“ARCHEOLOGIA ARBOREA”: THE MISSION OF THOSE WHO SAVE FRUITS FROM THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY
Isabella Dalla Ragione recounts the recovery of 600 specimens of ancient varieties: «As I travel around the world, Italy proves to be at the forefront in the field of biodiversity»…
read more in the article by Francesca Cutolo in the magazine 50 e Più, December 2025
BIODIVERSITY ORCHARD
of the Livio Dalla Ragione Centre for Folk Traditions – Villa Capelletti
A new space to visit just outside the historic centre, located in the garden of Villa Capelletti in Garavelle.
Fully accessible and inclusive, the orchard will include 30 trees of ancient local fruit varieties, a place deeply connected to the identity of our territory. The project originated from the design initiative of the Archeologia Arborea Foundation and has been made possible thanks to the support of the company L’Abbondanza and the collaboration with the Municipality of Città di Castello. Through agrobiodiversity, we learn how to build community and enable it to generate social transformation.
We look forward to welcoming you on Saturday 6 December at 10:15 a.m., at the Livio Dalla Ragione Centre for Folk Traditions, for the inauguration, the visit to the orchard and the presentation of the project.
We are inaugurating the pomological exhibition “Tenendo Innanzi frutta” (Keeping Fruit in Sight) on 6 December, at the Centre for Folk Traditions in Garavelle.
We look forward to seeing you!
A feature article on the Archeologia Arborea Foundation has been published in the Dutch newspaper Trouw, founded in 1943 and now the fifth-largest newspaper in the Netherlands by circulation.
You can find it at the following link:
“Italian fruit detective racing to save forgotten varieties“.
Isabella Dalla Ragione hunts in abandoned gardens and orchards for forgotten fruits, preserving Italy’s agricultural heritage and saving varieties which could help farmers withstand the vagaries of a changing climate.
AFP UK
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/italian-fruit-detective-racing-save-185303834.html
6 November 2025 – The first Biodiversity Orchard in central Italy was presented in Città di Castello, created by the Archeologia Arborea Foundation, L’Abbondanza company and the Municipality of Città di Castello, at the Livio Dalla Ragione Centre for Folk Traditions in Garavelle.
This is the first orchard that the Archeologia Arborea Foundation has created outside its main site, at the Livio Dalla Ragione Centre for Folk Traditions in Villa Capelletti, a place strongly connected to the Foundation’s identity. Ancient local fruit varieties will be preserved here, and the orchard will be accessible to everyone, representing a model of collaboration between the public sector, private enterprise and the third sector.
During the official presentation, held in the council chamber of the Municipality, speeches were given by Mayor Luca Secondi, Councillor Michela Botteghi and Benedetta Calagreti, President of the Foundation Isabella Dalla Ragione, and the CEO of L’Abbondanza, William Camilletti. Also present were Daniela Fiorucci, the company’s marketing manager, and Angela Pierli, designer and fundraiser, who illustrated the project development in detail.
The Archeologia Arborea Foundation is collaborating with Calibro Africa 2025 in the presentation of the book The Rarest Fruit, written by Gaëlle Bélem, a French writer of Réunion origin.
An engaging story that intertwines the life of a young Creole boy, who became enslaved during the colonial period and was later rescued and raised by a botanist specialising in orchids.
Isabella Dalla Ragione and Gaëlle Bélem in dialogue for a journey into the roots of anthropological and natural biodiversity.
The event will take place on 4 October 2025 at 9:15 p.m. at the Sala degli Specchi, Palazzo Bufalini.
27–28 September 2025
Festival of Forgotten Fruits and Biodiversity in Pennabilli.
In Italy, Isabella Dalla Ragione, an agronomic engineer, grafts and plants forgotten varieties of apples, pears, and figs. She’s searching for genetic profiles that are much more resistant than the standardized products found on our market stalls. A Garden of Eden that opens a door to the future.
We’re on konfekt magazine 🗞