Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin
Date: 2002-02-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Latium, designation of origin, labelling, location of production, perennial vegetable, product quality

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Official Journal of the European Communities

26.2.2002

Publication of an application for registration pursuant to Article 6(2) of Council Regulation (EEC)
No 2081/92 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin

(2002/C 51/12)

This publication confers the right to object to the application pursuant to Article 7 of the abovementioned
Regulation. Any objection to this application must be submitted via the competent authority in the
Member State concerned within a time limit of six months from the date of this publication. The
arguments for publication are set out below, in particular under point 4.6, and are considered to justify
the application within the meaning of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2081/92

APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION: ARTICLE 5

PDO (

)

PGI (x)

National application No 1/2001

1. Responsible department in the Member State

Name:

Ministero delle Politiche agricole e forestali

Address: Via XX Settembre 20, I-00187 Roma

Tel.

Fax

(39-06) 481 99 68

(39-06) 42 01 31 26

e-mail:

qualita@politicheagricole.it

2. Applicant group

2.1. Name:

Consorzio per la tutela del carciofo romanesco

2.2. Address: Via Fabio Massimo 72, I-00192 Roma

2.3. Composition: producer/processor (x)

Other (

)

3. Type of product: Class 1.6 Fruits, vegetables, cereals (cid:151) Cynara scolymus L.

4. Specification

(Summary of requirements under Article 4(2))

4.1. Name: (cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146)

4.2. Description: The fresh artichoke known as (cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146) has the following

characteristics:

(cid:151) spherical, compact buds with characteristic opening at apex,

(cid:151) green to purple in colour,

(cid:151) outer bracts green in colour and purple-tinged,

(cid:151) diameter of top heads not less than 10 cm,

(cid:151) diameter of primary and secondary capitula ((cid:145)buds(cid:146)) not less than 7 cm.

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4.3. Geographical area: (cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146) artichokes are grown in suitable areas of the
following municipalities of
the provinces of Viterbo, Rome and Latina in the Lazio region:
Montalto di Castro, Canino, Tarquinia, Allumiere, Tolfa, Civitavecchia, Santa Marinella, Cam-
pagnano, Cerveteri, Ladispoli, Fiumicino, Rome, Lariano, Sezze, Priverno, Sermoneta and Pontinia.

4.4. Proof of origin: Some authors claim that artichokes were cultivated in Lazio in Etruscan times.
According to Montelucci (cf. Pignatti), the artichoke originates in the western Mediterranean; the
plant was unknown to the ancient Egyptians and Hebrews, but depictions of artichoke leaves have
been found decorating the walls of certain tombs in the Etruscan necropolis of Tarquinia. The
author credits the Etruscans with the domestication of the species. The large populations of Cynara
cardunculus in the hilly land between Civitavecchia and Tolfa and towards Cerveteri support this
theory. In more recent times, artichoke growing in Lazio expanded rapidly after the Second World
War, given the low production costs and the fact that the plants continued to produce well for six
or seven years. The crop’s great success and the need to publicise the quality of artichokes grown
in the area were behind the organisation of the first (cid:145)Artichoke Festival(cid:146) in Ladispoli in 1950.
Product traceability is ensured by the register of producers, held by the authorised quality-control
body set up for the purpose, which keeps it up to date and monitors production methods, product
the output of producers on the register and the rules governing release for
characteristics,
consumption.

4.5. Method of production:

(cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146) artichokes are grown from the (cid:145)Castel-

lammare(cid:146) and (cid:145)Campagnano(cid:146) cultivars and their clones.

Before planting, the soil must be prepared carefully, fertiliser dug in and the surface levelled off.
Transplanting takes place from August to October. Artichoke plantations are maintained for up to
four years under a three-year crop rotation system. Typical field operations involve cutting back
the plants and pinching out; the former involves eliminating the stalks that have produced heads
(cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146)
while the latter entails manually removing superfluous shoots.
artichokes are grown from a single shoot per plant. Harvesting starts in January and may continue
into May, depending on weather conditions.

4.6. Link: The climate in the (cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146) production area is uniformly very
favourable for artichoke cultivation. The average temperature varies between + 3 (cid:176)C and + 6 (cid:176)C
in the coldest month (January). Thanks to the moderating effect of
the minimum
temperature never falls below 0(cid:176) C, which is excellent for growing artichokes.

the sea,

The average temperature in the warmest month (July) ranges from + 21 (cid:176)C to + 24 (cid:176)C, with annual
sunlight of between 2 000 and 2 200 hours. In both quantity and distribution, precipitation in the
area is suitable for artichoke cultivation.

The soil used for cultivation is of average texture, with a pH of between 6,5 and 7,5 and an active
lime value of between 2 and 3.

These natural, climatic and soil factors are decisive for the special characteristics of (cid:145)Carciofo
Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146) artichokes; the latter also owe much to human factors and traditional
techniques, such as shredding and burying the plant residue in order to return organic matter
to the soil and removing all except one shoot per plant to foster growth. The combination of these
natural and human factors gives (cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146) artichokes their characteristic and
unique qualities, not found in other cultivars or even where the same two cultivars referred to in
point 4.5 are grown in other areas.

It is hardly necessary to emphasise the reputation of the product, which is celebrated at many
(cid:145)artichoke festivals(cid:146) and constitutes a mainstay of the area.

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4.7. Inspection body

Name:

Agroqualit(cid:224) (cid:151) Societ(cid:224) per la certificazione della qualit(cid:224) nell’agroalimentare srl

Address: Via Montebello, I-00185 Roma

4.8. Labelling: In addition to the protected geographical indication (cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146),
labels may bear names, company names and marks other than those with complimentary impli-
cations or likely to mislead the consumer.

Geographical indications and place names referring to municipalities specified in point 4.3 and
districts, areas, farms and other localities within those municipalities in which the artichokes have
actually been produced may also be used. The mark, comprising the oval-shaped logo with an
artichoke depicted in the centre and the letters (cid:145)IGP(cid:146) for the protected geographical indication, must
compulsorily be shown. The precise description and reference colours are set out in the production
specification for the (cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco del Lazio(cid:146). The logo is shown in the annex.

Packs must be sealed and may be wrapped in plastic netting or transparent plastic film. The mark
must be displayed on the side of the pack. If the artichokes are sold in bunches, the mark must be
shown on a band around the bunch.

For traditional local consumption within the Lazio Region only, main head (cid:145)Carciofo Romanesco
del Lazio(cid:146) artichokes may be sold in bunches of 10, with the leaves and with stalks more than
10 cm in length, or in bunches of unspecified numbers containing cone-shaped artichokes without
leaves.

4.9. National requirements: (cid:151)

EC No: G/IT/00183/2001.02.08.

Date of receipt of the full application: 28 November 2001

Non-opposition to a notified concentration

(Case COMP/M.2616 (cid:151) Deutsche Bank/TDC/JV)

(2002/C 51/13)

(Text with EEA relevance)

On 27 November 2001 the Commission decided not to oppose the above notified concentration and to
declare it compatible with the common market. This decision is based on Article 6(1)(b) of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 4064/89. The full text of the decision is only available in English and will be
made public after it is cleared of any business secrets it may contain. It will be available:

(cid:151) as a paper version through the sales offices of the Office for Official Publications of the European

Communities (see list on the last page),

(cid:151) in electronic form in the (cid:145)CEN(cid:146) version of the CELEX database, under document No 301M2616. CELEX

is the computerised documentation system of European Community law.

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