The century’s old tradition of Gragnano Pasta

Pasta production within Gragnano city

The production of Gragnano pasta, with roots deep and far in time, has dictated the lives of people living in these lands for centuries.

In Roman times wheat was milled in Gragnano. Water from the Vernotico stream quickly flowed into the gorge called Valle dei Mulini, moving stakes in the water to mill the crops which arrived via sea route from the colonies, transforming these crops into semolina for the bread that was used to feed the cities around Pompei, Ercolano, and Stabiae.

Centuries passed and the tradition of dry pasta became more diffused. Poorer classes needed to keep cereal foodstuffs to save themselves from frequent famines, and dry pasta offered an excellent solution. The tradition became so rooted and commonplace that in 1500 in Naples, a corporation for ‘vermicellari’ was created,and around this same time the king of Naples issued an edict giving a man from Gragnano a ‘vermicellaro’ license.

The Masaniello revolution was in this region of Italy the following century. Masaniello led the population in a revolt against the Spanish government that was imposing excessive taxes on foods, and Gragnano played the part of providing pasta for the rebels.

The production of pasta became more and more important for Gragnano, so much so that in 1700, considering the need to give another urban structure to the city, architect Riccardi redesigned Via Roma so as to maximize its sunny areas, which favored the drying of the pasta.

Gragnano was already world famous by the 1800’s for the quality of its maccheroni and the city already had 70 pasta factories. At the end of the century there were over 100 such factories.

The last century was that of industrial production, technological innovation, and a great rise in production.

Today Gragnano pasta is protected by a consortium which aims at endorsing this exceptional product as much as possible.

With many centuries of history behind us, we can affirm that the keys to Gragnano pasta’s success can be found in the century’s long presence of a milling industry within a mild and slightly humid climate, and in the excellence of dry pasta production in this location.