The Hazelnut of Giffoni Valle Piana, the so-called Tonda Picentini, is an IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) product.
The origin of hazel is still unknown today: probably it is an Asian plant which spread to Europe and the rest of the world, although we still don’t know exactly when. Hazel then became a source of food in ancient times, as primitive men learned to eat it from rodents.
Hazelnuts in ancient times was considered a symbol of fertility, as ancient healers used it as a remedy for infertility. It was not a random choice. The dry hazelnut, in fact, contains a high energy and nutritional value. It is rich in minerals (vitamin A, B, C, PP, calcium, phosphorus and iron), oleic and linoleic acids.
Campania is also referred to as the oldest place using hazelnuts in Italy. This is demonstrated by the fact that when the ancient Latin writers refer to this plant almost always mention the Campania. The oldest Latin writer who made mention of the hazel is Cato (234-149 BC), in chapter 8 of ‘the Liber de agri culture’. It’s a kind of guide for the proper administration of small farms, recommending planting in a suburban place ‘nuces, calvas, avellanas, praenestinas et graecas‘.
In the 40s and 50s ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ was grown increasingly in large areas of the Valley Picentino and the Irno with an increasingly significant role among the crops of the area. The optimal climatic conditions for cultivation have enabled uniform and constant productions year after year.
Today the hazel is not only an element more typical of the landscape of the Valley Picentino and the Irno, with an area of approximately 3,000 hectares, but also the main source of income for farmers. The characteristic fruit that flows from it, in fact, can always be negotiated for a price 15-20% higher than that of other cultivars of Campania.
The areas affected by the cultivation of the hazel ‘Tonda di Giffoni’ include several municipalities of Valle del Picentino and the Irno. They are Giffoni Valle Piana, Giffoni Sei Casali, Montecorvino Rovella, Castiglione del Genovesi, San Cipriano Picentino, Calvanico, and Fisciano part of San Mango Piemonte, Montecorvino Pugliano, Olevano Romano, Baronissi, Acerno.
In 1998, the ‘Tonda di Giffoni 'Association established’ The National Award Hazel d'Oro ‘.
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Notes
“La Nocciola di Giffoni. La Tonda dei Monti Picentini nella storia, nell'economia, nelle tradizioni locali”