Journey through timeless Italy between Campania and Molise.

The arrival at the station of Naples is one of those that, chaotic, is sophistical to say. The biggest feat is, for a licensed driver from Verona, managing to drive through the 5:30 PM traffic without any scratches on the car. As a Neapolitan friend says: “just follow the flow!”. So I did, and somehow found myself on the ring road and then on the highway, heading straight towards the Sorrento peninsula. Thus began my gourmet journey in search of good things between Campania and Molise. Scouting for excellent Italian products does not allow for wasted time and, above all, requires a lot of tenacity and curiosity. 

The Gold of Gragnano

First stop: the capital of Italian pasta. To reach Gragnano, you exit the highway and take the state road that leads to the legendary Amalfi Coast. The town is perched high up, at the foot of the Lattari Mountains. I am welcomed by a narrow and deep valley, created by the rushing waters of the Vernotico stream.

Water, the element that accompanies you everywhere, the true resource that makes a difference and marks the uniqueness of this product. Majestic fountains in the center of squares and small springs along the roads tell the story of this town. Rows of buildings follow the wind's path and create air currents that, since the 1400s, have turned Gragnano into an open-air drying facility.

I climb towards the road leading to the Sorrento peninsula and, just outside the town, here I am. Vincenzo is waiting for me with his son Ciro Dario. The Petrone family is part of the history of Gragnano pasta makers. The company Gragnano in Corsa has been described by many experts and gourmets as one of the five best interpretations of Gragnano IGP pasta. Vincenzo and Ciro welcome me into their small shop, where golden yellow is the dominant color. But also ancestral tools and pieces of a Gragnano that no longer exists. With them, I go to visit the laboratories for the production of short and long formats. Yes, because all the artisanal pasta factories in Gragnano are small realities nestled among the stone of ancient buildings. In one of the workshops, on the portal, the symbol of the Vermicellari brotherhood can still be seen. Finally, I enter the small pasta factory's rooms and smell the pure, intoxicating aroma of wheat.

Vincenzo shows me the Lumaconi that are slowly drying. Behind the door, there’s a table where the pasta is packed by hand. In a corner, the sacks of selected durum wheat semolina from Puglia. Here, the sacks are unloaded into the mixer still by hand. I don’t have much time left and, unfortunately, I have to leave. Vincenzo, being the great marathon runner he is, still manages to make me run and savor the atmosphere of this great ancient territory, the soul of the Bourbon pasta makers, the macaroni stuffed in Totò’s pocket in Misery and Nobility, and the taste of the pure water that flows from the rock. 

Towards Molise under a sky full of stars

It's now 8 PM, time to leave the smile and all the passion of Vincenzo and Ciro Dario behind. I descend from Gragnano excited and begin to climb back through Campania along the highway that leads to Benevento and then continues to Bari. It’s dark, and after the sparkle of the Gulf of Naples, little by little the artificial light gives way to darkness and the twinkling of stars. When you exit the highway and begin to go up towards Campobasso, the night landscape becomes sweet and enchanting. Small, faintly lit villages stand out on the sides of the road like nativity scenes. Small Romanesque and Gothic churches emerge from dark spaces and, high above, blend with the light of the stars. The roads become narrower, and we begin to ascend towards the mountain. After curves and bends, I finally arrive in the small town of Guardiaregia. It’s late now, but once I get out of the car, I am captivated by a starry sky that I’m not used to seeing in the Po Valley. All around is silence, and the dim light of a small village is in front of me. It seems that time has stopped and the soul relaxes. How beautiful is Italy!

The Night of the Baker

There's hardly time for a quick shower when around 11 PM I set off for my second stop of the day. At that hour? Of course! I must reach Cercepiccola, to the legendary bakery of Rosa Maria Vittoria. I can't rush on the road, as it is teeming with foxes, badgers, and other little night animals that cross at any moment. Waiting for me outside the bakery is Merirose del Rosso, who quickly takes me to the bakery without wasting any time. A long night awaits me! Inside the bakery is Merirose's brother, Pino Pane. In Cercepiccola, everyone calls him that! On a table, the white apron and the baker's hat are ready. Pino lets me smell the sourdough that has been regenerated every day for seventy years. It’s the magic of bread! Everything starts with the doughs, with the recipes that Pino knows by heart. Homemade bread, walnut bread, spelt bread, dough for rolls, and then the dough for the pastry that will become a filled croissant. To tell the truth, I seem more like Pino's baker, who has more the "physique du rôle" of a climber or a walker.
State-of-the-art mixing machines that, however, eventually make way for ancestral gestures that date back to ancient times. Yes, because the last shaping of the loaves here is done by hand. Merirose shows me the entire production of the bakery. Besides the very good loaves that we have been sending to all of you for some months now, there is all the pastry, the Easter products, the colomba, the pigna, and the casciatelli with ricotta. Towards three in the morning, the first doughs are ready to be shaped: ciabattes, loaves, spikes, etc. The bakery comes to life, and we are almost ready for baking. I can’t take it any longer! My legs tremble from exhaustion: I leave Pino Pane and Merirose and, with some difficulty, drive to the B&B dodging foxes, badgers & Co. But upon my arrival, once again, I look up at the Molise sky filled with stars. I go to bed in good company!

Bernardo Pasquali
 

S&M