Honey and Beekeeping

In Tuscany honey has geographies that follow the woods and the hills. The Garfagnana (Lucca) and the Lunigiana (Massa-Carrara) produce dark, faintly bitter chestnut honey, very pale acacia honey, and lime honey from the alpine woods. The Casentino and the Val di Chiana (Arezzo) have traditions of wildflower honey and chestnut honey. The Maremma (Grosseto) produces eucalyptus honey — sought after and distinctive, from an imported tree — and coastal wildflower honey. The Siena and Firenze hills give fine wildflower honey, sunflower honey from the arable plains, and clover honey. The Florentine Mugello and the Pistoia area have traditions of chestnut and acacia honey. The Versilia has niche beekeeping, often combined with other farming activities.

Doing it today is a craft in deep difficulty. Beekeeping is in crisis worldwide: pesticides (neonicotinoids in particular), loss of habitat, agricultural monocultures that reduce the biodiversity of flowerings, parasites such as Varroa destructor (a mite arrived from Asia that decimates colonies), climate change (flowerings out of step, harvests that fail or turn out exceptional in unpredictable ways). The finest Tuscan businesses practise migratory beekeeping (moving the hives between different flowerings), certified organic production, and integration with other farming activities. Quality Tuscan honey has a knowledgeable market in Italy and abroad.