Learn more about the Pici Senesi which are part of the Tuscany Box by Radici Italiane.
Let’s discover the Pici senesi along the roads of the Val d’Orcia, elevated to emblem of the Tuscan landscape. Hills with a delicate profile and roads full of cypress trees, in a perfect combination of green and yellow, give us the idea of an incomparable natural environment, declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1996.
On the hill overlooking the enchanting village of Monticchiello, in a particularly favourable position for the panorama, stands Pienza. During the Renaissance it was defined by Pope Pius II as an ‘ideal city’, a concept that emphasised functionality and rationality of spaces.
Today, Pienza represents this paradigm even more than yesterday: perfectly maintained stone houses, lush greenery sprouting from the windows, streets from which a medieval history shines through. All in line with healthy lifestyles and in keeping with the tranquillity of a village: in short, an ideal town even today.
From the cobbled streets, one descends to the sun-kissed plain and the microclimate so favourable to the extensive wheat fields. Those that the ancient farming tradition has helped to shape, always maintaining absolute respect for the surrounding environment.
Mulino Val d’Orcia: one of Italy’s first cases of short supply chain
In the village of Spedaletto, along the Via Francigena, we find the Mulino Val d’Orcia. It has been growing wheat organically since 1992, right next to the pasta factory.
Just behind the mill, stands a medieval castle, on which stands a tower and a beautiful courtyard that has been converted into a farmhouse. A global project, therefore, that of the activity managed by Amedeo, which focuses on the recovery of the compassed times of the agricultural tradition, which has always respected the natural cycle of the seasons.
And it is precisely the slow time that is decisive. In fact, thanks to bronze drawing and natural drying, Pici are characterised by a particular roughness, which allows the sauces to be absorbed more easily. But that’s not all. This pasta is made from durum wheat flour of the Senatore Cappelli variety. It also boasts a low glycaemic index and greater lipid-vitamin properties than conventional pasta.
A typical dish of southern Tuscany, to be paired with a good Chianina meat sauce, Pici senesi date back to Etruscan times, but after more than two thousand years they still represent the heritage of this territory extraordinarily balanced between human activity and the natural environment.
Pici senesi go very well with sauces, especially the PGI Chianina ragout that you can find in Box Tuscany or the PDO Cinta Senese ragout that you can find in our boutique in Pistoia!
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