Who we are.

And where we come from.

Have you ever been to Sciacca?

Those who have visited it will certainly have noticed its particular urban structure of a city overlooking the sea on different levels, with a marina in its lowest part, the historic center immediately above, and an ancient neighborhood of small houses at the top of the city. This place full of history and memories is San Michele, the neighborhood that once belonged to farmers, warehouses, shops, and activities related to agriculture and livestock farming, two of the souls of this territory. 

Bataranni is the dialect name used in Sciacca to indicate one of the three churches that overlook the square of San Michele. The Badia Grande. Beautiful, imposing and simple in its façade that echoes different eras, from the late medieval foundation to the reconstruction that took place in the 18th century, passing through the Renaissance and the Baroque. The church, dedicated to Santa Maria dell'Itria, is part of a larger complex that includes a monastery, the largest in the area, which until recently hosted cloistered nuns.

San Michele is the neighborhood that hosted the historic nucleus of our family, starting from the end of the 19th century. Subsequently, starting from the 1970s, most of the members of the Ciaccio-Prinzivalli family moved to the surrounding areas outside San Michele. But we are all tied to this place, and we gladly return. For this reason we decided to give the company the name of the church that best characterizes this place of the heart. The Bataranni logo reproduces the five windows visible at the top of the facade, from the Baroque era.

The Family, the Company.

Two families, actually...

It is difficult to trace the true origin of the Ciaccio family and its activities in the agricultural sector. What is certain is that in 1918, returning from the Great War, great-grandfather Vincenzo had acquired a plot of land in the Sovareto area and had begun to plant new olive trees in continuity with an already existing centuries-old olive grove. Even before this period, great-grandfather Paolo had purchased the land in the San Giorgio area, starting the agricultural activity. In the 1930s the two families were finally united thanks to the marriage of grandmother Antonietta and grandfather Antonino and the family-run agricultural company was in full activity in those years, being able to count on an extension of several hectares of land in the territory of Sciacca, especially in the districts of San Giorgio, Verdura, Ferraro and Galenzo Aquilea, as well as in the Sovareto area. The land was mainly cultivated with olive groves and vineyards, but also with cotton and wheat, and the work was distributed among all members of the family, from the work in the fields to the processing and sale of the products of the land.

Today, the agricultural and productive activities of many family members have been reduced to the maintenance of the land cultivated with olive trees, to avoid its abandonment (a phenomenon that is unfortunately now very common in the area). There is no shortage of problems. Lack of rain, difficulty in finding qualified workers for pruning, maintenance of the land and plants and the olive harvest, little interest in agricultural activities by the new generations and, finally, the aging and progressive disappearance of the people in the family who held the knowledge of this wonderful activity that combines contact with nature and the production of an extraordinary food (of course, in the face of hard work to obtain it!).

The desire to preserve everything that our parents, grandparents and uncles have created and maintained for over a century has motivated us to begin this adventure: the relaunch of an activity related to the production of oil. We hope to carry all this passion with us for a long time and share it with those who want to support our company.

 

Maria Antonietta, Luca and Antonio Ciaccio