Cultura dell’avidità vs. cultura meridiana nella crisi Xylella: saperi, epistemologie e conflitto nel Sud Salento: Saperi, epistemologie e conflitto nel Sud Salento

Abstract

This study analyzes the conflict between two opposing epistemic and cultural models: the cultura dell’avidità driven by extractive and speculative logics, and the cultura meridiana rooted in local knowledge and agroecological practices. Through the case of the Popolo degli Ulivi, a movement that emerged in southern Salento in response to the Xylella fastidiosa crisis, the study explores the dynamics of delegitimizing subordinate knowledge and the resistance strategies adopted by local communities. The Xylella conflict is revealed as not only a scientific dispute but also a political and cultural struggle. Based on a qualitative approach, this research contributes to the debate on Southern epistemologies and highlights the need to recognize alternative knowledge systems for greater environmental justice.