Forestiere Underground Gardens

Baldassarre Forestiere... A Tale of "Never-Give-Uppin'"

9.22.16

Meet Baldassarre Forestiere.  At home in Sicily, he dreamed of continuing the family work of citrus farming on some land of his own.  He was not the eldest son, however, and his father refused to give him any land on which to start his farm.

Farming in Sicily - Nope

In 1901, he emigrated to the "Land of Opportunity."  When he discovered that his citrus farm wasn't going to happen on the east coast, he got a job digging subway tunnels and saved his money until he could head to "Orange County."  Had to be able to grow oranges there, right?

Planting oranges on the east coast - Not gonna happen 

Upon arriving in Orange County, Baldassarre found that land prices were out of his range there, so he moved inland to the Fresno area and purchased 40 (I think) acres of land.

Orange County farm - Out of his price range

When he began digging to prepare the soil for planting trees, he discovered that the entire acreage was covered in hardpan.

Already bought land that was useless for farming

So... what do you do?

Baldassare got a job digging ditches.  Because he needed to get out of the crazy Fresno heat, he made himself underground living quarters and found that he could keep much cooler there. Over the next 40 years, he spent his spare time using picks and shovels to create a beautiful, intricate, brilliant network of tunnels underground.  He found that he could plant some of his beloved trees underground, and they grew well there, protected from the extreme temperatures.

 Baldassare's living quarters

He had two bedrooms...One for summer and one for winter.

He heated water for his bath and had drainage systems.

The tunnels were well lit and had good air circulation.

He was a brilliant man!

 Pomegranates!

The photos don't do justice to how amazing these tunnels are.  Here are some additional facts and photos if you're interested:

http://www.undergroundgardens.com/amazingfacts.html


Baldassare wanted to make a "resort" where people could come to get out of the heat.  He passed away before his dream was realized, and thankfully a nephew of his preserved some of the work he had done for us to enjoy today.  Baldassare encountered obstacle after obstacle, and yet he worked with what he had, made some alterations in the details of his dream... and he sure did "make something out of nothing."

Thanks for the inspiration to "Never Give Up," Mr. Forestiere!