Gragnano in Corsa, true essence of Italy's pasta capital.

When we talk about pasta in Italy, we must always put its capital first: Gragnano. A town clinging to the Lattari Mountains that separate it from the beautiful Sorrento peninsula and the Amalfi coast. A town where the aroma of pasta drying can still be felt even today during some hours of the morning. People who have tied their lives to this magical blend of high-quality durum wheat semolina and the true wealth of this land: the water that flows pure from the Forma and Imbuto springs. Delicious to drink, oligomineral, native from limestone and volcanic tuff rocks. Gragnano is considered the city of white gold and there are documents from the 1400s that attest to its macaroni vocation. 

A town built to become an open-air drying yard. Streets that open up to the sea and gradually narrow to feed stronger air currents. Roads that teemed with pasta shops and wooden supports where stretches of spaghetti and fusilli fell or wooden trays of rigatoni and lumaconi. Even today, if you look at the portals of the buildings at every entrance, you will find the ancient symbol of the Varmicellari corporation (here we wrote the history of Gragnano pasta). Gragnano is a treasure trove of history and goodness. Ready to open a new Museum of Pasta as it deserves.

The mills that processed the wheat are still there and some beautifully restored ones give us an idea of what the ancient valley of the mills was like. We made this beautiful journey with Vincenzo Petrone: through the soul of his story we touched the semolina and drank from the fountain of the water that transformed this territory into a world icon of food. Vincenzo is the owner of the prestigious pastificio Gragnano in Corsa, located in an ancient Vermicellari palace. 

Together with his son Ciro Dario and his family, he carries on the ancient tradition of pasta. Small laboratories, one for long pasta and one for short pasta, located in different places as has always been done in this town where everyone is involved in production. The special shapes are still cut by hand and, in fact, if we look at them, there is not one like the other. The Lumaconi, ‘O Siscariello, the Scialatielli, the Candele, the Mafalde, the long double spaghetti still bear the mark of the curve made by the stick to which they are hung (want to know the strangest shapes of Gragnano Pasta?). 

Vincenzo Petrone, besides being a great modern vermicellaro, is also a great running enthusiast and has participated in all the most important marathons in the world: New York, Boston, Stockholm, Rome, Valencia, etc. Pasta and running have become his passions that he wanted to immortalize in his brand. 

His pasta has been rated by the best experts as one of the top five in Gragnano for taste, identity, and use in high Italian cuisine. “I am very happy to be part of the Spaghetti & Mandolino project – says Vincenzo Petrone – and I will ensure a product of the highest quality for everyone. Also because with the name that this project carries, you can't go wrong in terms of pasta!”. 

Finally, from today you can start reserving the legendary pasta from Gragnano produced with water directly channeled from the Lattari Mountains and selections of top-quality Apulian grains. We at Spaghetti & Mandolino are extremely happy to have with us such a prestigious brand that will help us create gastronomic culture at your tables in Italy and around the world. 

Bernardo Pasquali

S&M