The Priest of the Mediterranean Diet

"Stefano Pisani became mayor of Pollica, a small community in the region of Cilento, in southern Italy, under the worst possible circumstances. Fifteen years ago, his predecessor, Angelo Vassallo, was assassinated-mowed down by nine bullets-after attempting to crack down on the drug trade. "For the first few hours, I thought, This is not my mission," Pisani, who had been Vassallo's deputy, recalled recently."

"Very quickly, Pisani changed his mind, realizing that if he didn't carry on Vassallo's efforts at revitalization then no one would. Pollica, which is both a village and the name of the larger administrative community, is made up of rugged mountains and dramatic coastline, and it has a long-standing tradition of farming, viniculture, and seafaring: Vassallo had been known locally as "the fisherman mayor," on account of his extra-political profession."

"Its villages include Acciaroli, a seaside spot where Hemingway is said to have hung out in the nineteen-fifties, celebrated for its high percentage of centenarians, and Pioppi, where, beginning in the sixties, the American physiologist Ancel Keys researched the Mediterranean diet, publishing with his wife, Margaret Keys, a best-selling book, "How to Eat Well and Stay Well the Mediterranean Way," that helped put olive oil firmly on the American dinner table."

Stefano Pisani became mayor of Pollica after his predecessor, Angelo Vassallo, was assassinated while trying to crack down on the drug trade. Pisani initially hesitated but then committed to continuing Vassallo's revitalization efforts. Pollica combines rugged mountains and dramatic coastline and has long traditions of farming, viniculture, and seafaring. Villages include Acciaroli, noted for many centenarians and literary associations with Hemingway, and Pioppi, where Ancel Keys researched the Mediterranean diet and helped popularize olive oil in America. Cilento traces cultural roots to Magna Graecia, with Parmenides theorizing balance between humans and nature. Pisani lives in Cannicchio and worked in business administration in Naples and Rome.

Read at The New Yorker