Garlic is a plant that has never known anonymity. Native to the steppes of Central Asia, it has been a companion to humankind since antiquity: the Egyptians considered it a divine gift, including it in the diets of laborers and in funeral rites; the Greeks and Romans valued its strength so highly that they offered it to athletes before competitions. From caravan routes to medieval monasteries, garlic has crossed cultures and continents, spreading everywhere as food, medicine, and amulet.
In Southern Italy, it found a second homeland. Cultivated among vines, tomatoes, and rows of vegetables, garlic has always been a pillar of peasant cuisine. In early summer, when the bulbs were mature, they were braided into long strings hanging from porches, slowly drying in the warm air. Those braids were not just food reserves: they were part of family life, symbols of abundance and protection, almost like garlands against the passing of time.

A Divided Body That Renews Itself
The heart of garlic is its bulb, a small natural architecture divided into cloves, each capable of generating new life. Above the ground, the green, flat, ribbon-like leaves stretch straight toward the sky, as if gathering all the light they can. If left to grow past harvest time, garlic sends up an elegant flowering stalk, coiled like a spiral, culminating in a spherical inflorescence of small white and pink flowers. It is a detail often missed by inattentive eyes, yet it speaks of an archaic beauty—discreet, almost forgotten.

Power and Legends
Garlic is not just flavor, but protection. In ancient times, it was hung on doors to ward off evil, offered to the gods to keep away disease and misfortune. In the folk tales of Southern Italy, it was the cure for everything: colds, fevers, even the evil eye. Rubbing a clove on the skin or placing one under the pillow was believed to bring health and serenity.
Modern science has confirmed many of these ancient intuitions. Thanks to allicin and other sulfur compounds, garlic possesses powerful antibacterial, antiviral, and blood-pressure-lowering properties. Yet these same compounds leave a persistent scent—a “mark” not easily erased. The traditional, almost magical remedy is to rub the hands with steel: a small ritual that turns contact with garlic into a sign of care and awareness.

Flavor and Daily Rituals
In Mediterranean cuisine, garlic is everywhere. Raw or cooked, whole or crushed, it accompanies sauces, soups, meats, and vegetables, adding depth and character to every dish. It is an essential ingredient in preserves, infused oils, pestos, and marinades. In Puglia, Calabria, and Sicily, garlic is still at the heart of ancient gestures: rubbed on warm bread, added to brined olives, infused in oil to give an intense, lingering aroma.
It is not merely a seasoning but a statement of identity. Its bold flavor cannot be confused or hidden: it is sweet and enveloping when roasted slowly, sharp and alive when raw. Like a voice unafraid to be heard.

The Untamed Soul of Garlic
Garlic is a plant that speaks of resilience, of truth, of simple strength. It needs no adornment: it does its work with determination, holding within its essential form centuries of history, culture, and folk wisdom.
Those who grow it know: every clove planted in the soil is a promise of rebirth, a small reserve of energy that spans seasons and generations. And so, in the hands that braid bulbs to dry or in the swift gestures of a country kitchen, garlic continues to tell an ancient story. A story that smells of earth, of fire, of life that never fades.