The Mediterranean diet in Lecce, Salento, 1873

The Mediterranean diet in Lecce, Salento, 1873


Antonio Bruno *

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The world's fairs in the nineteenth century helped to trigger and facilitate cultural exchange between the various participating countries. The "Prater in Vienna has always been a place of entertainment for the Viennese, but in the spring of 1873 the park was completely cleaned and renovated and became a meeting place even more attractive thanks to the Expo, the first International Exhibition which was place in a German speaking country. In this paper communications Cosimo De Giorgi on agricultural production in the district of Lecce to the Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce of the Kingdom of Italy.

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Farmers should take part in the Salento Leccese 'Universal Exhibition in Vienna in 1837 and Dr. Cosimo De Giorgi relation on Agriculture of the district of Lecce in a note to Mr. Stefano Castagnola Comm who held the post of Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce of the Kingdom of Italy and that, by virtue of that office, was the President of the Royal Commission for the Universal Exhibition in Vienna.

In the presentation of this work Dr. Cosimo De Giorgi states that the district does not differ much from Lecce to Gallipoli districts, Brindisi and Taranto in agricultural products and in the general characteristics so that what applies to Lecce is extensible to the other three districts of the then Terra d'Otranto.

The district had 43 communes Lecce divided into a first zone, which falls in a first undulating plateau that borders the Adriatic Sea in 1873, appeared unhealthy in many places. The first area stretching from north to south through the towns of San Pietro Vernotico up to reach Otranto. The second area was more healthy than the Adriatic and from San Donato di Lecce and reached up to Galugnano Bagnolo. In 1872 they lived in these municipalities 127mila population.

The comments made by Oronzo Gabriele Costa in 1813 that led to calculate the Salento Lecce fell a quantity of 818 mm of rain distributed in the seasons ¾ ¼ autumn and winter and spring and summer seasons and, according to Dr.. Cosimo De Giorgi, the violence of the winds dried Australia was the cause of a severe drought. The wind that comes from the Latin Ostro Auster, southern wind, the wind is blowing from the south in the Mediterranean Sea. In the Salento Lecce De Giorgi states that the wind is usually dry and this fact is explained as it is associated expansion dell'anticiclone subtropical north Africa, and that's why being the bearer of heat waves that can also be sustained, tends to favonizzarsi. What, you do not know what "favonizzarsi? It means becoming foehn. Worse than go at night right? But do not worry now that I write what the foehn. The foehn (also known as the foehn in German or "faugnu" Leccese dialect) is a drop of hot, dry wind that occurs when a stream of air to overcome a mountain range, it loses its moisture in the precipitation (rain, snow or other). In short, the Salento of 1873, as now, the earth was parched and dry, which is why it needed the input of water.

The great drought of Salento Lecce was mitigated by irrigation using the water surface, in fact, a study that lasted six years Cosimo De Giorgi had observed that the depth of the water ranged from 4 meters in San Pietro Vernotico Squinzano and 65 meters in San Donato di Lecce. The average depth review was carried out by the findings of De Giorgi was that of 30 to 40 meters.

De Giorgi in his memorandum calls for the use of hydraulic pumps and Norie to bring to the surface and push the water from the aquifer in the fields ..

In 1873, De Giorgi states that the metrological observations in Salento Lecce had little to do except in the aforementioned work of Costa and his own initial observations.

I want to bring the records of De Giorgi on hail, storms, hurricanes and land through the trumpets of the 43 district municipalities in the district of Lecce. Scholar Lizzanello del Salento Lecce had observed the direction they went from the south - west to the Nod - Outside According to his observations of these catastrophic events are produced by the encounter and impact of both direct drafts in the opposite direction and opposite one of which came from the Adriatic Sea North - East direction and the other from the Ionian Sea from the south - west.

The observation of the scholar was detected according to the damage on crops of olives, vines and tobacco in all municipalities of Cupertino, Monteroni, tools, and Carmarthen Novoli who are in that direction and the point of intersection of the drafts.

In 1873, the average size farm in the district of Lecce was from 4 to 6 hectares, but the same De Giorgi cited the holding of "Frassanito" at the Lake Alimini, who had a thousand acres of the same size, if no more, the company called "Mollone" in the territory of Cupertino.

Really interesting record of the scholar of Salento Lecce on the first zone, ie the Adriatic, where the property remains large and therefore highly concentrated in the area as the "Greek Salento", even then, the ownership is fragmented.

He noted that the De Giorgi in 1873 ruled in the area made the small crop and cereal civaje. What, you do not know what are the civaje? Civaje is the term for cultivation of grain legumes that are grown for seed protein. In Salento Lecce these seeds were those of bean, pea, chickpea, lentil and the Fava. Cicero also were cultivated, the lupine and the Field bean. In 1873, these seeds had a protein supplement to cereals in the role of the people of Salento Lecce thanks to its high protein content (20-38%).

In our territory in 1873, the meat was scarce, and those who could afford it if he knew that was synonymous with wealth and prosperity. The few animals that were beasts of burden were considered essential to carry the heavy farm work.

That's why the consumption of cereals so that the word pottage, indicates the sauce, which accompanies the meal based almost exclusively on bread. But the proteins were essential in the diet and, as we have seen, in Salento Lecce abounded through the cultivation of civaje! In short, the inhabitants of Salento Lecce in 1873 did not eat much meat. There is a people who today live as we lived in Salento Lecce which is Indian. Jeremy Rifkin in his book contains studies of the anthropologist Marvin Harris, which states in India, after the 600 a. C., Mr. and Mrs. Arians, who had subjugated the indigenous peoples, began to have some problems in procuring enough meat to feed the growing population. The pastures were converted into cereal crops, millet and beans, and the Indians, unable to afford to eat the only source of motive power, came to Buddhism, which advocated respect for all living beings.

I think what I wrote could be a starting point for our reflection on the lifestyle that we lead that is not a legacy left to us by our fathers. We like robots live like automatons obeying the laws of the market that has made the consumer at all costs the rule to follow. And do not we wake up from this stupor that will lead us to destruction, even though we all know that this rule has no respect for our area and that the result would make us wallow in a disordered life that takes place without any concern for what we leave in legacy to our children. Perhaps it is worth returning to the Mediterranean diet in 1873, is not it?



Bibliography



De Vincenti, reports on local roads mandatory PEL 1871; Vol 1 p. 453

Cosimo De Giorgi, Outline of stratigraphy and Hydrography Salentina considered in their relation with our Agriculture, Lecce 1871

Cosimo De Giorgi, Lecce and its territory. Meteorology. Bari 1872

O.G. Costa, meteorological observations made in Lecce, Napoli 1834

Marvin Harris, Good to Eat - Einaudi 2006

Jeremy Rifkin, Beyond Beef. Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture, Mondadori (Oscar bestsellers series)