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In 2010 Associazione Alisea Alto Tammaro begun the recovery of the area which was once really important for the inhabitants of Campolattaro: on the steep slopes, immediately outside the walls of the town, on the tuff surfacing with good exposure, probably already during the early Middle Ages, were created terraces with dry walls in order to have a little bit of soil to cultivate, especially during Winter, and so was important for the citizens’ survival. After 1962 earthquake started a gradual abandonment of the ancient borgo; when  bulldozers entered to put stones and pieces of plasters coming form the demolition of residential nucleai, which modified the ancient urban plan of the town, then the spontaneous vegetation prevailed.

In 2010, Associazione Alisea Alto Tammaro started to realise the project  “OrtAntico” in order to give a new life to the soils with the creation of a botanical garden, of the open-air Museo della Civiltà Contadina, of a laboratory where to experiment and guard the ancient local varieties bu mainly am Orto Selvatico where it is possible to recognise and collect spontaneous herbs.

A research begun, on all the territory of Sannio Alto Tammaro, to find the ancient varieties of fruit in order to produce new plants thanks to grafting on wild ones: pear-, apple-, cherry-, fig-, apricot-, service-,olive-, peach-, plum trees, vines, walnuts, medlars, quinces, lindens and others; varieties which have arrived now because of the Natural selection  depending on their adaptability, resilience, diseases, rusticity and are characterised by incomparable scents and tastes.

Among them some have been recovered and reproduced two ancient fruit varieties: Limoncella apple, native species of Sannio since it has been present since Samnite times, and the pear tree of S. Giovanni, identified with the pear tree “Hordaceus” variety cultivated  in Roman times.

In each squared metre recovered from degradation have been put drywalls, paths, terracing and hedges and local ancient fruits, which would have disappeared otherwise, which mix  with local vegetation; hedges, shrubs and herbs, useful because of their healing, officinal, aromatic and gastronomic characteristics, many recipes were prepared with them, but their most beautiful gift is giving magnificent blooming times, with meadows of clover, dandelion, marguerites, red poppies, orchids,  cardoons,  chicories and   pink-blue borates.

The wild, edible herbs are an important resource to have a healthy diet: they are richer in vitamins and minerals than cultivated vegetables; they are the result of a thousand-years old natural selection, grow spontaneously where they find the right conditions and are only hard to collect. They have also an ecological value because they attract great numbers of insects, which are needed to create a food chain capable of transforming a vegetable garden in a precious area of biodiversity.

A correct management of resources cannot be separated from their knowledge, conservation and to the discovery of the economic, cultural traditions.

Photo source, http://www.aliseaaltotammaro.it/orto-botanico-ortantico/

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)