Parco Nazionale del Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga

History Parsnip represents a real piece of horticultural archaeology. From the Roman period until the 19th century, it was one of the most widespread vegetables in the vegetable gardens and at table. In the Park territory, its cultivation has drastically...

History Chickpea is one of the first legumes cultivated in the eastern area of the Mediterranean. The varieties with small seeds and bent integument are more primitive than the ones with larger seeds and lighter color. In Navelli (L'Aquila), chickpeas...

The History In the Abruzzi's mountain zones potato has represented for a long time an important sustenance source for the locals who differentiate the cultivated varieties. This happened because the difficulties to cultivate in the mountains were...

History In the historical town of Rivera, every family used to cultivate celery and salad in the past. According to the legend, celery has aphrodisiac powers. Moreover, it has diuretic and digestive properties.

History The Latin name of lettuce, Lactuca sativa L., derives from the words lac, meaning milk and referring to the white lymph, and sativa, meaning cultivated. This ancient lettuce variety is the result of a long selection linked to the historical vegetable...

History This pea variety was already widespread in the markets of L'Aquila since the 15th century. According to Miche Tenore (1831), one of the greatest 19th century Italian botanists, Robiglio pea, as far as the Kingdom of Naples was concerned, was...

History In the history of the human diet and the development of civilization, the lentil has always played an important role because it has been one of the first species to be domesticated, although there are still many questions on how it happened. Some...

History Characteristic variety of the mountain and piedmont areas. It is a more recent variety than Turchesa Potato, another kind of potato that has been recently recovered by the Park Authority. As a matter of fact, it spread around the 20th century....

History Tortarello is a variety of non-sweet melon Cucumis melo L. var. flexousus (Stepansky et al. 1999). In Italy it is known by the name of tortarello, presumably for the shape of the fruit which is elongated and twisted, flexuous or serpentine. It...

History In Gran Sasso National Park, an ancient potato variety has been rediscovered and recovered: the so-called turchesa potato. This potato has been named after the color of its skin. Many elderly people remember it, but it has disappeared from their...

The History Mountain pastures. Sheep farming. Transhumance. For centuries these territories have been representing the homeland of sheep farming. The Laga and Gran Sasso Mountains are embellished by a constellation of hamlets and villages that prospered...

History In the past, the use of the sheep in the everyday diet of the shepherds and the poor was linked to the culture of transhumant sheep breeding. As a consequence, the whole Park area is rich in ancient recipes and dishes handed down from generations...

History In the past, the use of sheep for the daily feeding of sheperds and less well-off classes was linked to the culture of transhumant herding. As a consequence, there are, in the whole area of the Park, ancient recipes and dishes handed down for...

History Ventricina has been named after the ancient farmers' practice to put into the pig belly big pieces of pork. Rather than a cold cut, it represented a sort of precious meat reserve. According to the legend, Ventricina of Crognaleto, sewn in...

The History Two types of Barley (Hordeum vulgare) are traditionally cultivated: the one called "majorino" or "maggiolino", which is named after the maturation period, and the less widespread two-row barley, also called "marzulino", with reference to the...

History The Municipality of Capitignano (Province of L'Aquila) is historically linked to this legume. A recent research activity on the DNA of this legume has given the opportunity to catalog this particular variety among the genetically "rare" varieties....

The History The Zea Mays L. corn could spread only after the unlucky famine occurred in 1764 which led the population to diversify cultivations. The corn flour is mainly used to prepare the polenta in winter. It is cultivated at an altitude of about...