Bronte · Catania

Evergreen

A family house from Bronte, on the volcanic slopes of Etna, devoted since 1950 to the green pistachio of Bronte, Sicily's green gold — carried from grove to jar with the same care across three generations.

House: Evergreen di Pietro Bonaccorso
Family since: 1950
Territory: Bronte, Catania
Craft: Pistacchio Verde di Bronte DOP

Introduction

A family before it was a house.

Evergreen is, above all, the Bonaccorso family. Around 1950 Nunzio began growing Bronte's renowned fruit and bringing it to market. In 1970 his son Pietro turned that work into a company, founding Evergreen in Bronte; since the 2000s Fabio and Stefano have carried it on.

Two men sitting on a blue cloth in a pistachio grove, separating the fruit from the leaves by hand

The pistachio of Bronte grows out of black lava rock, on the slopes of Etna. Around ten hectares of family groves, tended by hand.

A low pistachio tree heavy with rose-coloured clusters, on dark lava stones

A pistachio grove in new leaf, with snow-capped Etna and its plume behind

An old pistachio tree, its roots gripping a lava rock covered in yellow lichen

Bronte harvests its pistachio once every two years.

In early September of odd years, and only by hand. In between, a year without a harvest.

Two years

Bare pistachio trees in winter, with snow-capped Etna behind — Year one. No harvest; winter under Etna.

Pistachio trees in new leaf on a lava field in spring — Year two. April. New leaves.

Tiny new pistachio fruit just set on a young branch — May. The fruit sets.

An old pistachio trunk rising from the rocks, its branches hung with small young clusters — Early summer. The fruit fills out.

A cluster of ripening pistachios, yellow with rose tips, against the light — Late August. Rose and cream.

Fresh pistachios on dark stone: rose and red husks, split shells, bright green seeds — Rose husk, split shell, green seed.

A team of pickers with red buckets harvesting pistachios by hand among bent branches — Early September, odd years only. The harvest, by hand.

From the tree to the jar.

Three people picking pistachio clusters by hand into red buckets — Picked by hand, branch by branch.

An older man picking a cluster of pistachios by hand — One cluster at a time.

A man tipping a bucket of pistachios into a green hulling machine — The husk comes off.

Pistachios drying in the sun on cloths across a yard, with Etna behind — Dried in the sun, under Etna.

A young man pouring pistachios in their shell onto a cloth to dry — Poured out on the cloths.

Dried pistachios in their shell, some open to show the violet-skinned seed — Dry, and ready to be shelled.

Why this house

Why Evergreen belongs in the ZAGARA selection.

1950

the family starts growing pistachio

1970

Pietro founds Evergreen

hectares of family groves

years for every harvest

Heritage

A house shaped by continuity — three generations of one Sicilian family, carrying pistachio forward as a living practice rather than a product line.

Origin

Bronte remains one of the world's most recognisable pistachio territories. Founder Pietro Bonaccorso was an active voice in securing its protected DOP designation.

Craft

Traditional methods of cultivation and transformation, held to modern standards through regular checks on soil, laboratories and product — guided by three principles: quality, origin, hygiene.

Sustainability

Nothing of the pistachio goes to waste: since 1993 the ovens and the heating have run on its shells. Solar panels, installed in 2005, cover about 40% of the house's energy needs and save about 35 tonnes of CO2 a year.

Without the mark, it isn't from Bronte.

As one of the world's most prized products, the Bronte pistachio is an easy target for food counterfeiting. Don't be fooled: without the mark, it isn't from Bronte.