Linea Verde Explores Water, Rice Paddies and Local Traditions in Isola della Scala
Isola della Scala. The protagonists of the episode that “Linea Verde” has been filming in recent days between the Mincio and Tartaro rivers are water and rice paddies. The live nature-themed television program broadcast by Rai Uno on Sunday mornings at 12:20 focuses on water and its culture through time, in aspects related to the natural and humanized environment, and the agricultural economy of the area.
The route followed by the cameras through Villafranca di Verona begins with the clear waters of the Mincio at Borghetto and leads to the Parco Sigurtà, a lush green oasis that owes its current appearance to an ancient right to use the waters of the tributary of the Po and to the long, patient efforts of humans.
From the natural system to the landscape modified by humans
From the clear waters of the Mincio, the path moves towards the less transparent waters of the Busatello swamp, an example of a natural environment rich in birdlife, where the old fishing system with the calto and the collection of bulrush was reconstructed, used for chair caning, and of the reed, used for roofing.
The subsequent images transition from an environment that has not undergone reclamation, such as the swamp, to one created and transformed by human intervention: the rice paddy, with fish catching, harvesting, and the processing phases of rice from the past, with the mondine (women rice weeders), and from today, with the combine harvester.
The processing of rice and local tradition
The filming took place in the rice fields of azienda Melotti in the San Gabriele locality, where the old farmhouse also demonstrates how rice was threshed in the past: the program will recreate the “bando delle cavalle,” as it was called before the introduction of threshing machines. This operation, which allowed the grains to be separated from the spike by trampling the rice with animals bred specifically for this purpose, was a traditional method.
The episode dedicated to water culture cannot overlook rice, the typical local product: the final part of the program is dedicated to the cereal and rice-based dishes.
Festival and local tradition
The courtyard of Villa Vo’ and an exhibit of vintage cars serve as the backdrop for the traditional table that closes the broadcast; the music of the ethnic group “Panganoti Cimbri” and the songs of the mondine in traditional festival costumes accompany Fabrizio Del Noce, the presenter, among tables set on the lawn in front of the right side of the seventeenth-century building, with risottos of all kinds—duck, red radicchio, pumpkin, peas and pancetta, capon, porcini mushrooms, and roasted chestnuts (with chef Giorgio Gioco)—along with pasta, polenta, desserts, sweets, rice liqueur, and rice beer.
Meanwhile, in the grass on the left, rice cooks are preparing in a giant caldron the “risotto all’isolana” for all attendees.
