“Mother Earth is really asking us to touch the soil… it’s not just enough to pray. We need to put our hands in the soil.” —Carlo Montesanti
Contorni. The side dishes, or the surroundings. In this fourth episode of our series Fat of The Land, we turn towards the question of taste: how it is cultivated and remembered. Through conversations with Carlo Montesanti and Arianna Gelpke, the episode traces the shifting contours of Italian food culture amid tourism, commercialisation, supermarket convenience, and the global appetite for an imagined “Italian cuisine.” What happens to taste when food becomes spectacle, an export or a brand? And, what tastes are lost? Can they ever be reclaimed?
Moving across Sicily and Tuscany, this episode reflects on taste as not just as a matter of preference but as a way of reading the earth. Contorni provokes us to consider taste in all of its forms: sensorial, cultural, economic and ecological. What desires for taste reveal about hunger itself: hunger for nourishment, nostalgia, identity, and connection to a place past… or of the now.
Fat of The Land is a series that asks us what we mean when we look for connection between people and the land. Following a desire for real relation, for deliciousness, and for slowness, each episode traces what happens when we follow this desire.
This episode is brought to you by generous sponsorships from Ritū and Terra Elaÿa.
Music and sound design in this episode is brought to you from the For The Wild Studio.
Thank you to Jessie of Slow Life Family Farm and Arianna of Fattoria Corzano e Paterno for joining us in conversation.
Biographies
Carlo Montesanti, born in Siracusa, is an esteemed English-speaking guide in Eastern Sicily, known for his work with BBC nature documentaries and Netflix’s Chef’s Table series.
Arianna Gelpke is a representative of her family's farm, Fattoria Corzano e Paterno. She is passionate for nature and working with the land in the pursuit of sustainable agriculture and high-quality artisan produce. Since Wendelin Gelpke purchased Corzano in 1971 and the subsequent addition of Paterno in 1974, the two-hundred-hectare farm has developed along three different lines: slow wine, olive oil, and artisanal cheese production, along with “Agriturismo.”
Partners
Ritū
Fat of The Land is a series about what it means to be in relationship with land, food, and the people who tend both across generations. Ritū was made with the same kind of care; six ancient plants, ground and blended into a morning cup that honors the land it comes from, delivered in a compostable bag that returns to the earth.
Ritu built a custom landing page for us and would like to offer For The Wild listeners 25% their first month with a discount code FORTHEWILD25.
To order yourself some Ritu, head to drinkritu.com/forthewild.
Terra Elaÿa
Thanks also to Elaÿa for the support of this series. Terra Elaÿa is a sanctuary where ancient ways meet the needs of our time. We emerge at this time of crossroads, standing as a space for the transformation, renewal, and re-enchantment of the human spirit. Located in the heart of southern Italy, we provide a place to come into a deeper relationship with life: to slow down, listen, and restore embodied wisdom.
Head to terraelaya.com to learn more about upcoming Elaÿa experiences or to host an event.
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