ON THE ROOF OF THE GRAND PALAIS IN PARIS, ON TOP OF SKYSCRAPERS IN NEW YORK AND IN GARDENS AND BALCONIES IN LONDON: THE STRANGEST PLACES BEES LIVE. WHERE IN ITALY? MILAN, ROME, FLORENCE ... ON THE AGENDA AT THE CONFERENCE IN MONTALCINO IN SEPTEMBER

The classic childhood image of “villages” of colorful bee hives in country fields is by no means the only place bees live: the roof of the Grand Palais in the heart of Paris, at the top of skyscrapers in New York, in gardens and on balconies in central London are just some of the more unusual places they live. Where do bees live in Italy? They are in the cities of Milan, Rome and Florence. And, in Montalcino, where beekeepers will meet for the “Honey Week” (10- 12 September 2010) one of the most important exhibitions of the sector. Bees have found a “home” even among the desks of the elementary school, thanks to the educational workshop “Sweet as honey”, which is part of the pilot project on taste education. “La nostra terra Dacg - Da amare con gusto” (Our Dacg land – loving to taste) is sponsored by WineNews, a company that for years has promoted wine & food communication services and marketing.

Two queens and their 140.000 small worker-bees produce a prestigious wildflower honey- the “Grand Palais” brand, from one of the most famous landmarks in Paris. Producing honey is part of the contribution to defend biodiversity and knowledge about the lives of bees in the French capital, which is particularly rich with flowers to pollinate. “Colleagues” have found homes in other symbolic places in the city like the Luxembourg Gardens and the roof of the Opéra Garnier. The inimitable New York skyline offers an unexpected picture of biodiversity: bees are producing honey, pollinating the many green areas, cleaning the air and living on top of skyscrapers in the Big Apple. The bees are “guarded” and followed step by step by what is a real “team” of “beekeepers” – urban beekeeper enthusiasts.

The city beekeeping hobby is becoming more and more popular even in London where the inhabitants of the City host bees on their balconies and in their gardens, in solidarity with the small insects, which had been decimated by disease and pollution in Britain. “English” bees fly all the way to the heart of Rome: at Villa Wolkonsky, residence of the British ambassador in Italy, two beehives produce nectar in the surrounding gardens. The aim is to exploit the pollen of the many varieties of flowers and fruit trees that populate the green spaces of the villa, to increase the number of bees to facilitate pollination and remind people of the importance of these small insects to the environment.

In Italy bees also have an ad hoc network of cities, where the quality of life is guaranteed by the presence of bees. These are the Honey Towns, rich in awards and interesting stories: such as Ne, the city with the shortest name in the world or Sant’Alfio Etna where the centuries-old “chestnut tree of a hundred horses” the most antique and biggest tree in Europe is located and Casteldelfino which houses the largest Swiss pine forest (the Alevé) in Europe, just to name a few. And, even if only for short visits, due to the swarm phenomenon – a group of bees that leaves a place to form a new colony elsewhere - the bees enjoy visiting the artistic treasures in Italy: Piazza San Babila in Milan, Giotto’s Bell Tower and Piazza della Signoria in Florence and a “stopover” in Via del Corso in Rome.