Brigantiland. Social media, circuiti commerciali, intrattenimento

This article aims to analyze the different expressions of the Italian Brigandage’s counter-narrative into contemporary popular culture. The essay introduces the definition of Brigantiland as a complex mainstreaming where the different mediatic networks catch up a several number of users in the online world. By applying the methods of the Public History, considering the huge number of contents, which are shared into the web and comparing with similar repertoires, the article focuses its attention on the online construction of the heroic brigand’s icon. In this way, brigands’ pictures, which are popular in social media, are deconstructed and analyzed according to the methods of the most recent digital communication. Shifting towards the material culture, the essay is focused on the football’s popular culture, which appropriates the brigand as a symbol of local identity, with the consequent spreading of the merchandising using the brand of brigands. By analyzing the popular culture, the article explores the ensemble of events and manifestations that are centred on the Brigandage and its main characters, which also produce a sequence of food products that show off their brand of identity.