THE CHESTNUT AND ITS RESOURCES: IMAGES AND CONSIDERATIONS

The chestnut is one of the components of the typical forest landscape that characterizes many hilly and mountainous zones of Italy. Man has always used the nuts of the chestnut as a staple food (fresh nut, dried, flour, stored, processed) and the valuable wood for work tools, structural works and works of cabinet-marketing, and charcoal. In the last few years, the use of the fresh nut has resumed, possibly linked to its high nutritional and organoleptic value. Apart from fresh consumption, many possibilities exist for use of the nuts in the cuisine, in pastry shops, and in flour production. The processing industry has developed noticeably in recent years, and today it can offer to the market many products (creams, nuts in syrup, preserves, marrons glacés, etc.), and also products of the “IV series”, for direct use or for addition to other foods. Another fundamental aspect regards the tourism-recreational perspectives offered by the chestnut grove which is in strong demand as a place to escape from the frenetic rhythms of citylife. Numerous areas, often fenced and equipped, have been predisposed in order to respond to the growing need of having a break in the “chestnut forest” for living in contact with nature. These are some examples of the tourism, recreational, gastronomic and handicraft potentialities linked to the chestnut tree, but their success on a national scale demands economic participation and laws to face the problems of protection and development of the chestnut areas. The importance of the Italian chestnut culture is demonstrated by the increase in projects aimed at improving the culture of the chestnut. The most significant initiatives are focused on the realization of naturalistic and gastronomic itineraries and museums in the areas rich of chestnut groves, where often century-old chestnut trees, as well as rural structures (drying-rooms, flour mills, etc.) survive. A new initiative, which has emerged in occasion of the “National Congress CHESTNUT 2001” held at Marradi (FI), is the documentary exhibition on the chestnut tree, prepared by Prof. Elvio Bellini and his collaborators, at the Academy of the Georgofili. This exhibition offers a rapid panoramic view of the different aspects of the chestnut culture. The poster section “The chestnut tree and its resources” hosts 26 thematic posters: historical, agronomic, environmental, gastronomic and cultural. The about 400 images presented belong to Prof. Bellini’s slide collection.