Antonietta becomes an entrepreneur thanks to the Alife onion

In the province of Caserta, a young woman has revived an ancient crop, so as not to waste it. Her production is a Slow Food Presidium.

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SLOW FOOD PRESIDIA CAMPANIA

Antonietta Becomes an Entrepreneur Thanks to Alife's Onion

The Alife onion, in the province of Caserta, has an ancient tradition and is a typical local agricultural product. Yet it was at risk of disappearing, being forgotten and wasted. A courageous woman, Antonietta Melillo, 46, brought it back into the spotlight by establishing a local business to produce and sell Alife onions. The onion quickly became a well-known Slow Food Presidium in the area.

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ALIFE ONION

Antonietta had lost her job because, despite her agricultural engineering degree, her business was concentrated in a clothing store in the center of Alife. But with the town's depopulation, competition from Amazon, and the clothing industry crisis, Antonietta was forced to close the shop. She didn't give up and focused entirely on local tradition, and especially on onions.

Alife has a long farming tradition that has spanned the centuries up to the present day. In recent decades, however, there has been a serious risk of lose much of its gastronomic heritage of these lands due to the continuous migration of young people from the area to other shores. Because of this forced removal, caused by the economic difficulties that unfortunately still grip a large part of the Noon, many of the fields that for centuries had been lush and a source of well-being, have been progressively abandoned. So also the production of this onion, which despite being highly appreciated among restaurateurs, risked being lost. And it would have been a real affront to tradition because Alife's is a very ancient variety So much so that it's said that Roman gladiators were already fond of them and even used them to rub their bodies to tone their muscles. The Lombards, in fact, considered so precious they were, used onions to pay rent or as a prized gift.

WORKING IN AGRICULTURE IN ITALY

Antonietta was not born a farmer. Until five years ago, in fact, she managed the family clothing store which unfortunately started to not do very well and she was forced to close it. For this reason, at thirty-three years old she had to reinvent herself and decided to “throwing oneself” into traditionSo she bet everything on Alife onions, but to succeed she had to overcome a seemingly impossible obstacle: finding the seeds. As previously mentioned, the cultivation of this vegetable had almost completely disappeared, so Antonietta had to work hard to obtain the "raw material." Fortunately, she was rescued by... an elderly resident of the village who before dying gave her the seeds needed to start cultivation. Thus she gradually gave life to a real entrepreneurial miracle proving wrong all those who had continually told her: “You can't live on onions aloneToday Antonietta's tenacity has paid off, and the Alife market is once again as thriving as it once was, thanks to many who have followed in her footsteps and increased local cultivation.

The photos are taken from the Facebook page Alife Onion Slow Food Presidium - Antonietta Melillo

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