Life in Cilento is not easy. The territory misses many components of modern life: large factories, high paying office jobs, cruise ships and hyper-tourism. Young people migrate to Naples , Rome, Milan or other countries, searching for a better life. However, there are people who appreciate the values of Cilento and work hard to attract more, conscious travelers to this region.
Whenever there is an article about Cilento on a website that’s read by tens of thousands, I always see some worried comments: Please, don’t do too much publicity. We don’t want to be the next Amalfi coast. I know my website is not read by tens of thousands, and mainly likeminded slow travelers find it, so I am not worried to write about this hidden corner of Italy and the people who dedicate their lives to Cilento.
Signora Giovanna and her Cilento
Giovanna is a protagonist in the life of Cilento, someone who understands well the values of Cilento: fresh air, mineral-rich soil, plenty of clean water, large areas of wilderness, biodiversity, silence, tranquility, 2,500-year-old Greek temples and the sea of Ulysses.
She grew up in a poor family, just like most people in Cilento. They all worked in the fields, but it was just enough to survive, so Giovanna’s mother left for Piedmont every spring to earn some extra money working in the rice fields. Giovanna was just a tiny girl but she still remembers the happiness she felt when her mom returned from the north.
At home, everyone was working in the countryside, even the small kids, cultivating their beloved terra, growing vegetables and legumes. The name of the village, Cicerale, also comes from ciciri (chickpeas). Giovanna inherited the love for the land and for cooking from her mother. Today, she is growing chickpeas among many other things.
With all her energy and many ideas, she kept calling the president of the Cilento National Park, and as she was driving him crazy, eventually she achieved all she wanted. She founded the chickpea presidium in Cicerale and now she is also the Ambassador of the Mediterranean Diet all around the world. She teaches at an important cooking school and travels the world cooking at different Italian embassies.
Giovanna's farmhouse
We visited her at her beautiful farmhouse, hidden among the green hills of Cilento. She says people think she is crazy, working so hard in such a difficult location, but she says anyone can work by the sea or near the famous Greek ruins. Giovanna likes challanges. And she says there are luckily other crazy people, like us, who bring our groups to meet this extraordinary woman.
So, on a warm November day, after many bends and a bit of dirt road, we arrived at Giovanna’s paradise with our small group. She greeted us with a big smile, and after a welcome espresso we took a walk around her farm. We collected all kinds of green leaves and herbs, all edible of course, and Giovanna told us about all of them. We were also lucky to find some trees full of ripe corbezzolo.
Mediterranean diet workshop
Following the walk, we had a short workshop, learning more about the Mediterranean Diet, the different legumes of the area and what we should eat to live longer. Of course, many Italians also do not eat the right way, as it is easier to get prepackaged products and I know that even restaurants often prefer getting frozen fish from the supermarket, instead of buying it fresh from the fishermen. We always go where fish is freshly caught and grilled.
The long, lazy lunch
After the workshop we sat down at the long table and started our lunch, which was a real feast. Simple dishes of the cucina povera, all KM0 products from the farm or the surrounding villages. Giovanna fried all the greens we collected in a special batter, and we also tasted local olives, cheeses, salami, wild vegetables, bruschetta with herbs, a mediterranean salad and pasta with carob.
All was delicious, but my favourite dish was the cacciata, the soup of good wishes, made with twenty different cereals and legumes. At the end, Giovanna brought us a millefoglie with berries and corbezzolo, coffee, limoncello and amaro. One of those long and lazy lunches with friends we will always remember.
We left the farmhouse with a huge bag of Giovanna’s products, large cans of freshly squeezed, spicy olive oil, chickpeas and her book with two hundred chickpea recipes. When I prepared chickpea curry at home for my family, I noticed the huge difference in taste compared to the canned chickpeas I generally use. Not anymore! Luckily we are returning to Cilento and Giovanna's farm in April and I am planning to come home with more chickpeas and olive oil.
Southern hospitality
When we said goodbye to Giovanna, she hugged everyone in our group. A hospitality and warmth that is hard to find in bigger cities and overcrowded coastlines, but luckily it still exists all around Cilento.
