Southern Italy is more agrarian and less industrialized than the northern portion of the country, and it has been slower to develop infrastructure. Farther from the rest of Europe—geographically as well as culturally—it is also more isolated by mountains and seas. Although it is home to large cities, such as Naples and Palermo, and popular tourist destinations, such as the Amalfi Coast, the south has more poverty than, and over double the unemployment rate of, the rest of Italy. Some of its regions are not widely known outside the country, except perhaps to descendants of Italian immigrants who left those regions seeking opportunity.
During the unification of Italy in the 19th century, the Risorgimento government was largely composed of northerners. The south was hurt by heavy taxation, high protective tariffs on northern industrial goods, and a mandatory seven years of military service, which had a particularly significant impact on the farm labor force in rural areas. As late as 1900, the illiteracy rate in southern Italy was 70%, 10 times higher than that of England, France, or Germany. More than four million Italians—over 10% of the national population—immigrated to the United States between 1880 and 1924, most of them from the rural south and the island of Sicily.
Yet despite its hardships, southern Italy has a long and rich history with viticulture and was likely one of the world’s earliest centers of vine domestication, after the Caucuses, Levant, and eastern Mediterranean. A 2017 archeological discovery of wine residue in terra-cotta jars inside a cave at Monte Kronio, in southwestern Sicily, suggests that winemaking in this area goes back 6,000 years.
The arrival of the Phoenicians and then the Greeks led to the expansion of vine cultivation. The Greeks reached southern Italy
My understanding is that the soil type in the Irpinia hills is mainly limestone and that the "Tufo" in Greco di Tufo is a misnomer as the soils are not of volcanic origin. The Guildsomm article from 2017 "Irpinia: the Heart of Campania" states as much. I'm wondering if it is a mix of soil types and not as clear cut as we all want it to be. Can anyone provide any context that would be helpful?
Hey Patrick - generally speaking my understanding is that “tufo” would refer to volcanic material while “tufa” would refer to limestone. Greco di Tufo is named for the commune of Tufo, which took its name from the soft, porous volcanic rock that was historically quarried in the area (tufo being the Italian word for “tuff”). That said, Irpinia is a large area, corresponding to the entire province of Avellino, and the soils are very diverse as you indicate. The Greco di Tufo DOCG covers 8 communes (not just Tufo itself) in the northern part of the province, and there is a mix of soils throughout including alluvial deposits from the Sabato River. Ian d’Agata notes in Native Wine Grapes of Italy (p. 57) that at the highest elevations and steepest slopes near the town of Tufo “the volcanic soils are poor in nutrients, and rich in clay, limestone, and gravel, with a high presence of chalk and sulfur elements,” while the vineyards near other towns at lower altitudes “are characterized by larger amounts of clay and organic matter, as well as a higher iron content,” and elsewhere there are “sandy soils rich in calcium carbonate.” There is some additional info about the soils on the consorzio web site: https://consorziovinidirpinia.it/vini/greco-di-tufo-docg-vino/