The relaunch of Vallarsa in Trentino, thanks to the restoration of terraces historically planted with vines

There are places in the Italy of wine, where farmers still cultivate vines in terraces with dry-stone walls and make their “vin de caneva” wine at home (and they can be counted on the tips of their fingers: 23), without economic remuneration, but only with a spirit of landscape protection and pride in their product, along paths that lead to villages in the valley that smell of polenta and deer and rustic pizza and tell of ancient Cimbrian legends: among them is Vallarsa, a wild and lonely valley in Trentino, where history was written along the front of the Great War, as evidenced by “Peace” trails, “Heroes” peaks and the “Road of 52 Galleries”, between the Little Dolomites and Mt. Corno Battisti on Pasubio, dedicated to Cesare Battisti, who was captured here on July 10, 1916, before being executed, in an attempt to take the summit from the Austrians, through the maze of tunnels, trenches and artillery emplacements, where World War I was fought. Between history, identity and agriculture, this is the background of “98 Terraces” a land project for the recovery of historically vine terraces, the rural heritage of the valley, with the Proloco as “leader” and bringing together farmers and inhabitants, which started in recent days from Valmorbia in the heart of the valley, with the “laying” of the first stone at the beginning of a new wall - strictly dry stone walls - that anxiously awaits to grow and give life to new terraces, defined by writer and journalist Alberto Folgheraiter as “a pentagram of dry stone walls that draw the sides of the mountain to hold back the land of self-consumption”, through conservation restoration work to be used for the cultivation of historic vine varieties, with the ambition of producing a local wine that is the result of community participation and skills. The Proloco has been dedicated for years in an attempt to recover a history that has contributed for centuries to shaping the identity of the people of Vallarsa. A forgotten history that in the last century has changed the perception of who we are. After a decade of work, with the contribution of historians, essayists, anthropologists and researchers, but also thanks to the comparison with winemakers from other territories, from Valtellina to Val Venosta, to Val di Cembra, who have seen these lands and understood and shared their potential, this story is now coming back to the surface with strength thanks to wine, and WineNews also wants to contribute to tell it. The “98 Terraces” project will continue throughout the year, in the reconquest of plots of land, now taken over by the forest. The appointment is for next year, or even earlier at the grape harvest, in an idea of collective recovery of some of the 98 terraces of the valley, with the conviction that through another concept of agriculture it is possible to give a new and current perspective to the mountain peasant civilization, before it turns into a mute history. The mountain farming process considers economies of purpose rather than economies of scale, protecting the health of the land and those who live on it, valuing local knowledge and cultures, traditional techniques, and the preservation of the historic landscape resulting from the footprints of history and nature. And this will be the goal of a new agricultural project for Vallarsa, with a spirit of sharing that is typical of the farming culture of past generations.