The Reasons of the Earth

The ‘Le ragioni della terra. Parole, gesti e storie dell'agricoltura piemontese’ project by the Piedmont Region Agricultural Department in collaboration with the ‘Granai della memoria’ (Granaries of Memory) Laboratory of the University of Gastronomical Sciences, was established in spring 2017 with the aim of identifying, selecting and collecting testimonies representing the territorial, cultural and entrepreneurial complexity and diversity of the agricultural system in Piedmont.

The method used to identify the subjects to interview – based on the experience of ethnographical investigation and sampling built up over the years by the 'Granai della memoria' Laboratory – starts geographically from the 15 geographic areas into which the Piedmont regional territory has been divided within the Regional Landscape Plan

The testimonies gathered were used to create 35 video-interviews each lasting around 3-5 minutes that can be seen further on in the review, while the full interviews have been archived on the portal of the 'Granai della memoria' portal.

Presentation video with extracts of the interviews collected in the "Le ragioni della terra" project

The method used to identify the subjects to interview – based on the experience of ethnographical investigation and sampling built up over the years by the 'Granai della memoria' Laboratory – starts geographically from the 15 geographic areas which the Piedmont regional territory has been divided into within the Regional Landscape Plan.At least two business entities were surveyed in each geographic area, taking care to represent provincial articulation and cover the various production supply chains of the agricultural sector in Piedmont.

Subsequently, they worked on identifying subjects who were, on one hand, those with specific oral and established knowledge in the agricultural field; and, on the other, those with more diverse biography and experience: the resulting scenario shows companies of centuries-old tradition working and existing alongside new kinds of entrepreneurship, often carried on with originality and creativity by 'neocontadini' (nouveau farmers), people whose lives and working experiences have led them to the agricultural world not simply to continue the family business but by choice.

Bibliographical references

BARBERIS Corrado (a cura di) (2009), Ruritalia. La rivincita delle campagne, Roma, Donzelli.

MERLO Valerio (2006), Voglia di campagna Neoruralismo e città, Troina, Città Aperta.

VAN DER PLOEG Jan Douwe (2009), I nuovi contadini. Le campagne e le risposte alla globalizzazione, Roma, Donzelli.

Research group of the Univeristy of Gastronomic Sciences

Direzione scientifica: Piercarlo Grimaldi

Ricerca antropologica: Gianpaolo Fassino, Davide Porporato

Regia e montaggio: Luca Ghiardo

Riprese: Stefano Cavallotto, Luca Ghiardo, Luca Percivalle, Remo Schellino

Riprese drone: Andrea Icardi, Matteo Bellizzi.