I PARCHI LETTERARI "IN THE DIMENSION OF THE JOURNEY" - PRODUCTS FROM THE EARTH

“Today, Girgenti is located on a mountain and enjoys extremely pure air. Between the peaks and the sea extends the valley, full of fertile land, vineyards and cultivations of olives, almonds, mulberries, carobs, figs and pomegranates. Fruits of all sorts thrive there...” this spot recalls a gelsi tree of extraordinary size, which produced “heavenly fruits” and flavourful almonds. “As in ancient times, this land is splendid, full of olive and fruit trees.” (Stolberg)

“Imagine a hill there that extends for six or seven miles on each side, down to the sea, covered in olive groves, vineyards, almond trees, superb fields of wheat that blooms in all of their magnificence on the seventh of April, and legumes of all sorts. All of the products of the earth are here, the plants alternate with their delicious varieties on land that the owners delineate with hedges of aloe and prickly pears. More than one hundred nightingales fill the air in the middle of this countryside, where the landscape ravishes, the beautiful temple of Juno Lacinia stands erect, as does the temple of Concordia, still in perfect condition and the remains of the colossal temple dedicated to Zeus. Is it not perhaps the case to exclaim: Hic vivere vellem / oblitus meorum, obliviscendus et illis / Neptunum procul e terra spectare furentem ?” (Riedesel)

Regarding Agriculture, Goethe wrote:

“The planting rotations are regulated in the following manner: fava beans, wheat, tumenia and the fields are left to rest for a quarter of the year. The wheat is of an extreme beauty. Tumenia, which takes its name from bimenia or trimenia, is a splendid gift from Ceres; it is a sort of summer fodder that matures in three month’s time.
... They planted the wheat in October or November and by the beginning of June they began to harvest it. Barley, which is also planted in November, is ready by June, and more quickly on the plains than in the mountains.
The flax is already mature; the beautiful leaves of the Acanthus are already completely open. The Salsola fruticosa grows gracefully. Clover is very abundant in the hills that are not farmed. A part is also harvested and brought to the city in bundles; similarly, the oats that are produced from the wheat are sold in bundles.
... In the places where they want to plant cabbage, they make some lovely, bordered sections in order to water them better.
... The fig trees are already full of fruits that are mature by St. John’s feast, and the new gems appear immediately after the harvest. The heavy almonds hang down low; I saw a carob tree that was completely covered, extraordinarily full of pods. The table grapes are bound to the leaves and held up by poles. The melons that are planted in March are mature by June. They grow happily among the ruins of the temple of Zeus, where there is no trace of humidity. Our carriage driver avidly eats raw artichokes and rape; which means they are much more tender and sweet than our own. The peasants freely eat the fava beans directly from their fields.”