COLORI & PROFUMI L’ARTE DELLA NATURA di/by Marisa Sardi COLORS & SCENTS THE ART OF NATURE per scacciare gli spiriti maligni (striges), come narra well-being that reaches the soul and that is ascribable to a Ovidio nei Fasti. Anche Virgilio racconta, combination of melodious bird song, the dreamy rustle of lea- nell’Eneide, che i parenti del defunto erano soliti de- ves caressing our ears, the scent of the shrubs that takes us positare rami di corbezzolo sulle tombe. back to the natural odors almost dormant in everyday life, Nell’antichità il corbezzolo è stato considerato un and a cool refreshing shade then refreshes us. amuleto contro streghe ed esseri demoniaci, mentre Next to the majestic Holm Oak and the bushy myrtle, we see nell’Ottocento divenne simbolo della lotta other trees and shrubs with their varying shades of green that d’indipendenza perché l’arbusto, a fine estate ed in brighten the landscape: heather, Phoenician juniper, vibur- autunno offre, contemporaneamente, allo sguardo di num, and arbutus. The latter, commonly called Strawberry Tree, Apple of chi lo osserva i colori della bandiera italiana: il bianco Cain, or Cane Apple, originated in the Mediterranean coa- dei fiori, il rosso dei frutti e il verde delle foglie. Infatti stal regions where primitive populations ate its berries. i patrioti italiani del Centro-Sud per farsi riconoscere Even bees are very fond of the nectar of its flowers and yield dagli altri patrioti, senza essere individuati dalla poli- a delicious, slightly bitter honey that goes well with meat zia, portavano in mano un ramoscello di corbezzolo, and cheese. It is a long living evergreen plant that grows onnipresente nelle macchia. È una pianta rigogliosa e everywhere and does not require much care. tenace che, dopo un incendio, risorge per prima dalle The Romans probably first introduced it across Europe, it ceneri, imponendosi sulle altre. was very well known to them and appreciated for its healing All’Elba i rami di questa ericacea che Plinio il Vecchio qualities (astringent, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, antisep- catalogò come Arbutus unedo, venivano usati per pala- tic, anti-rheumatic) and the magical powers they attributed re i vigneti ed il legno dei tronchi come combustibile. to it. Ovid tells us that the goddess Carna, protector of men’s I frutti, le corbezzole, sono bacche piccole e tondeg- health, used a sprig of arbutus to ward off evil spirits. gianti con la buccia rugosa e la polpa morbida ma ric- Virgil recounts that the relatives of the deceased would depo- ca di semi, che venivano conservate sotto spirito o tra- sit its branches over the graves. sformate in: marmellate, gelatine, sciroppi, creme, sal- In antiquity, it was an amulet against witches and demons, se, canditi. Se fermentate danno il vino di corbezzolo while in the nineteenth century it was a symbol of the strug-

gleo for the Unity of Italy as, in late summer and autumn, the e distillati digestivi ed euforizzanti, che spiegano in i c c

shrubo has all the colors of the Italian flag: white flowers, red modo inequivocabile l’antica e meritata esclamazio- u C fruits and green leaves. In fact, Italian patriots from the Cen- ne di meraviglia: “Corbezzoli!”. o c n

tral-a Southern areas wore a sprig of the omnipresent arbutus

Passeggiando nei numerosi sentieri elbani nei mesi di r f n

so a that other patriots would recognize them without being settembre ed ottobre, è possibile individuare facil- i G singled out by police. It is a vigorous and tenacious plant o mente “la pianta del tricolore” ed assaggiarne il rubi- t o that,f after a fire, is the first to rise from the ashes, imposing condo frutto. over others. Pliny the Elder catalogued it as Arbutus unedo and, on The Strawberry Tree, Symbol of Elba, its branches were used in the vineyards and the wood as fuel. The fruit of the arbutus are small round berries with the Mediterranean Chaparral rough skin and soft flesh that is full of seeds. The fruit is pre- served in alcohol or processed into jams, jellies, syrups, cre- he mild Elba climate favors a benign vegetation of ams, sauces, or candied. wild and fruit trees, imported from faraway lands The arbutus fruit wine and digestive distillates are said to ca- Tand cultivated by local shrewd farmers. Around use euphoria. Strolling along the numerous Elba trails in Elba today, we find many well-known fruit trees, and others September and October, you can easily identify the “Italian almost forgotten, like pomegranate, jujube, rowan and lo- flag plant” and taste its florid fruit. quat. Entering the Elba chaparral, we perceive a physical

104elbaper2