Agronomist, in the past academic professor of landscaping, and owner of “Villa Immacolatella” (Trapani), a family property whose privilege is to treasure historical statements, that has been restored, preserved and highlighted during their project of recycling.
Description of the environment where the activity takes place:
There are two gardens :
- The Arabic-Sicilian Garden
- The Garden of the Church
1.This Garden is surrounded by walls, about an hectare of land. Inside there are fruit trees and 4 sources of water, the only ones in the property. For the Arabs walls have a well specific meaning : first of all they are built to protect and guard the fruit trees whereas the second meaning concerns the protection of a part of this land which is comparable to the garden paradise ( the earthly version of what the Arabs would have found in paradise ). Hence, this is why this garden is a place so privileged that represents the place where there is water, and then life. The water stream becomes the reference path when we pass through the gate that leads to the Church; and it can be found among the virtues of Madonna, as water symbolizes the purity of Virgin Mary. Now we move on from the garden of the fruit, divided into quarters, to the Garden of the Church.
2.His appearance is more panoramic, with a thicket that includes some plants linked to the litanies of Virgin Mary. The virtues of Madonna are compared to some plants that can be found both in the frescos of the Church and in the garden. In fact, in the garden there are some olive trees, holding more than 300 years of history. These trees represent the regeneration in the litany of Madonna, that is the succession of generations, because the olive trees is a centuries-old/eternal plants. Meanwhile, the date palm is addressed to the sky and it symbolizes the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. There are other interesting plants like the rose that symbolizes the beauty of Madonna and the cypress that symbolizes eternity.
Near the Church there are centuries-old olive trees. The olive tree, considered as a monument of history, is a testimonial of how it can express himself when it is naturalized into a particular area. The tree expresses himself through the strength that has gained over time; in particular the strength of the log and the air system are strictly linked. The fact that still today it is possible to find some olive trees in these lands is a proof of the ability of self-(re)creation of these historical plants, and it represents the characteristic of the production of oil and olive.
In a part of the property that has been used as a museum, with reference to the techniques of bread-making, there is the harvest of wheat and old agricultural tools.
In addition to the plants consecrated to Virgin Mary, in the garden of the property there are plants that represent those of the wood. There are only plants that belong to the Mediterranean scrub, for example the lentiscus ( it is said that with an incision it was possible to extract a gummy substance that can be considered as the first chewing-gum of the history ), the terebinthus (a natural species) or the Strawberry tree.
There is a gastronomic path linked to the periodicity of the products, and obviously the food is given according to the seasons; for this reason the food seasonly changes.
Description of the technique/method/practice implemented.
The cultivations are managed through the phytosanitary point of view, by using low environmental impact products. For this reason it is considered as a biological business; furthermore the non-allowed phytochemicals are not used. Some natural balances have been established between the insects that attack the cultivation and the natural enemy of the insect, that is the antagonistic insects, that are likely to save the processes. These conditions facilitate some productive evolutions according to the type of lands, to the elevation and the climate conditions. All this is included in the idea of biodiversity that can be translated into precise classification; in this case different areas of Sicily are characterized by typical productions due to the interaction between climate, microclimate, ground and the environment where are placed, that cannot be done again in any other place.
In the past, to fertilize some plants resistant to the saltiness, such as the tomato and the garlic, it was common to employ the ash produced from the “posidonia oceanica” seaweed, which increased the saltiness of the ground where the plant was placed.
The company uses an innovative technique to cultivate the olive tree: that is a biological technique that recognizes to the plant its status of belonging to the wood of the olive trees. At the beginning the grass that grows spontaneously is minced, in this way the organic substance is given back to the ground; this permits to the root apparatus of the olive tree to re-emerge and intercept the humidity variations or secret rainfall that occurred during the year. For this reason the olive tree can be considered as a disease resistant plant.
The Foliage whitening technique with phytochemicals makes the plant unrecognizable to the olive tree flies and it represents an employed technique to shield the plant from the outer attacks.
Regarding the grapes, only sulfur, lime and partially copper are employed to control diseases. May and the beginning of June are considered as the most critical months, but after this period there is the stabilization of climate conditions, thus the production starts without particular difficulties.
List and description of the tools used
Cotton seeder ( one of the agricultural tools inside the museum of the property ): since the 1950s in the landscape of Trapani, Salt Work was used in the cotton cultivation, becoming today an important memory for the cotton seeders. In addition, the new agricultural tools never succeeded to replace this system of production, which is also based on the use of a tacked plow for seeding of cotton. In fact, the incision of the ground is made with a ferrule that airs the ground while protecting it from the sun exposure. Engineers have tried to imitate this tool, but so far they have failed.
Inside the property there is a stone grinder used to make the flour and we also found abandoned tools since about 100 years.
List of natural products connected to this activity:
Sicily differentiates itself for the possibility to cultivate, thanks to the Mediterranean climate, also during autumn or winter and without using supplementary energy. For example, strawberries during autumn do not need solar energy because can bear fruit without supplementary energy.
Production of biological oil and wine.
In the property two types of wine are produced:
- Zibibbo and Grillo’s Blend are naturally made, without reaching an elevated aging of the grapes, and they are dry wines. The result is a wine that combines the sourness of the Grillo with a bit of roundness added by the Zibibbo. These two vines are linked and related to the context of the marine landscape and in fact a label tied with a coral jewel as amulet/lucky charm, attributable to the Greek domination in Sicily is used for them, that indeed symbolized a snake fish as marine divinity that protected the sailors in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Nero d’Avola – Syrah : in addition to the Nero d’Avola that is a native vine, in this wine it has been remembered the historical path of the Syrah. This wine is originally from the East, and after arriving in Sicily it was brought to France; in the Rhone valley it gained nobility, and it is from this place that this vine started to be spread around the world. Hence, a Nero d’Avola, mixed with such an internationally recognized wine like Syrah, results in a Blend that represents an interesting mixture, as eventually a rougher Nero d’Avola becomes sweeter in his aftertaste thanks to the Sirah. In the label a statuette of the XVI century linked to Saint Michael was added, as it symbolizes a metaphor of the right that prevails over the evil, a perspective that brings good luck.
The biologic olive oil from Villa Immacolatella is obtained with the techniques previously mentioned. The label was painted by a trapanese painter, Mr. Romeo and its characteristic factor is to be a Blend of tree types of trapanese valley’s olive oils: nocellara, cerasuola and biancolilla (it must not exceed 5%). Regarding the taste of this oil the biancolilla mitigates the bitter taste of the nocellara and its stability is given by the cerasuola. This is a long-lasting oil even with a low level of peroxides, since besides the acidity the oil must have an ageing degree, which is linked to its freshness. If the oil is not subjected to any trauma during the pressing, it remains fresh and doesn’t age early and the presence of a low peroxides rate is sign of genuineness of the oil. The oil can live about 18 months while the wine is long-lasting.To preserve the oil in a right way it needs to be put in a cooler and protected from the light.
The pomegranate has an important metaphor that symbolizes the family unity or the Church unity; because the inner grains are tied together.
The distribution of the products is managed by the company through the Internet and foreign contacts (UK).
The distance from the place of production to the table has to be combined in a right way, shorter this distance is sooner the fresh product is served, and therefore it preserves the innate characteristics. The problems of the company costs are due to the fact that they are taking care of valorize the products making them recognizable thanks to some cultivation techniques employed today. The interval between the production and the placement in the market has a great impact on the quality of the product; in fact as the product “breaths” it loses the rate of sugars. If the distance between producer and consumer is reduced, is possible to taste every characteristic of the product. That’s why the logic of “Km0” gives to the product more qualitative characteristics.
Any local tradition this method is connected to? If yes, which one? Can you describe it?
The more cultivated parts were those near the cities, they could not be too far because reaching a far place was too heavy; so the olive tree groves, vines, orchards and vegetable gardens were near the city and it was possible to reach them by carts. In the IV century B.C., it is said that in Crete there were olive trees with paired log, symbolizing a married couple that thanked the divinity for giving to humans this extraordinary plant, able to give wood for heating, oil for food, as well as light and shadow in summer during the working break; a tree that follows the human kind since immemorial time.
When Arabs came in Sicily they taught local people to use water.
An example is represented by the irrigation gravity system in Palermo, where in various areas there are still subterranean Qanat where water was gathered by intercepting more sources.
