Case da Sole: Italian honey

About us

Case da Sole is situated near the city of Ascoli Piceno, in Italy's Marches region. To produce our honey, we move our hives from place to place in spring and summer, to follow the flowering of different plants. We've learnt that beekeeping requires the same meticulous care that bees employ in organizing their existence.

Laurent Joseph Paolini
beekeeper

The bees

		Apis mellifera ligustica The race of bees we use is ligustica, Italy's ecotype. The natural reproduction of our queen bees generates families that are highly productive and resistant to disease.
superorganism In 1998, I took over the management of farm land, belonging to my grandad, in a submountainous area of acacia forests and green fields. I couldn't help but come into contact with bees. I developed an immediate passion for this amazing superorganism. We now have 15 million bees. We keep 250 families in itinerant hives in the mountains and 50 in low lying areas for producing royal jelly and raising queens.

At work

spring In March, we conduct health checks and begin production of artificial swarms. When the acacia blossoms, we place our shallow boxes for collecting honey, and start producing royal jelly.

summer After the acacia harvest, we place hives in the mountains for the chestnut and linden honeys and on hillsides for millefiori. At summer's end, the bees collect honeydew, used to make woods honey.

fall With production over, we substitute some of the old queens with younger ones, and ensure the colonies have reserves of honey for the winter. We begin packaging and marketing our products.

Pure honeys

acacia

Transparent with a light floral scent, goes very well with cheese, thanks to its light, elegant taste.

thousand flowers

Colour, aroma and taste vary every year according to source flowers. Excellent on cheese.

chestnut

From the Monti Sibillini National Park. Dark with deep red shades, strong flavor, intense aroma.

woods

Made from the honeydew secreted by aphids and collected by bees. Dark, rich taste.

thousand flowers
of Castelluccio

In an environment of rare beauty, our bees express themselves in this unique honey.

ivy

Creamy and pale, with an intense, refreshing herbal flavour. Limited quantities.

Royal jelly

Royal jelly contains proteins, minerals, lipids and glucides, and large amounts of important B-vitamins. Our producton of royal jelly was featured on Italian national TV (click to view).

Other products

boutique honeys We make honey with truffles, acacia honey with grape must, honey with pure saffron threads, honey with walnuts, and creamed honey with hazelnuts.		propolis A mixture of gums and resins collected by bees, with antibiotic and healing properties.

pollen Stored by bees in "baskets" on their back legs. We use traps fitted to the hive entrance to harvest the grains.	Italian queens We breed ligustica queens, the native Italian honeybee subspecies now popular worldwide.