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Case da Sole is situated in the hills surrounding the city of Ascoli Piceno, in the Marches region of Italy. We are young beekeepers sensitive to ecological concerns. We love our work, and that is why we offer top-quality honey. We produce our honey using itinerant hives,  which we move from site to site to follow the flowering of different plants in spring and summer.
We place our hives in mountain areas rich in virgin forests and also on Piceno's farming plains, in cooperation with cultivators who respect the environment. For us, apiculture means symbiosis with our |
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bees, using the same meticulous care that the insects employ in organizing their existence.
The province of Ascoli Piceno is bordered by the Adriatic sea, Abruzzo, Umbria and Lazio. Ascoli is an ancient city, founded by the Picenes in 700-600 BC. Nearby are the Sibylline mountains and, to the south, Gran Sasso, the highest point in the Apennines | |
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Apis mellifera ligustica. The race of bees we use is ligustica, Italy's ecotype. The only genetic selection we make is based on the natural reproduction of the queen bees, which generates families that are highly productive and resistant to disease. To avoid excessive inbreeding, we occasionally introduce new queens obtained from other beekeepers in the area.  |
| superorganism In 1998, I
took over management of farm land, planted with fruit trees and vegetables, belonging to my 80-year-old grandfather. I decided to use natural cultivation methods, given the characteristics of the land - hilly and submountainous, surrounded by acacia forests and green fields, and rich in water.
In that environment, I couldn't help but come into contact with bees. I did some | | research and found an old beekeeper who sold me my first swarm and introduced me to apiculture. The passion transmitted to me by this amazing superorganism was immediate, and in no time I was specializing in honey. We now have 200 families - about 3 million bees - producing honey and propolis. We keep 40 in itinerant hives in the mountains and 10 in low lying areas for producing royal jelly and raising queen bees. |  |
spring We conduct health checks, and even out our broods and bees to make the colonies uniform before the first warm weather of April. By then, the colonies are well  developed. We also begin production of artificial swarms. When the acacia blossoms in early May, we place our shallow boxes for collecting honey and metal grills for propolis, and start producing royal jelly.
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 summer After harvesting the acacia honey, we move some hives to the mountains for the chestnut and linden honeys, leaving others in the low lying hills for production of millefiori. We continue raising artificial swarms and queens for use in breeding. At the end of summer, after the millefiori, the bees continue collecting honeydew, from which we obtain woods honey. | |
autumn By now the productive season is over. We carry out new health checks and treat infestations of Varroa destructor (a parasite of bees). We also substitute some of the old queens with younger and more productive ones, and make sure the colonies have sufficient reserves of honey for the winter. We  then begin processing, packaging and marketing our products.
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The sky above Case da Sole
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Spring health check
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Beekeeper's tools
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| Swarm production
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Hives in mid-summer |
Absolute beginner |
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| All done by hand
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In the storeroom |
Grandma's specialty |
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