Di grasso e di magro: cibo e valori

In our society, the distinction between fat and thin signals the difference between two lifestyles, the first based on the consumption of animal food, the other on the prevalent consumption of foods of plant origin. The positive values of sobriety and healthiness are associated with this dietary practice: the success of the Mediterranean diet is combined with the affirmation of these value: olive oil, which is a fat, but vegetable, summarizes them in itself. On the feast of Saint Joseph, which is celebrated in numerous places in southern Puglia during Lent, the preparation of abundant food to offer to the community and, symbolically, to the saint, takes place in compliance with the food prohibitions of the period; they prohibit the consumption of meat, eggs, dairy products, even if some transgressions are considered legitimate: it is a celebration of the lean. In Spongano, near Otranto, on the occasion of the feast of Santa Vittoria, on the eve of the day, the residue from pressing the olives is used to prepare large candles carried in processions: it is a celebration whose fundamental element is the waste of oil olive oil: the value celebrated, in this case, is that of reuse which contrasts with exasperated consumerism.