The 100 Farms of Crispiano: Masseria Russoli and the Donkey of Martina Franca

 

A farm in the heart of Apulia that keeps an important heritage of Murgia. Let's discover Masseria Russoli, one of the Hundrend Farms of Crispiano that has dedicated its work to the protection and safeguard of the donkey of Martina Franca, in a bubble of serenity that smells like Mediterranean scrub.

There’s a place in Apulia, between the plateau of Murgia and Taranto, where the Mediterranean scrub reigns, where the scent of rosemary blends with the one of lentisco and pine, where yellow flowers and red berries colour the scented bushes that grow between the soil and the rocks of Premurgia. Some hooves surely moves on this land: it’s the donkey of Martina Franca.

Leggi in italiano

This is not just a nice picture: it’s the reality of Masseria Russoli, one of the Cento Masserie of Crispiano (Hundred Farms of Crispiano), that protects and safeguards the genetic heritage of this asinine race.

On a winter morning, we went to discover it and to get to know this local donkey that has risked to become extinct over the course of time.

Masseria Russoli

We cross Masseria Russoli gate. It dates back the 17th century. Its structure gathers in a block. Two watchtowers on the upper floor tell us about a past in which it was necessary to defend the property and its riches from the dangers of the time: bandits. A very little chapel leans against the back of the central building. Apparently, it hasn’t been used from the mid-nineteenth century and keeps only a little alter from its original function.

These were workplaces, where people cultivated, raised animals, traded, but they also were social places. Little far from the chapel, in a raised position, there’s an eighteen-century farmyard paved with rectangular stones. A workplace, of course: it was mainly used for threshing grain, but it also was the place where people gathered to socialize once the working day was over, where they even combined marriages. 

With a bit of imagination, we can see the men and the women of the farm inhabiting  this space, everyone busy in their job and, maybe, like me now, sometimes someone took a moment to let the gaze go on the panorama of the valley that you can see from here.

The “russoli “ are arbutuses in local dialect. The names of farms of this area always have a meaning linked with a particular characteristic and this one is no exception. We follow the path and the botanical wonders hosted in its borders parade in front of us: broom, lentisco, arbutus, carob tree and hawthorn, bagolaro, also called “spaccasassi” for the strength of its roots, and terebinth. We linger over each example, discovering  the properties well known to our ancestors, who knew how to benefit even  from a land only apparently little rich. Some plants can be  a food source, others can be useful to soothe some physical disturbs, others are even said to have aphrodisiac properties.

While we are admiring a monumental bagolaro, right in the middle of a lawn, standing out against the blue of the winter Apulian sky, a bray attracts our attention. The donkeys. The experience here is not just the botanical path, but it’s the whole ecosystem and the donkeys are a fundamental part of it, other than nice.

The donkey of Martina Franca

We reach the end of the path. A bit farther there’s the enclosure that gathers the donkeys. They see us: for them, we are the attraction. They already start to get closer to the fence and when we also are close there’s no need for presentation: curious and white faces get over the fence looking for caresses and sweet, big eyes welcome us. And here the caresses!

The donkey of Martina Franca is bigger and stronger compared with the other races of its species, but it also has a docile and friendly character. Now we are stroking a nice, thick and curly wool, which protects them from winter temperature, but during warmer months they will moult, giving space to a shorter and cooler coat. 

This farm, between Martina Franca and Crispiano, is the perfect place for them, which were born among the rocks of Murgia and cannot live elsewhere, literally. They are so strongly linked to this territory that they begin to lose their characteristics if they stay away from it. 

Problems for these animals have begun from the mid-twentieth century. The donkeys of Martina Franca were esteemed for the reproduction of mules because of the strength and the resistance that identify the race. It’s not a case if those mules were used during the world wars for the thankless task of carrying weapons. Together with the process of mechanization of farm work, this made the number of the examples reduce significantly. Blood relation represented a real danger for the survival of the race. 

So, in 1981 the Centre for the conservation of the genetic heritage of the donkey of Martina Franca was born. Now, we are getting know each other with the females and their little ones, but, separated, in two stables, there are two stallions, the champions of the race, those that must be perfect to propagate the species. We meet them, too. 

Having males a more impetuous nature than females, we meet just one of them: it arrives trotting, proud. It’s higher, it has long and straight ears and its hooves give a sense of stability just looking at them, but in the white-rimmed eyes there’s the same endearing sweetness.

The donkeys in Masseria Russoli

What do the donkeys do in Masseria Russoli? They simply live. Here, they aren’t at the service of man: it’s the opposite, indeed. Their milk is just for their little ones, they are free to move and to get old.

Sure, it would be a pity to hide such a precious heritage. Actually, Masseria Russoli is an educational farm, with activities for school groups, scholars and enthusiasts and there is an onotherapy program for disabled boys and girls precisely for the ease of these animals to get in touch and to empathize with human beings.

Useful information

Masseria Russoli is on the provincial road 49 km 11, in Contrada Pilano in the municipality of Crispiano., so you need a car to get there. 

Being a property of Regione Puglia (Puglia Region), you can visit the farm just booking a guided visit. For reservations you can contact the farm directly or you can get in touch with the Tourist Information Office of Crispiano, where expert guides will accompany you to discover not just a beautiful place, but also a virtuous one, in an experience that will involve all your senses.