The Corridors: Civil Rights in the South

Atlanta rises among the wooded hills of Georgia, the dynamic capital of the New South and a symbol city of the civil rights movement. Here Martin Luther King Jr. lived and preached: his memorial, birthplace and the Ebenezer Baptist Church form an intense and moving trail. Downtown pulses around the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola, while the Midtown district hosts museums and the lush Piedmont Park. The BeltLine, a former railway turned green walkway, links lively neighbourhoods such as Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park, full of street art, breweries and markets. Southern cuisine reigns supreme, from fried chicken to soul food specialities. The economic and cultural heart of the Southeast, Atlanta welcomes visitors with energy, history and warmth.

Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama, founded in the 19th century as a steel hub and today known above all as a nerve centre of the civil rights movement. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church recall the struggles of the 1960s. The statue of Vulcan, the largest cast-iron statue in the world, looks over the city from atop Red Mountain. Between industrial heritage, historical memory and a lively Southern food scene, Birmingham tells a crucial chapter of American history.

Tupelo rests in northern Mississippi, a town world-famous as the birthplace of Elvis Presley, the king of rock'n'roll. The modest house where the singer was born is today a museum and a place of pilgrimage for his fans. Set along the historic Natchez Trace Parkway, it offers nature, music and the charm of the Deep South. Tupelo is the place where the legend of Elvis began. Memphis is the true capital of blues, soul and rock & roll music. Music lovers won't want to miss the many music history landmarks.

Little Rock holds in Arkansas the role of state capital, a city on the Arkansas River rich in Southern history and culture. Here stand Little Rock Central High School, a symbol of the civil rights struggle, and the Clinton Presidential Library dedicated to the forty-second president. The River Market District animates the centre with restaurants and museums. Little Rock is a crossroads of memory and renewal in the heart of the American South.

Vicksburg commands the Mississippi River from its bluffs in the state of the same name, guarding one of the most decisive chapters in American history. The city is inextricably linked to the siege of 1863, a pivotal episode of the Civil War, today commemorated in the vast Vicksburg National Military Park, where monuments, cannons and trails retrace the lines of the two armies and visitors can tour the ironclad USS Cairo, recovered from the river's waters. The historic centre, with its antebellum buildings and houses overlooking the Mississippi, preserves the atmosphere of the Deep South, with shady verandas and warm hospitality. Along the river one feels the culture of the blues and Southern cooking, made of generous dishes and bold flavours. Vicksburg reveals itself to those who love history, great rivers and the authentic soul of the American South. Jackson is the capital of Mississippi, founded along its namesake river in the heart of the Deep South, a city with a crucial role in the history of the civil rights movement. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the house-museum of activist Medgar Evers recount fundamental chapters of this struggle. A cradle of the blues and Delta music, it preserves a deep cultural heritage, while the State Capitol and historic districts attest to its past. The novel (later turned into a film) "The Help" is set here.

Meridian is a historic city in eastern Mississippi, once an important railroad and cotton hub of the Deep South. Today it is reborn around the restored Grand Opera House and the MAX, a museum dedicated to the arts and great artists of Mississippi, from music to literature. A unique curiosity is the Highland Park Dentzel Carousel, an antique wooden carousel declared a national historic landmark. Between musical heritage, period architecture and warm Southern hospitality, Meridian offers an authentic glimpse of the culture and history of rural Mississippi. Montgomery is the capital of Alabama, a city crucial in American history both as the first capital of the Confederacy and as a cradle of the civil rights movement. Here Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in 1955 and Martin Luther King led the famous boycott. The Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, the Rosa Parks Museum and the moving National Memorial for Peace and Justice recount its memory. Between historic heritage, monuments and a deep civil legacy, Montgomery is a capital that holds fundamental chapters of the history of the United States.