Antonio's fondest childhood memory in the fields of Castelluccio di Norcia, the Italian Tibet, is tied to his grandfather's cows and a burgundy Vespa, to when he would take them with him to the stables and when he asked, "What's the name of that cow over there?" They were all, as if by magic, called "Stellina." Since that day, that memory has never left him, and even though the cows are no longer there, his life, choosing the land, has continued, carrying on 100 years of history and tradition.
YOUNG UMBRIAN FARMERS
Antonio Barcaroli, 28 years ago, has been running, by choice and vocation, the farm that belonged to his grandfather, then to his father, founder of the Castelluccio di Norcia Lentil Cooperative, a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) and a prime example of Italian cuisine. He's always preferred a walk on the plains or in the woods to look for mushrooms to PlayStations and consoles, PCs, and social media. Helping in the fields before school or after homework was the norm, the reassuring flow of ancient and wise traditions, but passion did the rest: Antonio, who rarely uses social media and prefers contact with the public, has decided, in a world that pushes everyone to virtuality and the search for a desk, to make a buck the trend: Today he wakes up every day to open his stall selling typical products. Of the highest quality, as he is keen to point out. All Italian, tasted and tested personally, and expensive, as he admits, because quality requires commitment, time, and skill.
And, indeed, it might be time to reconsider the word "expensive" and the impulse to choose agricultural products based solely on price: Antonio's lentils, as he reveals, cost 12 euros, but what seems like a sterile sum encompasses ancient skills, a hundred years of generations of farmers, a small plot of land, and the products of a family's labor, from lentils to cheeses. Or again, memories of his grandmother "tanning" in the courtyard and the many hardships. Like after the terrible earthquake that shook Norcia and its hamlets, threatening to shatter the legs of small businesses and small enterprises.
TO KNOW MORE: Agriculture 4.0: all the advantages of agricultural business networks, starting with new jobs.
LA MONTAGNOLA FARM, CASTELLUCCIO DI NORCIA
For Antonio, however, it is a new beginning. “With one shoe and one slipper”, As he confides to us, with little more than nothing, he followed the spark and decided to devote himself to traveling around Italy, attending agricultural fairs, selling his produce, studying the products he sells and their excellence. Without any sales techniques, but with a fair amount of success. Because, as he says, it takes luck, but above all the ability to connect with people.
Competition, in such a fierce and problematic sector, does not scare him, because he firmly believes in the power of the stories behind the packets of lentils and in the ability of those who choose to understand them. The secret, for Antonio, is knowing how to explain what he's selling, knowing how to communicate, and generating knowledge and food education by meeting as many people as possible. He challenges the virtual to return to reality, just as real are his father's toil on the crawler and the years his family dedicated to this profession.
Now, Antonio's enterprise is based on friendship and family ties: he has a friend who helps him with expeditions, and it is only recently that he has begun small steps on social media to raise awareness of La Montagnola, which only landed in the virtual world at the end of 2019, preferring fairs and small elective events. Traveling throughout Italy, always returning to Castelluccio di Norcia, and resolutely rejecting overpriced modern gimmicks. Relying on connections, quality, history, and word of mouth.
He advises all young men and women with a background in agriculture or a passion for it to move forward, challenging prejudices. Because, he says, when I return to the countryside, I find calm, silence, and relaxation.
(Featured image and accompanying text taken from Facebook page “La Montagnola”)
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