A pavilion for rediscovering local fruit trees

Uncommon Fruits is a project born from the collaboration between the extended Robida collective (Topolò, Benečija, IT) and Zavod Cepika (Kojsko, Goriška Brda, SI) that investigates two different landscapes through the lens of fruit trees – one, Goriška Brda, characterised by an almost-monoculture of vine and the other, the one surrounding Topolò, by abandonment – and the past, present and future relation humans have with it.

Within the project Uncommon Fruits, fruit trees and orchards are the lenses through which these landscapes are observed and reimagined.

The Story of the Orchard and the Pavilion

The Fruit Culture Center in Kojsko is a unique homage to the rich fruit-growing heritage of the Goriška region. It stems from many years of work dedicated to documenting, preserving, and promoting old and indigenous fruit varieties and their related cultural traditions. The Center includes the “Pod Skalco” orchard and a multifunctional pavilion with a small botanical library.

The “Pod Skalco” orchard serves both as a gene bank of indigenous and traditional fruit varieties and as a living example of vernacular landscape cultivation. More than 65 traditional fruit varieties grow here, complemented by selected international varieties that were especially prized during the golden age of Goriška fruit production in the Austro-Hungarian period. Several foreign fruit species have also been introduced, enriching the biodiversity of the area and supporting contemporary biodynamic cultivation practices.

The orchard covers 8,000 m² and is designed as a traditional high-stem orchard. Some trees in the lower, northern section are more than 80 years old. Most of the orchard was intentionally planted between 2008 and 2013, while the upper, southern area was added in 2018.

The pavilion is a space for learning and gathering. It introduces visitors to the heritage of old fruit varieties, some of which can be explored in the small botanical library, alongside a broader collection of literature on fruit cultivation. Many of the varieties are linked to stories featured in Sadje sonca – Fruits of the Sun by Gregor Božic, illustrated by Barbara Ogric Markež.

Fruit cultivation shaped not only the economic development of the region but also the personal lives of its inhabitants. Fruits—especially old varieties—left a profound imprint on local memory, becoming cherished parts of people’s stories and everyday experiences. Fruit was both a crucial source of sustenance and, for centuries, a symbol of hope and beauty: a stable anchor in people’s inner worlds. This intimate bond with trees and their fruits took root in the collective memory of the region through myths, tales, imagination, and dreams.

The Fruit Culture Center safeguards this heritage while offering a space for future practices, encounters, and reflection.

Foto Gallery: Anton Federcio Lasalvia