“Archestrato da Gela”, the association is born: local specialties, history, culture and tradition

Frost. The valorization of the territory through a journey that combines the delights of the palate, with the flavor of other times, with the landscape and archaeological beauties. With this mission, seven people from Gelato gave life to the “Archestrato da Gela” association whose baptism took place last Sunday in the setting of the “Catalano” winery, a modern winery linked by a common thread to a family tradition that has been handed down for three generations: a “precious treasure chest” that tells the colors of the territory that for decades has released refined notes of conviviality. In that strip of Sicily, immersed in a dreamlike landscape, between lush nature and rows of vineyards destined to produce noble wines, which project the gaze towards that Mare Nostrum crossed by Ulysses, the seven members of the newly founded “Archestrato da Gela” presented to an audience for special occasions an idea of ​​relaunching the territory, of its thousand-year history, which passes through gastronomy with dishes and delicacies and secrets of the culinary art that were handed down to us 24 centuries ago by Archestratus, the Sicilian poet who lived in the second half of the 4th century. BC, lover of art and pleasure, that of the table first and foremost. Welcoming the guests were the president of the association, Croci Attardi, and the members, Sebastiano Arnone (vice president), Luigi Martorana (secretary), Francesco Collura (treasurer), Paolo Scicolone, Rosario Catalano and Gandolfo Barranco (councillors). During their interventions, the cornerstone of the project proposed by the association was underlined, aimed at creating aggregation to produce the beauty of which our territory is rich, reviving 24 centuries later Archestrato, after whom the association intends to name a festival. There are countless initiatives that the team of members proposes with the collaboration and suggestions that can come from every citizen who has at heart a revival in cultural terms of our territory, which has been “raped”, neglected and made almost invisible for years. Dr. Paolo Scicolone, a nutrition expert, spoke on the topic of “Food culture and promotion of the territory”, and through his work he is trying to transform traditional food into an experiment in life and knowledge of the territory. Scicolone, during his speech, underlined the benefits of healthy eating, of the “grandmother’s diet” which, with the support of numerous scientific studies, is becoming a model to be promoted. “Diet is an ancient word that derives from δίαιτα (diaita), used at the time of Archestratus – he said – and means lifestyle: that is, that which the scientific community is proposing today”.