Oil Exploration Underway in Chianti

NEW YORK--(Italy Watch)--Heritage Petrolium Plc, a British petroleum company, has been granted permits to perform preliminary exploration in Italy's Chianti region for petroleum reserves. The majority of the drilling will take place in the region surrounding San Gimignano, and extend south toward Siena.

1,553 square kilometers (600 square miles -- slightly larger than the city of Houston, TX) are open to drilling, although Heritage Petroleum Plc and local Italian government officials in Chianti claim that no current plans exist for drilling.

The 6-year exploratory contracts pose obvious problems for a region whose livelihood is tied to agriculture, wine and rural tourism. If Chianti loses its land, with it goes its agroeconomic base and rustic charm.