In October, Tuscany celebrates the chestnut in all of its myriad forms and recipes.

The poet Giovanni Pascoli called the chestnut tree, "the tree made of bread", and the chestnut "the bread of the poor" because it has always fed families living in the Apuane Alps and the Tuscan-Emilian Appenine regions.

Today this humble nut has become one of the most excellent things that Tuscany has to offer. There are around three hundred varieties in Italy, but the Tuscan ones are without a doubt the best.

In Garfagnana, called the "civlization of the chestnut tree", the flour has been determined by the European Community to be Dop (or of a Denomination of Protected Origin) while the chestnut from Monte Amiata and the Marrone from Mugello have earned the prestigious recognition of Igp (a Geographic Protected Mark).

This is the reason that there are festivals dedicated to the chestnut in Mugello, the Amiata and in Lunigiana.

Sundays from the 5th to the 26th of October, the 45th Festival of the chestnut will take place in Marradi (Florence), in honor of the famous "Marrone from Marradi", used to make cakes, fried tortelli, puddings, jams, marron glacés, and chestnut pies.

There will also be a Festival of chestnuts and berries in Palazzuolo sul Senio during the same Sundays. Here, in addition to chestnuts, there will be porcini mushrooms, tartufo mushrooms and raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries.

Author: Margherita Nieri

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