“A small community in the heart of Cilento”, with these words mayor of Pollica, Stefano Pisani, defines “his” village between the sea and the hills where “everything began.” And with “everything” we mean the history, the myth, and the universal heritage of the Mediterranean Diet.

The intricate whole of agricultural techniques and transformation, the wish to share, and the desire to convey the knowledge straddling medical and social sciences from generation to generation, lends the Mediterranean Diet the fascination it has even now, what has accompanied, throughout their entire life (and throughout the second half of Twentieth Century), the physiologist Ancel Keys and the biologist Margaret Haney.

To decode a way of living and feeling and connect it with a description able to become an advantage for everybody, the “divine couple” decided to start living in a hamlet of Pollica, Pioppi, for part of the year, where today we can find the Living Museum of the Mediterranean Diet.

For this reason, like the Keys, with this unique section of the virtual museum of the Mediterranean Diet, patronized and supported by the municipality of Pollica thanks to the contribution of MIPAAF, we want to take each of you to Cilento, to Pollica, where the “fisherman mayor,” Angelo Vassallo, had what his successor, Stefano Pisano, has defined “the brilliant intuition”, that is to make the Mediterranean Diet a candidate for the UNESCO World Heritage, not only for the town of Pollica but for all the mayors in Cilento, precisely because it’s a shared wealth.

We will take you to Pollica, accordingly, in the kitchens and restaurants that enhance the ingredients and techniques of the territory. We will take you to Pollica, where the new generations tell each other about traditional knowledge like the olive harvest, the preserves, and the Grandmother’s dishes. We will take you to Pollica to let you know the “Recipes in a nutshell” of the Mediterranean Diet. We will take you to Pollica to let you love this Intangible Heritage of Humanity with us.

In this section you will find four subsections:

    

    

The section “Pollica/Cilento – Emblematic community UNESCO” of the Virtual Museum of the Mediterranean Diet is part of the project “Living in a Mediterranean way. The value of the Mediterranean Diet. Actions and Measures for the safeguard and enhance of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Unesco” by the municipality of Pollica, with the contribution of the MIPAAF, by the Directorial decree n.305202 dated 8th July 2022 – ways and criteria for granting contribution for the enhancement of traditions and agri-food and agroforestry practices as UNESCO’s intangible heritages. CUP: J85G22000500005.