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"Don't ask me for words
that might define our formless soul, publish it in letters of fire,
and set it shining, lost crocus in a dusty field."(Eugenio Montale)...
The plaint
that brings relief to our senses, that colours our courses and
spoils us by its smell and its flavour is the Saffron. It is
originary from Minor Asia .
Already in
ancient times it was used as tanner, in pharmacy care, cosmetics and
in gastronomy. The Egyptian Papyrus of Ebers dated 1550 b.C.
confirms that its properties were already known to Nile People.
The Saffron
flower e was known in Greek culture and it is also portrayed on the
walls of Cnossus Palace. Hence the plant took the name of Crocus
until the Middle Ages (from the Greek: "Krokos").
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For "Doctor"
Hippocrate this plant is a valid treatment against rheumatism,
against podagra and against teeth-ache ,too. The recipes by Apicius
have become famous for sauces to get along with fish.
The Arabs
spreaded the Crocus plant over Spain (that nowadays is still the
greatest dealer) and they themselves were to change the name from
Crocus to Saffron.
The word comes
from the Persian SAHAFARAN, in its turn from ASFAR (= yellow),
translated from the Arabic ZA'FARAN and then in the Spanish AZAFRAN;
yellow refers to the colour of the stigmas after cooking.
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In XIII century this
plant became very important in Italy as tanner for flax, silk, wool
clothes and even in painting - as far as that art is concerned, we
can remember Pietro Vannucci, named the "Perugino", who used the
tanning of Saffron stigmas to paint his canvas and his frescos.
The fact that the saffron
was cultivated in the area of Cittą della Pieve at the time of
Pietro Vannucci (The Perugino, about 1450 - 1523), who used it
almost surely in his palette, leads you to establish a link between
the exploitation of production of this plant and the increasing
popularity of the "Palio dei Terzieri", an event of great appeal at
the time of the Master Painter from Cittą della Pieve, therefore in
the Renaissance. | |
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From the Statutes of the Toll
of Castel della Pieve, 1537
There, among other surveys, a set of rules for the
picking-up of saffron appears. Within the 8th of November the
Pieves producers, according to the Statute, had to denounce their
own quantities of Saffron to the Commune and then pay the fees.
There were heavy fines for deserters and a grant to
delay the payment against generous reward.From these notes you can
realize well that the production of saffron was very important for
the economy of the town.
It had to serve mainly for tanning tissues.
However, also in the rest of Umbria the production caused a return
of money. At that time there were both weavers and tanners who were
forbidden to tan for third parties out of the town.
The washing, weaving and tanning activit, was
helped by the plenty of water provided by the Fenland of Chiana. The
Statute of Perugia witnesses the Saffron production all over Umbria
starting by the XIII century.
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Cascia and the area of Spoleto
were the centres with the highest production volume of this
Middle-Eastern plant up to the end of 1500.
That production had nothing to
envy to the production of the Navelli uplands in Abruzzo region.
Therefore, in XVII century, the saffron production
diminished in Umbria as well as in Tuscany, in San Gimignano, where
Firenze ordered to import the Spanish saffron as it was cheaper.
After the Spanish Invasion Italy undewent a crisis
(about 1550); inflaction rate rised sky-high and processes of
re-feudalization activated.
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The name given to many squares and circuses like
Piazza di Spagna (there is one in Pienza, in Cittą della Pieve and
in Rome) dates back to that historical period.
For the value gained with the passing of time and
the links of that plant to the concerning land, "the violet gold"
becomes a means of for the promotion of the town image.
The brand will have the sentence "Il Croco di
Pietro Perugino" as a title and "Zafferano di Cittą della Pieve" as
description.
This has implied the establishment of a Committee
of Producers and an Association for the Saffron Promotion is made up
of the local Governemnt of Cittą della Pieve and of the Mountain
Community "Monti del Trasimeno", supported by the Group of Local
Action "Trasimeno-Orvieto", by the Faculty of Agriculture of the
University of Perugia, by the Slow-Food Trasimeno Management and by
some Category Associations.
The production area of the Saffron of Cittą della
Pieve is characterized by geographical continuity and by lands
placed within 300 and 600 mt above sea level included in the
following Communes lands: Cittą della Pieve, Castiglione
del Lago, Montegabbione, Monteleone d'Orvieto, Paciano, Panicale and
Piegaro . |
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Info
point:
Commune of Cittą della Pieve -
Economic and Touristic Promotion Office Municipal Offices: Piazza
XIX Giugno, 1 06062 - Cittą della Pieve Tel. 0578 - 29 12 12 / 29 12
91
promopieve@cittadellapieve.org
The
Events
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Cittą della Pieve
"Palio dei Terzieri"("Terzieris Joust")
August
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Cittą della Pieve
"Saffron day" Guided tour to cultivations, picking up of flowers
with tasting by local restaurants October
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Recipes with Saffron from Cittą della Pieve
Pasta e fagioli
allo Zafferano (Saffron flavoured Pasta & Beans)
Ingredients: 2 pinches of saffron, Extra
virgin Olive Oil, White Onion, Celery, 2 fists full of spotted
beans, salt and pepper, short-shaped pasta, preserved tomato.
Let 1 pinch of Saffron
infuse in a glass of hot water for about 2 hours. Let some chopped
celery and onion brown with some olive oil. Let the beans boil and
in the meantime add them to the soup. After drying the beans off in
the browned onion and celery, add some preserved tomato. Add some
salt and pepper as you wish. Join enough hot water for the soup as
you wish. Let it boil for about 1 hour. Add some short-shaped pasta
and cover with a pinch of saffron. |
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Baccalą allo Zafferano (Stockfish with Saffron)
Let a pinch of Saffron
melt in hot water for 2 hours. Brown two white onions in a little
extra virgin olive oil on a low flame. As they are half-cooked join
the stockfish cut in dices and previously deprived of salt of
seasoning, then covered with flour and fried. Cook it on a medium
powered flame and garnish with a pinch of saffron and minced
parsley. | |
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where to eat
where to buy
Ciboviaggiando suggests: