Puglia is the Italy’s heel, an ancient land, opened to trade and relations among people; landing place and conquest for the Greeks, Romans, Saracens, Byzantines and Normans, for Swabians, Angevins and Aragoneses, espressing all its magnificence also in the ascertained presence of the Neanderthal Man. Puglia, a territory rich in cities with imposing castles, castled on the top of a hill or on precipice on high reefs, with majestic Romanesque cathedrals and fanciful baroque churches. Puglia, where the centuries-old history has left deep signs crystallized in the trullo-shaped buildings, in the Basilian crypts, the monumental farms, dolmens and menhirs dipped in the boundless olive-groves. Apulia was inhabited by the Italic populations of Daunians, Peucetians and Messapic and was theatre of splendid events. The Greek colonizers founded the splendid Magna Greece. The region was also colonized by the Romans and, thanks to the Via Appia (Appia Road) and Via Traiana (Traiana Road), as well as the Brindisi harbour, turned into a privileged centre in the relations and sea businesses with the East Mediterranean countries.

PROJECT FOR THE TUTELAGE AND THE SAFEGUARD OF THE APULIAN ALBERELLO

The Apulian Alberello tradition has begun, I hope not inevitably, to die out. The OCM 2001/2006 has financed the re-plant of new vineyards only to spalliera.
That has taken to the loss of the authentic viticultural tradition of the Apulian Alberello.
If it was like that, we would have in front of us as completely stolen and omologated viticultural landscape, such as a photocopy of that of the New World.
We would not be able to tell our history to our importers any more.
As it has been recognized of the secular and monumental olive-trees of Fasano and Ostuni, for the Torre Guaceto oasis and the Murgia Barese, our Apulian Alberello as well must be protected, safeguarded and encouraged with an annual contribution for Hectare, to correspond to the viticulture as a stimulation for the conservation of the landscape property and not as a pure subsidy. My exhortation is to take this the defence project as a whole heritage and a whole territory ahead.

Angelo Maci, oenologist