The green turning point of Pompeii: sheep for lawn care, olive trees and 6,000 more trees

The latest hires, in the newborn “Pompeii Farm”, there are 150 sheep that are already happily grazing in the green area of ​​the ancient city, unwittingly taking care of the maintenance of the territory. Below them, and under the grass that they have begun to graze, ashes and lapilli guard who knows how many other wonders to reveal to the world. In Pompeii, which never ceases to surprise, narrating life crystallized in 79 AD, the year of the infamous eruption, there is a new course, rigorously “green”, which helps to rethink the Archaeological Park. Sustainably and intelligently. “Because the greatest innovation is often the return to the roots and the most efficient technology is nature”, nods the director Gabriel Zuchtriegel.

They, the sheep, have arrived as part of a nine-month trial agreement. Technically it is defined as “eco-pasture”: the Park has no costs, the sheep provide for the maintenance of the grass surfaces, in full respect of the naturalistic characteristics of the areas, ensuring – without the use of pesticides – the containment of weeds and fertilization natural of the land. “Sheep do not need electricity as much as a machine, and therefore there is no cost or pollution. – continues Zuchtriegel – Grass cut in an industrial way normally becomes waste in all respects to be disposed of. A sheep, on the other hand, he ingests the grass he chews and recycles it by fertilizing the lawn which, rich in organic matter and microorganisms, is the best insurance against flooding and drought”. Not bad, right?

After all, in Pompeii which continues to attract millions of visitors from all over the world (third among the Italian sites, by number of admissions, after the Uffizi and the Colosseum, with 1,037,766 people in 2021, they were almost 4 million in 2019) the silent green and sustainable revolution – which passes precisely through a project called “Pompeii Agricultural Company” – has already been underway for some years. And it translates, for example, into the cultivation of 60 hectares of fields and green spaces, spread over the three archaeological sites of Pompeii, Stabiae and Boscoreale.

A return to the past is the case to say, with vines planted and cared for with the original methods of the Pompeians. An experimental project born in 1994, in the Regions I and II, on a limited area of ​​the excavations that had led to the first production of wine, which continued for several years. The cutting of the grapes in the vineyards of the Casa del Triclinio Estivo and of the Foro Boario, in autumn, is a unique spectacle.

The novelty, in the near future, is that thanks to an international public-private partnership, in addition to the expansion of the vineyard areas, a plant will be installed for the production, bottling and refinement, up to the sale within the Park archaeological.

Along with the wine, there is also the oil: after all, olive trees have been a typical element of the landscape of Pompeii since the dawn of time. “Protecting and enhancing them in a sustainable way – explains Zuchtriegel – is fundamental”. Hence the collaboration agreement between Unaprol, the National Union of Olive Producers and Aprol Campania, who have undertaken to carry out as technical sponsor of the Archaeological Park the maintenance of existing trees in the archaeological areas and even a training course for local producers , to the companies that deal with the maintenance of the green areas and to the staff of the Park itself.

The next step? An EVO oil made in Pompeii, which will be presented very soon. Archeology and sustainability, but also inclusion. In the Park, the picking of pomegranates and quinces periodically involves the children of the Pompeii Rehabilitation Center: they have autism spectrum disorders and cognitive disabilities and for a year – coordinated by their educators and Park officials, thanks to a framework agreement between the cooperative social The Tulip and the Archaeological Park – in turn become protagonists of agricultural activities, making Pompeii “a laboratory of experiences within everyone’s reach and not a place of history that appears distant”, Zuchtriegel continues.

But one of the most interesting projects for the “new” Pompeii is undoubtedly the reforestation program of the green areas crowning the walls, which started last spring and aimed at expanding the biodiversity of the over 50 hectares of green heritage overlooking the ancient city . By 2024 more than 6,000 trees and shrubs are expected to be planted, starting with the Porta Anfiteatro wood, which is starting to take shape. Holm oaks, plane trees, tamarisks, elms and oaks, rose bushes, strawberry trees, myrtles and lentisks: a hymn to the Mediterranean maquis, with a variety selected from among the species already attested in Roman times, according to the reconstructions of studies on the naturalistic components of the ancient landscape . All thanks to the technical sponsorship and the agreement with the benefit company Arbolia and the contribution of Sa.Gest, the global technological service company operating in the Oil & Gas, civil, industrial and energy sectors and which has created and maintains the modern path integrated, visual and sound “A night in Pompeii”. And in short, the sheep are only the latest arrivals in Pompeii. And it’s a comeback. Historical courses and recurrences, nature – apparently – wants to take back its spaces.