Vicente Todolí, founder and president of Todolí Citrus Fundació, took part in Cultivating the Landscape, a conversation held at Casa RIA in Santiago de Compostela on 22 October. Cristina Giménez, Managing Director of the Foundation, accompanied Vicente Todolí at the event, which was moderated by landscape architect Claudia de Sas Trujillo.

The event offered an opportunity to share the work carried out by Todolí Citrus Fundació in the conservation, study and dissemination of citrus biodiversity. Drawing on the Foundation’s collection of species and varieties, Vicente Todolí explored the value of cultivated plants as botanical heritage, a source of knowledge and an essential element in understanding, shaping and caring for the landscape.

Cultivating also means shaping the landscape. The species and varieties we select, the places in which they are grown, and the knowledge associated with their care form part of a living heritage that is continually changing and passed on over time. Valencian citrus fruits, with their remarkable diversity and close connection to the land, provided the starting point for a reflection on the links between agriculture, culture, biodiversity and food.

The conversation found a particularly fitting setting at Casa RIA, home to Fundación RIA. Created by architect David Chipperfield in 2017, RIA is an independent, non-profit agency that works towards the long-term sustainability of Galicia’s built and natural environment. Through research, analysis and strategic territorial planning, it promotes new ways of protecting, understanding and inhabiting the land.

This vision takes concrete form, among other initiatives, in a project producing artisanal jams from citrus fruits grown in small family orchards. Between Santiago de Compostela and the Barbanza peninsula, orange and lemon trees planted decades ago for household use or as ornamental trees form part of the everyday landscape of homes, orchards and gardens. Yet much of this fruit—despite its quality and gastronomic potential—remains outside food and commercial channels.

The project promoted by Fundación RIA seeks to add value to this resource through culinary transformation, bringing together small-scale agriculture, local knowledge and territorial development. The jams thus became an interesting point of connection between Galicia and Valencia: a tangible way to speak about biodiversity, resource use, landscape and new opportunities for local economies.

The affinity with Todolí Citrus Fundació is a natural one. Both institutions understand the landscape as a shared heritage, closely linked to environmental conservation, knowledge, and relationships with local communities and their expertise. RIA also promotes educational and research programmes that encourage knowledge exchange and debate on the future of the territory.

The day concluded with a dinner at A Cantina, Casa RIA’s gastronomic space. The tasting menu, inspired by Galician citrus fruits, was created by Iago Pazos and the Somos Abastos team, whose cooking is rooted in local produce, seasonality and a direct relationship with producers and the market. The proposal brought some of the ideas discussed during the conversation to the table: observing the territory, recognising the value of its biodiversity and turning that knowledge into a gastronomic experience.

We would especially like to thank David Chipperfield, Evelyn Stern and the entire Casa RIA team for their hospitality and for making us feel at home. We also thank everyone who joined us and showed an interest in learning more about Valencian citrus fruits and the work of Todolí Citrus Fundació.