The Life and Death of Olive Trees

June 18, 2024 4:28 PM

"The Via Francigena is an ancient pilgrimage route that traverses all of Italy from north to south, the remaining 45 stages being at the southern tip of the peninsula in Puglia, the region I call home. In the autumn of 2023 I walked nine of those stages, documenting the drastic changes of landscape and society happening due to xylella fastidiosa (xylella), an incurable disease killing the olive trees." Amanda Roelle, olive farmer and artist, spent 9 days walking and documenting the olive groves in watercolor and ink.
posted by moonmilk (5 comments total)

Previously, by a good nose.
posted by johnabbe at 4:33 PM on June 18

Ahhh, that’s beautiful. Thank you!
posted by cupcakeninja at 5:14 PM on June 18

Ooooooo noooo. I did not know about this.

I spent time in Italy shortly after a historic freeze that killed most of the olive trees in the region I was in;all the olive trees near us were young skinny things. When we visited southern Italy I was amazed to see some old giants. I can’t believe they’ll be gone.
posted by bq at 9:23 PM on June 18

fortunately, there is hope: EU satellites reveal how bio-fertiliser can protect the olive groves of southern Italy [europa.eu], Xylella May Not Be Responsible for Olive Tree Devastation in Puglia [Olive Oil Times 3/2024] +NIH
posted by HearHere at 11:29 PM on June 18 [2 favorites]

You can see more of Amanda's work at amandaroelle.com, including their own 2023 Olive Harvest.
posted by kgander at 8:33 AM on June 19 [2 favorites]