LOST ROOTS

This project explores how an epidemic in plant world can affect the relationship between a community and its own land, eradicating centuries of history and culture of a people.

Since 2013, in Salento, southeast of Italy, a bacterium Xylella fastidiosa is killing millions of olive trees. Scientists believe that the bacterium, never seen before in Europe, came through some ornamental plants imported from the American continent, where since the last century it has been destroying vineyards and citrus groves.
The lack of a cure, and the threat of endangering the whole olive oil production in Europe, led the European Commission to consider Xylella among the most dangerous plant pathogens worldwide.

In the affected area, which is now close to 800000 hectares, more than 20 million trees are infected, half of them are already dead and the remaining will be soon.

The epidemic caused massive economic and environmental losses, but another loss – perhaps the most intimate – is affecting the inhabitants’ lives of this area: that relating to their own identity.
About 60 million olive trees in Apulian region, are deeply rooted in people's lives, as symbols of ancient traditions and legacy of past generations. Their loss was experienced as the loss of a loved one.

Efforts to contain the epidemic have not been effective so far, allowing the bacterium to continue its unstoppable destructive march. New outbreaks have been reported in France, Spain and Portugal.
In the last few years, in Salento, Xylella caused a deep wound in the relationship between the local community and its own land, eradicating centuries of history and culture. The lush olive groves of the past have given way to an endless expanse of wooden skeletons.

The link with the past is broken, the roots are lost.