Macereto Plateau. We are at 1,000 meters, in the heart of the Sibillini Mountains National Park. This place offers one of the most striking views in the Marche region. The esplanade on one side and the Sanctuary on the other; all surrounded by the fabulous peaks of our Apennines. Surrounding them are horses, donkeys, cows and sheep grazing. Pure enchantment for those who love nature.

It is in this context, as magical as it is natural, that Marco Scolastici lives and works.

A student first, a shepherd later when, full of uncertainty about the future, he decided to leave the capital where he was studying in the Faculty of Economics to return to his origins; to the land that his great-grandfather Vincenzo, who had grown up among the pastures there, had also loved so much. Far 2016. A return home guided by a love of tradition and a passion to one of the oldest professions ever. A journey as difficult as it was painful compounded by an earth that unexpectedly began to shake. Common sense suggested he run away, but that unknown plateau of the Marches was life to him. Marco could not abandon the sheep, donkeys, and Maremmani. So when repeated earthquake tremors rendered his home uninhabitable and threatened the collapse of the stables, he mounted a Mongolian yurt next to the residence and spent the winter there.

“Outside, the snow continues to fall silently. It is now almost dark. In the yurt, however, it is warm. I take the last sip from the cup and slip on my jacket to get back to work. Cyclops, earthquakes and blizzards do what they must, I am Marco Scolastici and from my Ithaca I am no longer leaving.”

This is what he tells in his book “A Yurt in the Apennines. Story of a Return and Resistance.” How the earthquake would not be the end of everything but an opportunity for a new beginning and his yurt a symbol of rebirth, hope and the will to make it through. To remain and inhabit a land, albeit razed, in a different way with the knowledge that nothing will be the same as before. Passion, love and a lot of patience were the ingredients of a conscious and enriching return to the oldest craft ever. The past teaches and allows us to reinvent a future we would not have believed so. Waiting is the key concept. From great-grandfather, to grandfather and then to father. A history of sacrifice, passion and hard work that has deep roots and spans several generations. The lands of Macereto were his Ithaca to which, after traveling a long road, Marco returned and decided to stick to it.

Today, in addition to raising sheep, horses and cows, it is also involved in processing. The Scolastici’s dairy, in fact, is known for producing dairy products made according to tradition and with exclusively self-produced milk. On the family-run farm, everything is controlled from the inside with a view to a true circular economy and with special attention to the environment and natural biological processes. Marco raises Sopravissana sheep, a choice that testifies to his idea of returning to his origins. This is a hardy breed but with a richer milk on an organoleptic level, which has allowed him to rediscover the magic of wool. From waste it becomes a niche product for the production of made-to-order clothing made through the ancient techniques of local ladies passionate about the art of knitting.

To this day, after Covid and with all the uncertainties we are experiencing, Marco is not scared. The future, and he shows this with his book, should be looked at with optimism and hope. It represents an incentive. To do more and always better. “A Yurt in the Apennines” after all, teaches us that it is love that moves everything. For nature, in this case, which is its teacher and life companion.

Thanks to the author of the book, our friend, Marco Scolastici for his collaboration.