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to Mum and Dad who were my mentors through life and excellent cooks as well About the cover: The temple as a metaphor for the Mediterranean diet. The representation of the Mediterranean diet in the form of a “temple” was proposed by Professor Flami- nio Fidanza (one of the historical fathers of the dis- covery) to symbolise improvement and physical and spiritual elevation, in place of the emblematic tomb- stone of the famous “pyramid”. The Greco-Roman Temple [presented here in a com- municative design in Mediterranean colours, by Lando Siliquini and Alessandra Borroni] is undoubtedly the most appropriate representation of the “Mediterrane- an way” understood as a modus vivendi and perfectly conveys the sacred, harmonious and immutable arche- type of the “ideal” diet. THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET the Temple of the Sibyl Lando Siliquini INDEX PREFACE by Adolfo Leoni..................................................................................11 MANIFESTO by Adolfo Leoni..............................................................................17 PROFANUM....................................................................................................19 THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET.........................................................................21 THE IGUVINE TABLETS...................................................................................31 NATURALITER..............................................................................................35 THE FATHERS OF ITALIAN DIETETICS.......................................................47 MARCA MEDITERRANEA................................................................................57 THE MONASTIC DIET........................................................................................65 THE VEGETABLES GARDENS OF THE MARCHE VALLEYS..................67 TRUFFLES. THE DIAMONDS OF THE SIBILLINI........................................71 THE NAME OF THE “MELA ROSA”..............................................................75 HONEY..............................................................................................................79 UNSALTED BREAD by Amedeo Grilli...............................................................81 THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET the Temple of the Sibyl REDISCOVERING OUR TYPICAL PRODUCTS by Amedeo Grilli................85 Author: Lando Siliquini THE MAJESTY OF THE PEAKS.......................................................................89 Email: [email protected] THE LADY OF THE WATERS..........................................................................91 www.laboratoriodietamediterranea.it Preface: Adolfo Leoni APPENDIX Email: [email protected] THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET AND DISEASE PREVENTION.................95 www.adolfoleoni.wordpress.com NATURALLY HARMFUL ELEMENTS IN FOOD........................................109 Translated by Deborah Swain Project Management by Fabio Pucciarelli MEDITERRANEAN FOOD PYRAMID..........................................................115 BIBLIOGRAPHY..........................................................................................117 © 2019 Lando Siliquini. All rights reserved. SITOGRAPHY.............................................................................................121 Published by Albero Niro Editore www.alberoniro.it English edition ISBN: 978-88-85474-09-3 9 PREFACE Lando Siliquini could be a modern day “treasure hunter” in the Sibillini mountains. Not because he has struck gold – yellow, blue, or black: the gold he discovered is green and he is returning it to all of us who were unaware of the riches we possessed. He has already brought to light our linguistic, historical, mythological, and anthro- pological patrimony buried in indifference and oblivion. Today, the treasure that emerges from these pages has to do with food, going right back to agricultural production, the defence of the earth, our very way of life, a cultural tradition that races towards the future as it crosses the present day. In short, it has to do with our history and our contemporaneity. With our landscape and outlook. With the gen- erations that have been and gone, and those who are here today. And those who will follow us. Generation after generation. The author calls it the Mediterranean diet, the Sibylline diet. It is the diet of these lands and people, of a unique way of living and un- derstanding things, people, agriculture, villages. It was our daily food until 50 years ago, the produce from our farms. First and foremost, it was the lifestyle we inherited. That of our parents, our grandparents and great-grandparents. Yet we are forgetting those values and ways of living, even those of us who are immersed in them. The first to realize its impact (which they would subsequently demonstrate through complex and refined research) were the pioneer- ing scientist Flaminio Fidanza (originally from Magliano di Tenna) and his mentor Ancel Keys, with the significant involvement of their respective wives; and it was far from obvious, during the fifties and sixties of the last century when the rich “American” diet was being acclaimed, indiscriminately, as a panacea... before revealing itself as a Pandora’s box. And then came the Seven Countries Study... A study in which Fidanza was passionately involved and a driv- ing force behind the initiative, which would prove to be «one of the 11 most important ecological studies – as the professor later wrote – as The Mediterranean diet originated in these lands, so perfectly de- it was the first to show in very different populations a significant scribed by Margaret Collier, an English woman who moved to the relationship between dietary habits and the respective incidence of Fermo area almost a century and a half ago following her marriage disease and mortality».* to an army officer by the name of Arturo Galletti. Looking out from Active, lively, witty. Flaminio Fidanza worked right up until the a window in her hilltop villa in the countryside around Torre San day he died, contributing in his field, to the growth of Italy. He trans- Patrizio, she wrote: «Between the Adriatic and the Sibylline range of mitted to his students and to those who studied his books a wealth of the Apennines lies a fertile undulating country, rich in corn, wine, and knowledge and insights, marking a path that Siliquini picks up and oil. Patches of wheat, of maize, of red clover, of flax, of beans, cov- continues in this book. er the valleys and the hillsides. Maples and poplars, garlanded with In the United States that diet is still being studied today, as a re- vines, rise from amidst the corn. Olives and mulberries abound. Aca- sponse to the serious problems of obesity. It is discussed at the FAO, cias border the roads, and occasional groups of fine oaks and elms as a possible way of tackling hunger in some parts of the world. It has make the traveller regret that more have not been spared in what was been recognised by UNESCO, which declared it part of the intangible once a beautifully wooded country. […] Enormous white oxen draw cultural heritage of humanity. It was the theme running throughout the plough and convey waggons along the road. Quaint villages are EXPO 2015. “Green gold”, a precious asset for the Marches of Italy. perched on the summit of each hill. The snow-capped Apennines close And “treasure hunter” Lando Siliquini, among other things a doctor, the horizon to the west, and distance lends enchantment to the view of humanist, and historian, who ponders, digs deep, and brings to the sur- the sea, dotted with the gaily-painted sails of the fishing boats, which face a traditional way of living, producing and nourishing ourselves. is caught by glimpses between the hills. All would speak of peace and And when he writes it down, it is as if he were saying: pay atten- contentment, were it not for the attitude of defence exhibited by each tion, we have a wealth of knowledge to share, concerning our health tiny town, with its massive surrounding wall». and the possibility of living better if we only follow some tricks that In his book, Siliquini is sending a message: it is time for a change we’ve always known! Handed down to us from the Picentes or may- of direction, time to get back to our roots, to take back what is ours, be even earlier. Things our grandparents knew! and that which sets us apart. The real importance of Siliquini’s current work lies here: having This is also partly what the Wall Street Journal was referring to declared, and demonstrated, that it is worth embracing the Medi- in 2012. The US newspaper claimed that Italy could overcome its terranean diet, he takes action, keeps on promoting it, in a broader financial crisis by rediscovering its history, especially that of the Re- framework, which includes farmers, restaurateurs, doctors, teachers, naissance, with its small homelands and city-states. That same year, tourism operators, institutions, and families. A community, in short. Salvatore Settis, archaeologist, teacher and writer, chose Moresco for In the words of Paolo Preti, professor at Bocconi University, speak- the launch of a campaign for the protection of the landscape and the ing at a conference in Le Marche many years ago: «Spread the word preservation of villages. And Vittorio Sgarbi, speaking in Penna San about things done well because they serve everyone». He was talking Giovanni (and previously in Porto San Giorgio and Montegiorgio) about economics. But the maxim can be applied to any field. further reiterated the need to defend the rich