The Anteo meetings. “From Land to Territory: Quality, Excellence and Identity for Healthy and Enduring Development.” Thursday, August 4, the Donnafugata estate at Contessa Entellina.

This year, too the start of grape harvesting at Donnafugata will be a time to think about what it means to do business today, respecting the environment and asserting territorial culture.
The first meeting is set for Thursday, August 4, at 8 p.m. at the Donnafugata estate in Contessa Entellina and will consist of a round-table discussion on the theme: “From Land to Territory: Quality, Excellence and Identity for Healthy and Enduring Development.”In a moment of economic uncertainty and of recession for Italy, Inc., Symbola—the Foundation for Italian Quality created by Ermete Realacci, Alessandro Profumo, Fabio Renzi, Domenico De Masi, Walter Veltroni, Franco Pasquali, Diego Della Valle, Carlo De Benedetti and José Rallo (to name just a few of its promoters)—launches the “Anteo meetings,” occasions for discussing the strategic value of quality in competition and development. Symbola has chosen to have the first of these meetings at Donnafugata, an example of success built on quality and attention to details. It is a sensitivity that has given birth to targeted viticultural decisions such as nighttime harvesting, which preserves and enhances grape aromas.

Participating in the discussion: Ermete Realacci, Symbola’s president; Franco Pasquali, secretary-general of Coldiretti; Prof. Attilio Scienza, director of research into indigenous vines promoted by the Italian Wine City Association, and José Rallo of Donnafugata. Davide Perillo of Corriere della Sera Magazine will moderate.

According to Ermete Realacci: “the history of Italian wines is the history of a great ecological conversion of the economy, of a winning bet on quality. In less than 20 years, from the methanol scandal in 1986, the Italian wine sector has abandoned the big-quantity-low-prices line, downsized production and achieved excellent quality as well as a good, strong rapport with the territory. And experiences like Donnafugata’s are proof of this.”

And José Rallo explains that “the heart of Sicily is sending out an important signal of vitality for a successful Italy ready to compete on international markets. The quality challenge is the most important for it is able to regenerate the country’s production system and offer a development model that doesn’t relinquish its own identity yet is open to innovation: from production to organization to corporate social responsibility.”

The Anteo meetings Symbola is promoting concern the enterprises, companies and products tied to the territory that have been able to assert themselves on the global scene. The name comes from Anteo (Antaeus) the giant in Greek mythology who was invulnerable as long as he stayed in touch with the earth (Gaea, his mother). Hercules vanquished him, making him vulnerable, by hoisting him unto his shoulders. A warning that the relationship with the territory and with nature must remain a fundamental element of Italy’s development.

Public Relations:

Baldo M. Palermo [email protected] tel. 0039 0923 7242267

Laura Ellwanger [email protected] te. 0039 0923 724258