To cross the Gela Plain on foot is like revisiting its many layers of history, meeting the signs of the present and the past.
For a stretch, just out of Niscemi, we follow one of the best-kept Sicilian old country roads, made of coloured cobbles.
Raising the eyes, we notice stork nests, signs of the passage of migratory birds. Storks came back to the area only a few years ago.
“Storks are symbols of fertility and change. They carry something new,” says Davide of the Geloi Wetland, a bird protection area. “Imagine that when they first arrived here they were welcomed with gunshots.”
Beyond protecting birds, at Geloi Wetland they try to contain the problem of desertification by planting Mediterranean scrub.
The original aspect of this plain was much wetter and vegetated. When the first Greek settlers got to Gela in 688 BC they found a vast area patched with woods and crossed by rivers and creeks. The land was fertile; it was America of ancient times.
Today’s trees are widely spaced; the plain unrolls towards the sea as far as the eye can see. We find many artichoke fields. All in all, Gela’s fields add up to half of Sicily artichoke production.
“In the past we could make a living with artichokes,” says a producer met along the way. “Now Egypt and Tunisia are screwing us. They sell artichokes for 10 cents a piece. With this competition we cannot even cover expenses.”
So we see vast fields transformed. What used to be artichokes becomes olive trees. What used to be agricultural land becomes an oasis for migratory birds.
Cultures change; the land stay the same.
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