Saturday,
August 19, 2006
Italians Charmed by Honeybees
The ANNOTICO Report
Italians, in rural areas, small villages and even urban areas are rediscovering apiculture (beekeeping), that was well developed in Roman times, but has an ancient history, evidenced by 15,000-year-old rock-paintings.
ITALIANS CHARMED BY HONEYBEES
(ANSA) -
Growing interest in apiculture catches on with celebrities
Italians are taking their passion for
homegrown produce one step further this summer, with dozens of converts to beekeeping .
According to the National Union of Italian Beekeepers
(UNAI), more people than ever are setting up apiaries in order to produce their
own honey .
Discussing the growing interest in apiculture, UNAI
President Francesco Panella explained that people are
drawn by the idea of a hobby that is close to nature and that is fairly easy to
get started .
"All you need are two or three hives in order to
get a real sense of this fascinating world," said Panella,
noting that some urban dwellers were setting up hives on their terraces .
"Initially, however, we recommend that beginners
are overseen by experts. There are courses run by beekeeping associations in
many Italian provinces" .
Panella estimates that the initial outlay of most Italians interested
in beekeeping is at least 700 euros .
"A smo! ker [for
calming angry bees], a smock, a mask and gloves are all essential equipment for
a beekeeper," he said. "An average apiary costs around 170 euros, in
addition to which expenditure on the protective equipment and a first colony of
bees will come to at least 300 euros" .
Panella suggested that the craze for beekeeping may in part have been
popularized by a recent spate of celebrities developing an interest in the hobby .
The two most famous of these are the British musician
Sting, who also produces his own wine and olive oil on his 600-acre estate in
Tuscany, and Veronica Lario, wife of former premier Silvio Berlusconi, who personally tends the hives at her
villa north of Milan .
However, one of
This is because regular exposure to the poison in
bee-stings creates a kind of "of o! ngoing
vaccine", he said. But novices have not yet developed this immunity, while
those who take a break can lose their protection .
"We
Beekeeping has an ancient history, with 15,000-year-old
rock-paintings showing evidence of honey production .
By Ancient Egyptian and Roman times it was well
developed and was discussed at some length by Roman writers such as Virgil .
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