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The artichoke (Cynara scolimus) is a plant known since the time of the Egyptians and is widespread in the Mediterranean region. Legend has it that its name, Cynara, comes from a beautiful girl whom Zeus fell in love with. Zeus went to visit his brother Poseidon and, upon seeing the girl, immediately fell in love with her. After seducing her, he tur...

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Calabrian Capocollo DOP is a salted and aged cured meat product, made from the upper loin of pigs belonging to traditional large-sized breeds such as the Calabrese, Large White, and Italian Landrace, all raised in Calabria. The production area of Calabrian Capocollo DOP covers the entire Calabria region. The pigs used for production must be born in...

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Agnello di Sardegna IGP, or Sardinian Lamb, is a prestigious meat product known for its exceptional taste and high quality, which is safeguarded by its IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) certification. This label, granted by the European Union, ensures that the lamb is raised, processed, and prepared following strict guidelines that preserve bot...

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DOP (PDO) Pecorino Romano is the direct descendant of the sheep's milk cheese that was the staple food of the Roman Empire. The story goes that, over 2000 years ago in ancient Rome, the same sheep's milk cheese that we eat today was an important part of the daily meals and banquets of imperial palaces. In 48 BC, Virgil describes its nutritional and...

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The alpine apples of South Tyrol have been sustaining the local economy for hundreds of years and are an important part of the area’s tradition and culture. For many centuries, apple trees were planted around farmsteads and the apples were eaten by rural families.  These “orchards” provided valuable food and also enjoyed special legal protection. T...

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The history of oil in Brisighella has ancient roots, and the rudimentary family oil mill discovered in the excavations at Pieve del Thò dates back to the first century A.D. In 1594, Andrea Giovanni Callegari, Bishop of Bertinoro, stated the following in reference to the Lamone Valley: “The air, the water, the wines, oils and fruits are so good and...

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Since ancient times, the mountains of Belluno have provided an ideal natural setting for breeding dairy cattle and for dairy production. The first cooperative dairy in the Kingdom of Italy was established in Canale d’Agordo in 1872. The idea of grouping small local farmers to process their milk in a single cheese dairy, thereby reducing production...

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In Europe, the tradition of eating pork meat stretches far back into antiquity, as pigs were an animal that was easy to rear in a domestic environment, they were rich in fat and delicious meats and reproduced quickly.  In the second half of the nineteenth century, some pig bones excavated from archaeological sites in the Po Valley corroborated the...

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Always present in the rural tradition of the Mercure Valley, white beans have played a major role in the agricultural history of the local populations. An 1852 publication by the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies speaks of the cultivation in the area of “graminaceous, leguminous and filierous plants” and specifically mentions the "bean, and this is sever...

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The hazelnut, widely found in all temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, was one of the first fruit trees to be used and cultivated by humans, providing an important source of energy for early nomadic populations. Research carried out in past years has shown that the hazelnut was already present in the historical cultivation areas of Piedmon...

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