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there was a time when ‘going to work in rural northern italy for a bit’ had certain classy connotations. now, as parts of europe hover on the brink of collapse, it’s a positive option in quite another way

a ruralrenaissance

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Words Lucy PurdyPhotography Lucy Purdy and Marine Duteil

W ith his well-established beard, thick-rimmed glasses and a brown corduroy jacket which seems unlikely ever to have graced a Milan catwalk, Michele Manelli is a dead ringer for

John Lennon around the time of the 1969 bed-in protests. His brown eyes squint and twinkle against the spring Tuscan sun

and a smile never seems far away as he enthusiastically answers questions about his carbon-free vineyard, Il Salcheto, from a group of visiting European researchers, educators and villagers. Though Yoko is nowhere to be seen, and there is little suggestion that 37-year-old Michele has been whiling away the daylight hours beneath the sheets, he retains the aura of young, hairy, artistic visionary.

With the Renaissance hill town of Montepulciano visible in the distance and bales of vine prunings scattered around like props in a pastoral postcard shoot, he is not, perhaps, the most obvious protagonist of this scene. But when viewed against the wider backdrop of European financial hand-wringing, soaring unemployment and a worrying so-called ‘brain drain’ of young people away from the Continent’s villages, Michele’s story helps plot a brand new blueprint.

Similar tales are being told all across this beautiful region of Tuscany, as people realise the benefits of blending time-honoured tradition with sustainable thinking – while opening the door to a new kind of tourism at the same time.

I’m In Tuscany for fIve days, accompanyIng a group from The leonardo da Vinci training programme’s Green Village project. It brings together representatives of nine European countries who share common problems in their local rural areas, and have come to Italy to see how applied research can be used to seek sustainable solutions.

‘There should be a synergy between the earth and all growing things, man included,’ reads Il Salcheto’s mission statement, and this theme of balance with nature is central to the project’s sustainable farming and winemaking practices. The youthful passion and sense of romance which Michele and his two partners bring to wine production can be felt throughout, from the name of their first wine Salco Evoluzione (Salco means ‘willow tree’ in

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an arrangement of mirrors and conveyors draw up to

98% of natural light fromthe sun-drenched terrace to

the cellar

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ancient Tuscan – Salcheto is the name of the stream which runs past their buildings), to every painstakingly devised detail of the manufacturing process. The willows between the vine rows used to be cut to bind the growing vines, they’re not needed now but they keep them and the blossoming almond trees as a link to the past; part of the cultural landscape.

In September 2011, the team threw open the doors of their new winery. Designed after 15 years of experience and planning, it was the result of a study not only to coax the best results from the region’s Sangiovese grapes, but also to create a perfect ‘green building’ and the first off-the-grid project of its kind.

Solutions include a gravity-driven system of loading grapes and moving the wine which maintains the integrity of the skins; an arrangement of mirrors and conveyors to draw up to 98% of natural light from the sun-drenched terrace to the cellar; the conversion of biomass from pruning wastes into energy, and the production of electricity by solar photovoltaic cells. The wine cellar, which Michele describes as his ‘dream’ set-up, has also been designed to be accessible to visitors, who are actively encouraged by the team. Gazing out over the glowing hills and gnarled olive trees, it is difficult to think of a more pleasant lesson in provenance.

The salcheTo carbon free WorkIng group has sprung from ThIs

landscape, conceived in order to promote environmental ethics in wine, and whose members are currently working on producing a pioneering framework for analysing the carbon footprint of wine.

‘This doesn’t have to scare people – it’s just a way of taking responsibility and making better decisions,’ explains Michele as he passes tasting samples down along the four-inch-thick, solid wood table inside. It’s a piece of furniture that seems symbolic of the sense

an arrangement of mirrors and conveyors draw up to 98% of natural light from the sun-drenched terrace to the cellar

of passion, family and durability at Il Salcheto. ‘The result might not be that someone decides never to drink Italian wine again,’ he ponders, ‘but that perhaps they will decide to buy only good ones,’ he concludes, looking up with a smile.

Michele’s easy-going demeanour suggests it would be easy to underestimate both him and the project, but the 180,000 bottles of award-winning wine being produced each year, and the 50% of energy output being saved compared to that of a traditional winery, urge one to think otherwise. This is not just any new business. It is a venture positively gleaming with hope and, best of all, just one of many similar projects being run by young people in this part of the country.

scores of enTrepreneurs Who have made money WorkIng In IndusTry in centres such as Prato and Florence have decided to reinvest in agricultural projects back in rural Tuscany, and are bringing with them fresh perspectives on sustainability. For the visiting members of the Green Village project, who have travelled to Italy from countries as diverse as Cyprus, Bulgaria, Germany, Iceland, Slovakia and Romania, it is heartening to see a rural community come through the recent crises not only unscathed but thriving, by making good use of their cultural and natural assets.

In a region where wonderful food is woven into the very fabric of the land, agricultural cooperative Il Forteto should be high on any list of places to visit. It is nestled in the steep, tree-lined Mugello area of Tuscany, an ancient preserve of the Medici family. The cooperative was founded in 1977 by a group of young students, workers and teachers who took a leap of faith, and then took to the hills, to establish a community in which each person’s values could be realised and appreciated.

Left (top) State of the art wine cellar at Il Salcheto also uses Slovenian oak barrels, (bottom) entrance to Il Salcheto

This page (from top left) Arrangement of mirrors makes best use of natural light in the wine cellar; The Green Village team exploring forest biomass for sustainanle rural fuel

Previous spread (main picture) Tuscany’s spring landscape comes alive with blossoming trees and burgeoning rural businesses; (left)Michele Marelli from Il Salcheto

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beautiful opaque white colour and distinct shape. They even have a festival held annually in their honour in Florence, and used to be harvested by workers running up the trees, Tarzan-like, on nails.

Back on the hushed calm of the San Rossore forest floor, researchers are experimenting with new methods of forestry including short-rotation in which trees are grown as an energy crop. Their work includes comparing mechanical methods with traditional ones, such as the use of horses, in line with the idea that modern forestry does not necessarily exclude the intelligent use of traditional methods. Raffaele Spinelli from Italy’s Wood Research Institute (CNR – IVALSA) explained how new targets set by the Kyoto Protocol are driving technology and commerce with renewed speed. Inherent in this is the challenge of ensuring that cultural and social aspects do not take a back seat.

raffaele and hIs young colleague carolIna lombardInI are parT of

the Green Village team and are specifically concerned with wood products, forest residues, vine prunings and rural energy. They talk eagerly to Tibi and Radu from Romania about the potential transfer of Italian technology to Transylvanian villages and the baling of vine prunings for baking village bread.

As rich in culture and history as it is in beautiful scenery, somehow it is Tuscany’s food and the ingenious simplicity of almost every dish served up here which really embodies what it can teach us as a region. As we sit down to a typically plain yet exquisite lunch of bread, pasta and wine at the Casa del Prosciutto (‘house of ham’) restaurant in Vicchio di Mugello, a middle-aged couple sit at the table next to us having lunch. A young waiter dressed in jeans and a t-shirt grins cheerfully as he sets their coffees down, and they smile back before turning again to gaze at the sunshine through the window. They aren’t speaking but they seem so content, each locked in their own thoughts, and I reflect that perhaps this is a long-standing lunch date, cherished week-in, week-out despite its simplicity.

The couple, sitting calmly amid the rowdy lunchtime buzz, somehow capture what is so positive about Tuscany, and what lessons can be drawn from the region by the rest of Europe. Old and young are coming together at the same time as both traditional and modern practices are being implemented, creating a new and overwhelmingly positive outlook for the future of Tuscany’s economy, culture and environment.

Whether it is an ageing population, a national debt crisis or the exhaustion of natural resources, there is a sense that, for every problem faced by one community in Europe, in another lies an answer, and that the solutions for our Continent lie in its very diversity.

they realised long ago that the secret to producing fantastic food is about more than just space and resources – it’s also about emotional happiness and a sense of integrity

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From top left Tuscans enjoy a rewarding pace of life; Il Forteto’s famous white cows;delicious regional and sustainable Tuscan recipes are served in typical cultural eateries

products are bought directly from the cooperative’s shop,

and are distributed around italy and europe and even as far afield as the us and canada

Today it is a flourishing concern producing 450 tonnes of cheese (most notably Il Forteto’s famous pecorino), 230 tonnes of wheat and 500 tonnes of apples as well as olive oil, chestnuts, a mouth-wateringly diverse array of fresh pasta and other products. The magnificent porcelain-white cows reared here are Chianina, a breed particular to Tuscany that dates back to Etruscan times and has a superior taste – the famous Bistecca alla Fiorentina is produced from its meat. Maremmano horses, also native to the region, are bred here and sold for use in trekking and shows.

Products are bought directly from the cooperative’s shop, distributed around Italy and Europe and even as far afield as the US and Canada. The cooperative also produces its own energy, through solar panels placed on land unsuitable for growing, as well as from a biogeneration plant and an air recycling system which were developed in conjunction with the University of Florence.

Tourists can stay in the cooperative’s farm-hotel, Casa Verragoli, which is located in the countryside between Vicchio and Dicomano. Complete with converted hayloft, the building enjoys stunning views over the valley and rolling Tuscan hills. President Stefano Pezzati talks with pride and enthusiasm about the cooperative, and it is clear they realised long ago that the secret to producing fantastic food is about more than just space and resources – it’s also about emotional happiness and a strong sense of integrity.

anoTher day, and afTer ThroWIng open The shuTTers To see The sun creep

up over the mountains we have taken the main highway which snakes toward Italy’s west coast, a steep and narrow road with twists and turns and many a blind corner. We head to the Parco Naturale di San Rossore, a former hunting reserve of the Medici family and a rare wild corner of the region, the haunt of wild boar and deer. Sand dunes and a driftwood-strewn beach lie just beyond a forest of pine trees, from which the region’s famous pine nuts are collected.

Vastly superior to the cheaper nuts coming from the likes of China and Turkey, these are gathered when the cones are still closed and left to open naturally in the sun. Their deep flavour is said to come from the air in the region, which also lends these prized nuts their

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For more information on Green Village see greenvillage.hylates-eu.com

Top View of the ancient hill town of Montepulciano Above Green village team members from Italy, Romania, UK & Cyprus, excited about burning bales of vine prunings for baking bread