Piennolo tomato, a singular point down and a hard skin of intense red color. A lively, sweet taste with a sour aftertaste. Wonder and exaltation of the palate. A specialty that it grows only and exclusively on the slopes of Vesuvius. The history, the curiosities and the legend of a product of the highest quality and expression of ancient culinary traditions.
Piennolo tomato: Vesuvian excellence
The history of the Piennolo tomato is fascinating. The tomato arrived in the city of Naples thanks to the homage to the new king Ferdinando IV by the Viceroy of Peru. The king, sharpening his wits, decided to have it cultivated in the most fertile areas of the kingdom. The understood red color, strong taste, the maximum concentration of acids, sugars and other soluble solids make it long-lasting. The organoleptic qualitiesmoreover, they do not undergo any changes. The characteristics of the tomato are linked to climatic factors and the type of soil. The richness of organic acids, in fact, determines the "Vivacity" or "acidity" of taste. The Cherry Tomato is appreciated fresh, in glass preserves and in the typical “al piennolo” form (stored hanging).
Le areas of production and conservation of the Piennolo tomato, in particular, they are Somma Vesuviana, Terzigno, Torre Annunziata, Torre del Greco, Trecase, San Giorgio a Cremano, San Giuseppe Vesuviano, San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Boscoreale, Boscotrecase, Cercola, Ercolano, Massa Di Somma, Ottaviano, Pollena Trocchia, Portici, Sant'Anastasia and a portion of the territory of the municipality of Nola. The estimated cultivation area is around 480 hectares. The annual productions are around 4 thousand tons of fresh product. In 2009 the Vesuvius tomato became a DOP, renewing and revitalizing the commercial interest and the entire production departments.
Curiosities, legends and literary testimonies
The tomato has conquered a place inside the Neapolitan nativity scene for almost two centuries. The most illustrious historical information is reported by Achille Bruni, in 1858, in his "Vegetables and their cultivation in the city of Naples". The entomologist describes cherry-shaped tomatoes and that "they remain excellent until spring, as long as they are tied in wreaths and suspended from the attics". Another literary testimony is that of Luigi Palmieri in the "Yearbook of the Royal Higher School of Agriculture in Portici of 1885. Palmieri writes of the practice of preserving the berries of the variety p'appennere in ventilated places and sheltered from the sun.
Francesco De Rosa in “Italia Orticola” of 1902, reports the entire cultivation technique of cherry tomatoes and that the Vesuvian “cerasella” had been replaced by the “flask” type, more suited to piennolo. As for the legends, however, it is said that Lucifer created Naples by stealing a piece of Paradise, but his touch made the land parched. Jesus began to cry and his tears, falling from the slopes of the Vesuvio, made the soil fertile by giving birth to the Piennolo tomatoes. Another legend linked toVesuvian excellence tells of the women of Torre del Greco. The fishermen's wives took care of the remains that were used for fishing and used the same technique to weave the knots of the tomato nets.
