Hygeia Legacy-Spices: results of a EHD Grant-Winning Project

The first phase of the transnational project Hygeia’s Sensorial Landscapes in Europe – Act I: Spices (Taste, Smell and Memory), has successfully concluded

Winner of a dedicated grant within the framework of the 2024 European Heritage Days (EHD), under the theme “Routes, Networks and Connections”, the project is led by the association responsible for The European Route of Historic Pharmacies and Medicinal Gardens, certified by the Council of Europe.

Developed in Italy, Spain, and Romania, the project has enhanced the cultural, ecological, and social value of Mediterranean materia medica, with special attention to its culinary and ritual uses. This was achieved through extensive historical, ethnographic, and audiovisual research, with community participation as a cornerstone of the process.

A Project at the Crossroads of European Cultural Routes

Born within the framework of the 2024 European Heritage Days, and in line with the theme “Routes, Networks and Connections”, Hygeia’s Sensorial Landscapes in Europe – Act I: Spices explored the connections between rural communities in Italy, Spain, and Romania through food and therapeutic practices deeply rooted in the Mediterranean tradition.

Its main objective was to document and promote these forms of knowledge as part of Europe’s intangible cultural heritage, fostering dialogue between generations and cultures.

The Documentary “SPICES: European Stories of Ancient Culinary and Medicinal Legacies”

The documentary SPICES, available online, conveys the spirit of the project through faces, hands, gestures, and shared traditions.

Filmed in Transylvania (in the heart of the Carpathians, Romania), in Rome and rural areas of Ciociaria in the Lazio region (Italy), and in Bocairent and the Sierra de Mariola (in community environments between Valencia and Alicante, Spain), it offers an authentic portrayal of traditional culinary practices. These practices make use of spices and plants with medicinal properties, whose dual use in food and healing dates back thousands of years across Europe.

This 37-minute film shows how culinary traditions and knowledge of plants remain powerful tools of memory, identity, and cultural dialogue in contemporary Europe.

Impact and Perspectives: A Replicable Model for Europe

More than 220 people, aged between 12 and 85, took part in interviews, showcookings, and recordings.

The first European audiovisual memory archive dedicated to Mediterranean-rooted materia medica used in cooking was created. This archive is expected to grow over the next five years, particularly in regions represented within our Network, such as the Balkans.

The project contributed to building a shared cultural memory among Romania, Italy, and Spain, fostering intercultural dialogue.

Biodiversity was highlighted as a key resource for the continuity of traditional culinary and therapeutic practices. These practices are grounded in terrestrial ecosystems, whose balance and preservation are now threatened by global warming and the accelerating pace of climate change.

Younger generations actively participated, strengthening the intergenerational transmission of knowledge.

The project also encouraged stronger connections between urban and rural contexts. This was clearly observed in Lazio, Romania, and Spain, where heritage, educational, and cultural institutions based in cities (Cluj-Napoca, Rome) interacted meaningfully with local communities through the lens of spices.

Finally, the project acknowledged and celebrated the vital role of women as keepers and transmitters of ancestral knowledge about plants and their culinary and medicinal uses—wisdom that today represents a significant dimension of Europe’s cultural identity and offers strong potential for sustainable territorial development.

Promotion and International Projection

Starting in May 2025, the project will enter a new phase of dissemination at the European level:

• 15–16 May 2025: The documentary SPICES will be screened in Valencia during the 1st International Forum of Aromas Itinerarium Salutis, with participants from 12 European countries.
• Hygeia’s Sensorial Landscapes in Europe – Act I: Spices will be presented as a candidate for Best Practice at the 14th Advisory Forum of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, scheduled to take place in Cappadocia, Türkiye, from 22 to 24 October 2025.
• 18–22 November 2025: The project will be featured at both the 3rd International Seminar Hygeia Legacy (Torregrotta, Italy) and the 3rd European Symposium “Drugs & Colors” (Palermo, Italy).