Ciaculli Late Season Mandarin

Until 60 years ago, the plain surrounding Palermo was one big garden. Citrus groves reached up to the spurs of the mountains that hemmed the Conca d’Oro, the golden basin, and the fertile soil was retained by dry-stone walls. These days, the cultivated land has been reduced by 80% and the fertile soil cemented over, and the building continues, with great risks of hydrogeological instability. In the 1940s, in Ciaculli, a spontaneous mutation of the Avana mandarin produced this late season variety. With very few seeds, incredibly sweet, juicy pulp and thin skin, it spread rapidly among the local growers.

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Season

Harvested from January to March and processed into juices and jams available year-round.

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Thanks to the consortium Il Tardivo di Ciaculli, the Presidium unites 65 small-scale growers who own a total of around 80 hectares of land. Only small plots remain and the potential proceeds from selling the land are higher than the income from selling the citrus. The growers have become discouraged, and if current trends continue, in ten years the remaining citrus groves will have been completely abandoned. The Presidium has been started to try to reverse this.

Production area
Rural areas around Palermo

Presidium supported by
Palermo Province, Sicilian Regional Department of Agriculture and Forestry

Consorzio Il Tardivo di Ciaculli
Palermo
corso dei Mille, 1788
tel. +39 091 6304260-339 2614123
dagati@tardivodiciaculli.it
tardivociaculli@gmail.com
www.tardivodiciaculli.net

Slow Food Presidium Producers’ Coordinator
Giovanni D’Agati
Tel. +39 091 6301769 - 339 2614123
dagati@tardivodiciaculli.it

Slow Food Presidium Coordinator
Mario Indovina
tel. +39 348 7274350
marioindovina@hotmail.com