Transhumance is an ancient practice with millennia-old origins, still alive today across the world, each region preserving its unique traits shaped by geography, environment, society, culture, politics, and economy.
The word itself likely derives from the Latin trans (across) and humus (soil, land), referring to the seasonal migration of livestock between mountain pastures and lowland grazing areas.
Over the centuries, transhumance has shaped not only landscapes but also the communities that inhabit them, weaving relationships and shared knowledge across generations and regions. Thanks to transhumance and extensive pastoralism, today we can admire the gentle, lush mountain meadows—habitats rich in biodiversity, home to a vast variety of plants, flowers, wild and domesticated animals, insects, birds, and reptiles.
Beyond its ecological value, transhumance represents a living cultural identity, inscribed in local knowledge, practices, and memories—of which shepherding remains a powerful voice. By combining quality products with ecosystem services, transhumance and extensive pastoralism represent an innovative, forward-looking choice: one of care for the land, productive sustainability, and harmonious coexistence between humans, animals, and nature.
A vital path for addressing today’s challenges and rethinking how we inhabit the Earth.
On May 15, 16, and 17, 2025, you’ll have the opportunity to walk this path of history once again—traveling with a goat herd toward the summer pastures of Capracotta, along the ancient transhumance routes that cross the Molise region, following stretches of the Castel di Sangro–Lucera and Celano–Foggia tratturi (drover’s roads).
Three days of walking. Three days of discovery of ancient routes, of milk and cheese, of pastures and …stars.
For more information: https://www.laterra.org/laterra/la-transumanza-di-valerio-2025/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJbcA5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXGnpqG4P_i9hvF_gw8Z-JhNi4V9eVJ6PS0Jp2KVvM8PoKyeY5kklmAoOg_aem_A0Ab2JOcFZbfLWXHj3z4kg