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POMO PERO 2025 On Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 October 2025, Lusiana (On the Asiago plateau in the province of Vicenza) hosted the 26th edition of “Pomo Pero”, the historic market exhibition dedicated to the promotion of ancient varieties of apples and pears from the Plateau, together with the flavors, traditions, and culture of the local area. The event offered a rich program of activities for all ages: markets of typical products, food stands, exhibitions, workshops, shows, excursions, and musical performances, transforming the town into a lively celebration of biodiversity and rural life. The festival had been preceded by a...

Let’s Liberate Diversity! Annual meeting What it is: Since 2005, a European movement for agrobiodiversity has taken shape, driven by the need to address issues related to seeds. This gave birth to the Let’s Liberate Diversity! Forum, aimed at the general public, citizens, and professionals, with the goal of promoting exchange among countries and raising awareness on the subject. For this reason, such events are organized every year in different European cities, fostering participatory and active involvement through horizontal learning. From September 4 to 6, the European Coordination Let’s Liberate Diversity! hosted its 14th LLD Forum at the Agricultural Technical Institute of...

Don’t miss this month’s issue of the GARDENIA monthly magazine  we are featured! Thanks to the article by Samantha Gaiara. Radicchio What it is: Cichorium intybus var. foliosum, family Asteraceae.Origin: Mediterranean Basin, Italy.Characteristics: A biennial herbaceous plant, cultivated as an annual, with variegated leaves or in various shades of red, yellow, or pink; leaves can be long and narrow with an upright habit or rounded and overlapping, forming round heads. In the second year, flowering stalks appear, with intense blue corollas.Growing cycle: From 55 to 150 days, depending on the type and variety. Easy to grow, radicchio is the king...

Radicchio – An Italian Conquers Austria In the spring of 2024, the Experimental Station for Special Crops in Wies, on the initiative of Andrea Pölz (Chamber of Agriculture of Lower Austria) together with the Italian radicchio breeder Andrea Ghedina (Smarties.bio), organized a technical seminar dedicated to radicchio.  It was therefore an opportunity to closely examine a total of 21 varieties. This Italian specialty was mentioned for the first time in the 16th century. It is assumed that the varieties o that time had a much lower percentage of red leaves compared to those cultivated today. It is a fact that...