Femmene minute cu’ ‘a forza ‘e ‘nu gigante (Little women with a giant’s power) in the terraced landscape of Amalfi Coast

Women have always had a fundamental role in taking care of the terraced landscape in Amalfi Coast. The ancestral relationship between women and their landscape has ancient origins and it is based on the fact that, while activities at sea, since the times of the Maritime Republic, were exclusive to the male world, on land women played all the roles, acquiring a very high knowledge of the territory and a high degree of independence thanks to the prolonged absence of men. «Furmechelle» (= little ants) was the name the Amalfitan community called rural women, because of their hard and endlessly work. Little ants with a giant strength carried during centuries lemons, food, soil, and everything connected with the rural life from terraced gardens as far as the sea. This article traces the symbiotic relationship between the female body and everyday vertical places of the terraced landscape in Amalfi Coast. Older women proudly remember: «Avimmo faticato sempre» (= we strongly worked all day in agriculture). A form of pride and care that is still present among women and that can be the fundamental key to the new processes of protection of the landscape of the Amalfi Coast.