The strength of the Belìce

An incredible land, colors as strong as the people who inhabit this beautiful part of Sicily. We are in the
Belìce Valley
. Land of contrasts, Breathtaking chiaroscuros that enter your heart like a wave. Warm welcome from wide smiles. Clear ideas and love for their roots shining through in every movement. Proud looks and strong hands. Determined people and-what struck me most-. young. Yes, a generational change that is extraordinary. The strength of Belice runs through the veins of young people who have gone abroad, studied, gained experience and then felt the visceral need to return and take over their parents’, sometimes their grandparents’, businesses with expertise and enthusiasm.

I have seen wonderful estates restored to their former glory, restored tastefully. Reclaimed B&Bs in old abandoned ruins, brought back to life amidst precious majolica, centuries-old bougainvillea and plays of light. Farms strongly prove that the links between old-fashioned flavors and modern technology can be current and sustainable. The slow rhythms of good living and the hard work that the countryside demands saw them go hand in hand sublimely.

These are the premises of my journey to discover this strip of Trinacria south of Palermo, down to the sea, between Menfi, Salemi and Contessa Entellina.

Contessa Entellina and the dairy Feudo Pollichino

The first stop in the picturesque Contessa Entellina precisely, the writing here is in two languages: Italian and Albanian because the Arbëreshë community, settled here in 1450, is still alive with its culture, rituals and language. Among them, this is still spoken in the family. ancient Albanian dialect so much so that it almost doesn’t feel like Italy. A journey within a journey to a place suspended in time.

A handful of kilometers outside the town is the
Feudo Pollichino dairy,
fully organic and family-run, which produces Sicilian PDO pecorino cheese, Vastedda del Belice and ricotta. Eight hundred Valle del Belìce sheep, all milked by hand. Traditional production methods are combined with the microbiological and quality controls advanced on milk, to ensure not only the goodness and naturalness of the products, but also the safety that did not exist a hundred years ago. The flavor of the products is indescribable, the ricotta cheese above all of unparalleled sweetness. This is used to fill the legendary cannoli and because of its natural sweetness from the grassy pastures at the foot of the Rock of Entella, it allows very little sugar to be added. Result? A white, fluffy, flavorful cloud.

Maharia and Casa Planeta

It is the turn of
Maharia
– Home
Planeta
, in the historic Planeta Palace in Menfi, built in the second half of the 18th century that encloses an impressive bougainvillea and now used as a beautiful relais. Entering this palace, for a wine lover, is in itself a unique experience. The history of Sicilian wine, a symbol of excellence in Italy and also abroad, was made here. Right here in the heart of Menfi Wine City 2023, beats the heart of this great winery carried on by Alessio, Santi and Francesca Planeta.

In this highly agricultural territory, twelve municipalities of the Belìce Valley (Menfi, Salemi, Salaparuta, Poggioreale, Gibellina, Partanna, Montevago, Santa Margherita Belice, Contessa Entellina, Sambuca di Sicilia, Caltabellotta, Santa Ninfa) have formed a Local Action Group – LAG – to systematize the Cultural, scenic and economic resources of the area With a view to collective enhancement. A strong plan to systematize, to cooperate in the same direction, and to face shoulder to shoulder the difficulties that the near future holds. The climate change emergency.

Salemi, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy

Thousand-year history, unique artistic heritage, at an altitude of 442 meters, on the slopes of Mount of Roses surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, Capital of Italy for a day after Garibaldi’s arrival. On the castle tower was hoisted the first Italian flag after the landing at Marsala of the Thousand. This village is a real jewel. Its narrow streets of Arabian reminiscence, seem like a maze to be discovered. Its houses, destroyed after the tragic earthquake of ’68, are slowly being renovated precisely thanks to Community funds and the great communication work being done by local institutions.

Even after the lockdown, many foreign professionals with smart working opportunities decided to leave the chaos and isolation of big European cities to come and live here. Lulled by this surreal atmosphere between history and culture. Where everyone knows each other, you immediately feel at home and pampered by the security of an inclusive, human-scale present. Not to be missed is a visit to the Jesuit Church and at the museum center kept inside the adjoining convent. From a gastronomic point of view, the Bread Festival on St. Joseph’s Day is incredible. Each family prepares these elaborately decorated breads, and a banquet is held with 19 to 101 courses for the children to taste. Lucullan meal of ancient origins that has come down to us.

Dimora Siqu in Menfi, a treasure chest of taste and design

Return to Memphis for a delicious dinner at
Dimora Siqu
. A real treasure chest of taste In every sense of the word. From the kitchen, to the rooms that are the result of the conservative restoration of a late 19th-century mansion by two families of architects. This is a b&b that could be called a boutique hotel. Every corner decorated with care, every room a theme. The floors, the paintings, the background music. The dishes that follow one another are from local recipes, from ricotta with honey and pistachios to seafood soup to sweet tummale, a delicate ricotta baked with the addition of only eggs and sugar. Here guests can take back their time, slow, leisurely, Immersed in beauty. Participate in cooking classes, use the bicycles provided for rides, stop on the terrace to read a good book. Everything always accompanied by the conviviality and kindness of the hosts.

Marilena Barbera and the Sustainability Conference.

I left for last perhaps the most important stop of this three-day total immersion in the beautiful Belìce Valley: the visit with vertical tasting in the winery of the “tostitssima”
Marilena Barbera
. Thirty-five thousand bottles for his biodynamic farm. There is no use of herbicides, chemical fertilizers or systemic products that could compromise the healthiness of the environment and its rich biodiversity. In the cellar only with spontaneous fermentations. No clarification is carried out on the wines, and stabilization takes place with long stays on fine lees and manual batonnages, both in wood and steel.

Marilena is a war machine, in love with her land, determined to make the cry for help that nature is sending us heard loud and clear. Making wine is becoming increasingly difficult. Heat rises faster than plants can adapt. Each year more and more difficult than the last. Sun-scorched clusters, here where hot summers were used to but spikes of a few days, not African temperatures even at night for weeks at a time. Months and months without a drop of water. The current reservoirs, lamination tanks, and water networks absolutely insufficient to cope with the emergency. We need a plan at the national level, we need a system-wide strategy to stem what now seems to be an unstoppable trend.

The Conference in Menfi

This was discussed during a vertical tasting of his Ammano wine. And this was continued to be discussed during the conference. “Mediterranean viticulture to the challenge of climate change: strategies and techniques to combat desertification and adaptation perspectives for the survival of agricultural systems.” The following participated among others Matthew Bellotta, Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (CMCC) expert, Alessandra Biondi Bartolini, agronomist and scientific director of Thousand Vineyards, Isabella Ghiglieno, researcher at the University of Brescia, Guido Bissanti, President of the Agro/ecology Coordination Sicily. Finally Joseph Barbera, University professor, expert in tree crops. What emerged after listening to the various opinions is disconcerting but brutally real. A slap in the face that threatens to call into question all the beauty I have been talking about. Not only in Sicily, however, that is acting as a wake-up call.

The universe Earth is in danger of dying because of all the poisons used in agriculture. A soil devoid of organic matter is a dead soil, unable to produce. According to Istat data from the Region of Sicily, 400,000 ha of land has been lost over the past 33 years. A Rapidly advancing desertification. Water shortages, extreme weather events, and fuel use are all part of the same picture. Are we therefore facing an unchanging scenario? The answer is no, as long as we approach the situation from a systemic point of view.