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♪ (music) ♪

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(Nicole) On Italy's Amalfi Coast

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there's a food farmed[br]nowhere else on Earth.

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Caring for it requires fearlessness,

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breathtaking agility,

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and a deep connection to the land.

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This is a young man's trade

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but it's done almost entirely by old men,

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and I've come here to meet[br]one of the greatest.

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♪ (music) ♪

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(Nicole) Gigino just turned 83,

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he's spent his whole life[br]tending a very special kind of lemon.

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here on the hillsides of Amalfi.

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(Nicole) Gigino and his son [br]Salvatore have invited me

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to harvest the fable Amalfi Coast lemon,

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sfusato amalfitano

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a variety that's celebrated[br]for its sweetness and aroma.

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But first, café!

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(Nicole) Saluti!

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(Nicole) With a twist of lemon, of course.

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That's really good![br](Laughter)

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(Nicole) I'm ready to go now. Let's go!

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(Salvatore) Now you're ready.

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♪ (music) ♪

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(Nicole) The name, sfusato, comes [br]from the lemon's taper end,

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like a spindle or <i>fuso</i>, in Italian.

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This is sfusato amalfitano.

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The original!

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(Nicole) Only sfusato grown along [br]the 20 miles coastal strip

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between Vietri and Positano

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can legally be sold[br]as Amalfi Coast lemons.

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This is the preferred habitat[br]of the sfusato amalfitano,

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and attempts to commercially grow it[br]outside of Italy have failed.

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♪ (music) ♪

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(Nicole) Gigino often works in the most[br]precarious place possible...

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atop the mountainside pergolas[br]that support the trees.

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♪ (music) ♪

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(Nicole) This breathtaking aerial act [br]has earned Gigino and his cohorts

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a nickname:

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the Flying Farmers.

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♪ (music) ♪

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(Nicole) It's easy [br]to drive along the coast

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and think the cascading lemon terraces[br]are entirely ornamental,

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they are just postcard perfect.

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But that's what this coast does to people,

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it gives us delusion of grandeur,

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that all of this is here purely [br]to fulfill our fantasy of paradise.

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But in reality,[br]the lemons play a vital role,

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not only in the livelihood[br]of farmers like Gigino,

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but in the very survival[br]of the Amalfi Coast,

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literally, the survival.

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The roots of these trees are anchoring[br]the soil to this sheer coastline.

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Now, the farmers are aging,

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and there's not exactly a line of people[br]clamoring to take up this work.

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As more farms have been abandoned,[br]the mudslides have increased.

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♪ (music) ♪

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(Nicole) Gigino's farmland [br]includes an ancient terrace grove

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that overlooks the heart[br]of Amalfi and the sea.

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Up here feels worlds away

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but it's staringly close[br]to the bustling streetlife below

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where you can hear[br]children playing as Gigino works.

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It's terrifying to think of [br]what would happen

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if these terraces crumble.

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(Nicole) It was only recently [br]that Gigino's eldest son Sal

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quit his cushy accounting job

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to become his father's apprentice.

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He knew that if he didn't act now

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then a legacy of over two centuries[br]and five generations would die with him.

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(Salvatore) He teaches me [br]day by day and I'm learning.

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It's difficult because

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it's difficult to learn[br]80 years of experience.

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(Nicole) Gigino tends two seasons[br]worth of lemons at the same time.

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The ones he'll harvest this year[br]from February to September,

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and the babies [br]that will be next year's crop.

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Gigino's lemons are organic

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not because he's trying to conform[br]to any modern day standard,

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but rather the opposite,

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because he's farming the way[br]his family has farmed for generations.

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(Nicole) The spring is such [br]a special time to be here.

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The trees are uncloaked from the netting

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that protects the fruit[br]against wind and hail.

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The trees bloom perfuming the air[br]and luring bees to pollinate.

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The Aceto keeps their own hives[br]and harvests the honey too.

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The fertilized flowers grow into fruits[br]which start up as green as limes.

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A third of Gigino's lemons[br]are used to make limoncello

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in their own small factory.

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The rest goes to ice cream[br]and other limoncello factories

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and a few to fresh markets.

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- (Nicole) Can I try?[br]- (Gigino) Yes.

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All right, these are real deal shears.[br](Laughter)

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Ok.

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All right, we want leaves on these.

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The branches and the leaves[br]also indicate that is really fresh,

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that is coming straight from the farm.

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(Nicole) I've got this one.

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(Gigino speaking Italian)

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(Nicole) It's not for me --[br](Gigino speaking Italian)

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(Nicole) He'll do it!

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I can get this one, though...

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It's heavy enough!

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♪ (music) ♪

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- Saluti![br]- Saluti!

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(Nicole) I've seen[br]a lot of tough farm work

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but I really can't think of[br]a more challenging terrain than this.

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Heavy loads have to be hauled[br]up and down narrow craggy steps

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from terrace

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to terrace

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to terrace...

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But Gigino also claims a unique advantage.

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He's got one of the most technologically[br]advanced poling systems on the coast.

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- I'm serious, this little cable car![br]- (Dog barking)

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(Nicole) Cable car aside,

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watching Gigino's farm is [br]stepping back in time 200 years.

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He crafts each pergola himself[br]from the chestnut trees in his forests

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and then, he uses pliable willow branches

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to tie the pergola to[br]the limbs of the lemon trees

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to lift them up to the sun[br]which sweetens the fruit.

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Preparing the willow ties[br]is an ancient practice.

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Watching him do this fills me[br]with a deep sense of privilege.

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It's like, I'm seeing[br]a tradition so fragile

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that if I blink, it may cease to exist.

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(Nicole) It's Sunday

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and three generations of Aceto[br]are gathered under the pergolas for lunch.

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There's pasta, sausages and flank steak

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and, of course, lemon cake.

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You know, in its heyday Amalfi was [br]an incredible, powerful maritime republic,

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and a gateway to the continent[br]for Arab traders.

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They are the ones who first [br]brought citrus to this coast

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in the 10th century.

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Ever since, wealthy visitors[br]from near and far,

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have volleyed [br]for the keys to this kingdom.

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Most of the aristocrats that [br]lorded over this land are long gone,

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but the local people they hired[br]to care for these orchards,

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their lineage remains and for now,

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for as long as the roots of their trees[br]can hold this place together,

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this land belongs to them.

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♪ (music) ♪

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(Nicole) My time with the Aceto is over[br]but our adventure is just getting started.

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I'm heading to nearby Naples to discover[br]how lemons have inspired Italian cooking.

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Join me to learn from this dashing lad.

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- Ciao![br]- (Laughter)

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a delicious lemony pasta that's so easy,

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you can master it at home.

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So, stay tune for Part 2 of[br]our Southern Italy special.

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English subtitles by[br]Jenny Lam-Chowdhury