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The green pistachio of Bronte could
certainly be the city's emblem: its longevity, its willpower to overcome
any adversity, even to bear fruits although clinging on lava rocks,
reflect somewhat many characteristics of the brontese people.
A people that is not afraid of hard work, that has always struggled to take home
what is necessary; that over the pistachio has built wealth, culture and
its traditions, but also the habit to respect the territory in which lives.
It is a precious fruit from ancient and noble origins, always a protagonist
in the more refined kitchens, sought-after for its aromatic and pleasant
taste.
In particular, today, is utilized in the sphere of sweets and salami
factories (confectionery, salami), but also in chemistry and cosmetics (well
known the active principles of its oil, to beautify the skin).
The oil extracted from the fruit, particularly delicate, finds application
in dermatology for its high emollient and softening quality.
Was known and cultivated by the ancient Jews and it was then considered a
precious fruit: Jacob says to his sons to try to soften the heart of the
Pharaoh Assurbanipal offering to him these gifts:
«… a
little resin, some honey, some myrrh, some pistachio and some almonds»
(Genesi XLIII, v.11).
The pistachio (from the Greek Pistàkion) was already known to Assyrians
and Greeks as a medicinal drug, a powerful aphrodisiac and as an antidote
against bites of poisonous creatures.
Avicenna, considered the Hippocras and the Aristotle of the Muslim
East, in his "Canon of Medicine" prescribed it against liver
diseases and as an aphrodisiac.
During the high middle ages were the Arabs that,
having taken away Sicily from the Byzantine, incremented the pistachio
cultivation and this had a great expansion in the territory of Bronte. Of Arab
origin are, in fact, the words frastuca and
frastucara
that respectively indicate the fruit (in Arab "fustuq") and the plant. |
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In the sciare (stony ground) of Bronte, in fact, was realized an extraordinary union between the plant and the lava ground, that continuously
fertilized by the volcano' ashes, favored the production of a fruit that, for taste and flavor, is far superior of the remaining world production.
Here, in a steep and stony land, the brontese peasant has reclaimed and transformed the lava flows
 of Etna in an unusual Eden, realizing the
miracle of a plant born from the rocks to produce small, tasty fruits of the
highest quality, of a beautiful color: emerald green, sought after and used
in confectionery and gastronomy for their elevated organoleptic proprieties.
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Bronte, Italian capital of
pistachio
 The Mediterranean has always been one of the principal exchange
centre for the enhancement of the world alimentary products.
Traditionally has been the sea of the taste, of the flavours ,
of fragrance, of spice. A peculiar characteristic that has
formed the culture, the economy and even the scenery, changing
it deeply and in a way almost irreversible.
Spice in general but also basil, rosemary,
pepper, olives, citrus wine and the vine and other thousands of
products and cultivations that have invaded and changed this
cultural and geographic space bringing to goods exchange and
also to a cultural comparison maintaining a constant common
value of taste and traditions.
The products, generally of mid-eastern origin, represent a
particular aspect of this patrimony and have had a remarkable
influence in the European and Mediterranean gastronomic
culture. Cuscus, pepper, wine, chestnuts and hundreds of other
products derive from progressive and millenary exchange and the
Mediterranean sea has always been its communication space.
Pistachio, an exceptionally antique fruit,
known to Babylonians, Assyrians, Jordanians, Greeks, mentioned
even in the book of Genesis and reported on the obelisk erected
by the king of Assyrians around the VI century B.C., is one of
the alimentary products included in the gastronomic patrimony
of the Mediterranean people.
Of this precious fruit , brought
to Sicily by the Arabs, Bronte represents the principal
production area in Italy.
Iran is the biggest producer of pistachio
in the world with a surface of 230.000 hectares followed by
Turkey with 39.000 hectares, United States with 31.000 hectares
and Syria with 20.000 hectares.
In Europe only Italy, Greece
and Spain produce pistachio / the first two with about 9.000
hectares and Spain with 1.500, of which 2.000 in Andalusia.
In Sicily the pistachio grows prevalently in Bronte occupying
there about 80% of the cultivable area, also in Adrano and
Ragalna, in the province of Agrigento, particularly in Favara
and Raffadali, and finally in S.Cataldo, province of
Caltanissetta. The average biennial Sicilian production is
about 32.000 quintals of shelled product, 80% of which is
exported abroad. |
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Every
year in some small streets and squares of Bronte's inner center, in
the period September-October, goes on, since several years, a feast the
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