THEMES OF PAIDEIA CAMPUS
As the Mediterranean itself is a tapestry of interconnected stories and identities, so the Paideia Campus intertwines six key themes.
HISTORY
Pollica, the pearl of Cilento, surrounded by many UNESCO sites, is located in a land that has welcomed heroes, thinkers and explorers. It is the cradle of the Eleatic Philosophical School and the Salernitan Medical School.
This land, which over the centuries has been a crossroads of revolutionary knowledge and intuition, today consists of an immense historical, archaeological, artistic, cultural and landscape heritage.
From Parmenide, Melisso and Zenone, passing through the Salernitana Medical School, to Ancel and Margaret Keys and discovering the Mediterranean lifestyle.
SCIENCE AND INNOVATION
From the land of Parmenides, the "philosopher-physicist" and the Salernitan Medical School, to the study and discovery of the "Mediterranean Diet" by American scientists Ancel Keys and Margaret Haney, Pollica has proved to be a fertile ground for the maturation of knowledge and the germination of the most prosperous ideas.
Scientists have codified the fundamental characteristics that unite the traditional diets of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea (starting from Spain, to the Greek islands, passing through Southern Italy). A path that led to the discovery of the benefits of what, in the sixties, they defined for the first time "Mediterranean Diet".
These stories speak of inventors, explorers, thinkers and scientists who have unknowingly left a deep mark on the history of humanity and with their example teach us to look to the past to build the future.
ECOLOGY
Over time, Pollica has become a virtuous example in terms of land enhancement and environmental protection. A legacy that comes from afar, because in Campania there is the first track of separate collection in contemporary history, with King Ferdinand II in the first half of the nineteenth century.
In more recent times, thanks to the pioneering mission carried out by the mayor Angelo Vassallo who gave his life for the redevelopment and development of his land, the Cilento coast has passed from anonymity to prestige and local pride. In particular, in the last 20 years, the city has distinguished itself for important investments in innovative projects for the purification of waste water, leading Legambiente and the FEE to recognize it as one of the pearls of the Italian sea.
A commitment that has also been substantiated in the fight against building speculation and land consumption and that continues to be supported today, with the mayor Stefano Pisani.
Preserving a healthy development of the territory, protecting knowledge, protecting the environment and biodiversity, are all aspects that put the city in full harmony with the concept of integral ecology.
BIODIVERSITY
Pollica and the Cilento are not only in the middle of the Mediterranean, but are immersed in reserves of biological and cultural diversity unique in the world. With over 30 products recognized as Slow Food symbol, the biological and agrobiological complexity is the result of a long evolutionary history marked by the slowness that maintains the balance between Nature and Man. From the wildlife oasis La Fiumara, a bioparc of about sixty thousand square meters, to the Cilento National Park, Vallo di Diano and Alburni, the first park in the whole area of the Mediterranean basin to have received the qualification of UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1997 and registered with the UNESCO Geoparks Network in 2010, confirm how respect for and enhancement of biodiversity are the basis of the local lifestyle.
CONVIVIALITY
The Mediterranean Diet is "much more than just a list of foods. It promotes social interaction, since the common meal is the basis of social customs and festivities shared by a certain community, and has given rise to a considerable body of knowledge, songs, maxims, tales and legends. The Diet is based on respect for the territory and biodiversity and ensures the preservation and development of traditional activities and crafts related to fishing and agriculture in the Mediterranean communities."
Food is more than energy and nutrition. Food is family, experience, inclusion, community. Food is identity.
In the Mediterranean basin, commensalsà and conviviality have become aspects of the cultural heritage to be preserved and enhanced.
ART AND CULTURE
Perfectly located in the middle of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Sea, a mix of cultures, from which to restart a world of inclusion, that knows how to make diversity a strong point for the future of humanity.
It is from this concept that we want to start, noting that the cultures that surround the Mediterranean are many, but that they are also united by this sea that makes us Mediterranean. Rituals, dances, music, colors and traditions blend in this rich tapestry we call the Mediterranean.
