Project description

"Capparrina" is the oasis located in Menfi, which has always been owned by the Planeta family, is a place of protection of a Mediterranean environment by the sea, where native flora and fauna coexist synergistically with olive trees. For more than 200 years it has been the place of family traditionsbut also a highly attractive area from a construction point of view, so the property has been gradually expanded over the years with the aim of increasing the protected area and defending it from tourist use that could alter its original beauty and function. With 46,000 trees planted, today the Oasis has 151 hectares of olive groves and 20 hectares of Mediterranean scrub (up from 98 hectares in 2017) and represents an important project for the protection of the land, as well as oil quality. From the protection of endangered wildlife species to the reintroduction of some now-extinct species, a true oasis of biodiversity has been created: a place where rare specimens of flora coexist, from dwarf palms to sea lilies; a natural habitat for wildlife, from porcupines to hoopoes to various nocturnal and diurnal birds of prey; and a passage area for major migrations, where almost every year sea turtles Caretta Caretta lay their eggs. In addition, Planeta, together with the International Biodiversity Foundation of the Mediterranean (FIBM), has launched the innovative reintroduction project of the Francolinus francolinus, a non-hunting species that has been extinct in Sicily since 1870, but is still present in some Mediterranean regions, such as Turkey and Cyprus. The project, launched in the winter of 2023-2024 with the support of the Sicilian Region's Zootechnical Institute, will involve the selection of 30 birds to be released initially on the farm's property in the Capparrina locality in Menfi, in the province of Agrigento, and later at Capo Milazzo in the province of Messina, at the Lucifero Foundation. Planeta also pledged to provide logistical and operational support by ensuring the establishment of temporary controlled habitats for the animals to adapt to their new environment.