Places of ancient agrarian culture : the discovery of a grain pit

Abstract

The recovery of memory as well as the protection, preservation, conservation and enhancement of the cultural heritage of our territory – both material and immaterial – are the starting points for this multidisciplinary research, which aims to recount a history that has almost been forgotten. We refer to the tradition of agrarian culture, and to the ancient production, commercialization and conservation of wheat: a valuable asset of sustenance for the community that, in centuries past, played a fundamental role for the socio-economic development of our country, particularly for cities overlooking the Mediterranean basin. Several methods and places have been used to store wheat. This study focuses on the Grain Pit present along the southern Sicilian coast and has allowed us to identify – a few kilometers from Agrigento in the city of Porto Empedocle – a pit that was unknown until now. The hope is that an unexplored source of tourism can be activated in the future that connects, along various paths, the Grain Pit of the Agrigento area to the great historical, artistic, cultural and landscape heritage of Sicily.