom: Bosco
Featuring a magnificent terrace overlooking the Gulf of Policastro from the slopes of Mount Bulgheria, “Bosco de li Casali” (literally “Wood of the rural homes”), as it was anciently known, is a fascinating village rich in history.
Like the nearby village of San Giovanni a Piro, it was founded in the early Middle Ages by Basilian monks. Their abbey, the Coenobium of Saint Nicholas, served as its social and economic hub.
It stood in an unassailable position and, for over 500 years, operated as an autonomous jurisdiction independent of any diocese.
Like Camerota and other Cilento towns, in the 16th century it was attacked by the pirates of Dragut and razed to the ground.
In the 19th century, it was the scene of brutal repressions carried out by the Bourbon General Del Carretto to crush the libertarian uprisings of 1828. His orders were to completely destroy the town and forbid anyone from rebuilding it.
The great Spanish painter and sculptor José Ortega—a friend and pupil of Pablo Picasso, and a political refugee persecuted by the Franco regime—later chose Bosco as his home. He left the town a series of splendid majolicas that recount the tragic story of the 1828 massacre.
Ortega's house still stands there today, right in the center of the village; on its entrance door, a signed majolica tile simply reads "pintor" — Spanish for painter.
And in the heart of the village lies the museum that bears his name: the Ortega Museum, a splendid, hidden treasure trove of art.
It preserves the works of this great artist who chose to become a son of Cilento, offering one of the finest collections by a creator capable of uplifting the outcast, the oppressed, and those who suffer yet never stop believing in freedom and fighting to achieve it.
It is undoubtedly one of the most precious artistic testaments in Cilento, inextricably linked to the land, and a wonderful example of a unique excursion off the beaten path.
(Note: "Land and Freedom" serves as a clear homage to one of the finest films by the legendary filmmaker Ken Loach, who, much like José Ortega, dedicated his art to telling the stories and championing the redemption of the marginalized).
https://cilentofortravellers.com/services/excursions/pietrasanta-ciolandrea-bosco-and-museum-ortega
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