Pioppi- Cilento Coast: the cradle of Mediterranean Diet

When you travel there's nothing better than tasting the local cuisine, especially if you are in the province of Salerno (Southern Italy), considered the cradle of Mediterranean Diet. Indeed, Ancel Keys, the father of this nutritional model recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage of Humanity, settled down in Pioppi, a small village in the heart of the Cilento Coast, south of Salerno, developing the guidelines of this world famous diet.

After observing in Cilento the highest concentration of centenarians in the world, Keys hypothesized that a Mediterranean-style diet low in animal fat protected against heart disease and launched the Seven Countries Study, which systematically examined the relationships between lifestyle, diet, coronary heart disease and stroke in different populations from different regions of the world.

         Museum of the Mediterranean Diet, Pioppi (Cilento Coast – Salerno)

To learn more about the history of Mediterranean Diet you can visit the Museum of the Mediterranean Diet, housed in the 17th century Palazzo Vinciprova in Pioppi, about 50 miles (80 km) from Salerno.  

Main ingredients of Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean Diet is based on fresh fish, locally grown vegetables and fruits, legumes, pasta, moderate wine, local cheese, olive oil, and a little meat. All these products are commonly used in the Cilento cuisine, which has hardly changed since the 1950s, a time when the local population lived solely on farming.

Typical products in Cilento Mediterranean Diet are citrus fruits and especially lemons used for limoncello liqueur, figs (often covered with chocolate), nuts, mushrooms and, above all, the buffalo mozzarella: a delicacy traditionally produced in this area.

 Introduced by the colonies of Magna Grecia, also the mild olive oil meets the top quality standard "D.O.C.", as well as the wine, known as Cilento Rosso and CilentoBianco.

Taste the traditional food of our Region while learning Italian with Accademia Italiana!