Orlando Sculli's rescue camp
To safeguard the biodiversity and ancient vines of Locride.
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Orlando Sculli: guardian of biodiversity
We meet Prof. Orlando Sculli (born 1946, a degree in Classical Literature from the University of Messina and many years of teaching at the Istituto Magistrale di Locri) in his beloved Ferruzzano. In the short time we spend together, he infects us with his passions and enthusiasm: he reveals the history of the palmenti, teaches us to read the strokes of ancient chisels on stone, lets us discover the past in toponymy, tells us about blond goats ("risòrsine"), Basilian monasteries, forgotten fruits...
The rescue camp in Ferruzzano
Orlando's project was born in the early 1980s, faced with the increasingly real risk of losing native grape varieties forever, as was already happening to ancient grains, supplanted by new and more profitable varieties. Orlando decided to take action and created the rescue camp for ancient vines on his own land. Today there are about 350 varieties accepted and saved, at least 50 of them with unique genetic profiles. Orlando runs his estate alone, with the help of friends such as Santo and Giuseppe Panzera. He gives away shoots to those who ask for them. He welcomes experts and curious people from all over the world. He keeps a 3,000-year-old history alive.
The beginning of research: wine archaeology
The palmenti-which in Ferruzzano number about 160 (surveyed one by one by Orlando)-witness how ancient wine culture is in Calabria. How to protect this heritage? Orlando understands that it is in the small vineyards in the hinterland, often cared for by elderly farmers according to tradition, or even in the woods, that ancient vines can still be found: he began to go around, met farmers, got accessions (cuttings), and welcomed them into his small vineyard in Ferruzzano. By the end of the 1990s he already has 40.
Reconstructing the history of civilizations through the history of wine
His research begins to attract the attention of universities and experts. His scope widens to the whole of Locris and becomes more systematic: Orlando explores the areas of ancient Magna-Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Armenian, and Jewish settlements, and follows the migratory waves from Malta, Albania, Cyprus... He looks for vines dating back to those periods and along with them finds traces of those ancient civilizations: in names, symbols, and ruins. He draws step-by-step a new geography of his land and generously shares it, participating in festivals and conferences and carefully documenting all his research and discoveries.
Well-deserving
In 2018 Orlando Sculli received at Vinitaly in Verona the Angelo Betti "Benemeriti della Vitivinicoltura Italiana" award and the Cangrande Medal. However, we believe that the greatest prize for him would be to ensure a future for his rescue field by involving young people and institutions. Out of love.
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The Map thanks:
PNRR M1C3 2.1 Attrattività dei Borghi, Linea B Ferruzzano: Borgo del benessere, Int. 12 Hub digitale, CUP J98C22000050006, CIG B701ED11E2
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