Sting offers visitors chance to harvest at his Tuscan villa

(ANSA) - Rome, August 27 - Getting out into nature and working the land is an excellent cure for stress, Coldiretti farmers' group said in response to singer Sting's decision to offer guests at his Tuscan villa the chance to pay to harvest grapes and olives there, according to the Telegraph online.
    For the price of 262 euros a day, visitors to Il Palagio will be given a short lesson on harvesting and an empty basket which they can fill by picking olives and participating in the annual grape harvest, ending the day by tasting Sting's "Message in a Bottle" Sangiovese wine at 15.70 euros a glass.
    Coldiretti cited several studies that show the positive health benefits of these types of "agri-cures," including one by the Sage Colleges in New York demonstrating that a bacteria found in agricultural soil produces serotonin, the so-called "good mood" hormone, when injected into lab rats.
    The farmers' group also said that more and more Italian agritourism businesses, which now number beyond 20,000, are beginning to offer new forms of therapy for natural relaxation, from tree-hugging to walking blindfolded with bare feet over grass, a practice known as "earthing".