The San Marzano tomato, a Slow Food Presidium.
Sabatino Abagnale and the other Presidium producers have salvaged authentic San Marzano tomato seeds and are growing them in old virgin fields, rich in volcanic material. Years ago the whole area surrounding Sant’Antonio Abate, near Naples, was covered with San Marzano tomatoes.
But then around 17 years ago the crops were hit by a terrible virus, just as the land was being converted to intensive Dutch-style floriculture. «Famous vegetables can also disappear. The authentic San Marzano, for example. Did you know it doesn’t exist any more?»
The Slow Food Presidium was born out of this providential provocation from Domenico Palumbo, researcher at the Istituto sperimentale per l’orticoltura (Experimental Horticulture Institute) in Pontecagnano. The adventure started with the attempt to reclaim fields in a difficult zone, coaxing them away from building speculation and fighting for the draining of the River Sarno which crossed them. The old virgin land, rich in volcanic ash and lapillus from Vesuvius, was finally rescued after having been abandoned for years.
The yields might not be very high but the tomatoes are extraordinary, and the producers, led by Sabatino Abagnale, have inspired a real revival. Many young people who wanted to restore and cultivate the lands their parents had abandoned appreciated the initiative, which soon became a cooperative.
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