Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

International symposium in Pantelleria, brand of the Mediterranean Diet

Eating is health. The answer is yes if you eat according to the parameters of the Mediterranean Diet. The health benefits of the products that form the basis of the diet of the Mediterranean countries have been widely said and are known to all. It is so important that the Mediterranean Diet has been included in the UNESCO list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. And Sicily with its agricultural products, its oil, its wine, is none other than the greatest representative of this type of diet. Hence the agreement between IRVOS and OLDWAYS,

non-profit educational organization very well known in the USA and around the world which introduced foods, wines, oil and Mediterranean cuisine to "health conscious" American consumers, nutritionists and restaurateurs. An agreement that led to the organization of an International Symposium: “Secrets of Pantelleria” is the title of the event which will involve American experts and which will be held from 9 to 15 September on the island emblem of the Mediterranean Diet.

 

When Oldways first introduced the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid in 1993 at a scientific conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in cooperation with the Harvard School of Public Health and the World Health Organization, many commentators showed skeptical that Americans could adopt the Mediterranean Diet and its main fat: olive oil. But the conclusions of this Conference disproved these perplexities, to the point of being defined, by the prestigious newspaper Washington Post, as "Magical Mediterranean!". The island of Pantelleria will thus be the prestigious location chosen for the international Symposium: "An earthly paradise where historical, social, cultural, geographical and structural elements have combined in such a singular way as to give it a very specific identity, as happened for the rest of Sicily", comments Dario Cartabellotta, general manager of the agricultural and food resources department who adds: "Man emerges from barbarism and enters civilization in the Mediterranean when he begins to cultivate vines and olive trees (Thucydides) and Vite e Olive trees fix CO2 much better than forest plants and contribute to the environmental protection of our planet. Wine and olive oil with their flavours, smells and colors are components of the quality of life". There will thus be five intense days during which authorities, archaeologists, nutritionists, scholars, including Sicilians and Americans, will "take the stand" shining the spotlight on Mediterranean excellence. It will be an excursus from art to the land, from the table to healthcare, from the cellar to nature. Pantelleria, like Sicily, has brought together different civilizations and in this diversity has created its unity: above all in the kitchen, in short, a real brand.