The mountain agriculture

PIZZA KM0

So what is the basic element to prepare pizza? The flour, no?

We are in Mezzomonte, just below Folgaria, just above Castel Beseno, where an original project is taking shape: Moreno, the owner of Pizzeria Rosspach, has decided to try to grow wheat, driven by the desire to create an agricultural project to be combined with the restaurant-pizzeria he manages. The cultivated seed is strong and resistant, characteristics necessary to grow in an alpine climate. The “Aquilante”, this is the name of the variety, however, it also has ancient qualities, for example, is able to maintain a low level of gluten.
“The first experimental sowing dates back to 2017. I made a test, sowing in the ground behind my house just to see if something was growing. And... the experiment has succeeded, without even irrigate! I realized then that it could work: it was worth to invest time and energy”.
It was not easy, especially at the beginning, having to start from the search of land and seeds to use. For this last aspect I was helped by the precious advice of the prestigious Mach Foundation of San Michele all’Adige in Trentino, which opened my eyes and provided me with a lot of knowledge about the world of wheat cultivation. The project is part of the Altipiani Cimbri Slow Food Community, which promotes and disseminates knowledge of important concepts, brings people closer to the territory and raises awareness of environmental issues of fundamental importance.

“I cultivate 4.000 square meters, but there is still work to be done,
taking into account that for my restaurant I would need a total of
about 2 hectares of land”.

United by the constant search for quality the farmers of Alpe Cimbra transfer into the art of cultivation the passion for their land and respect for nature.

Apples, potatoes, pears, chestnuts, leeks, small fruits, wheat ... a wide variety of products at km 0 ready to delight the most refined tastes.

Nosellari leek
Curiosity:
Every year in the middle of October takes place the traditional Leek Festival where you can buy delicious vegetable and taste the many specialties based on leek and other typical products of Alpe Cimbra. The Nosellari leek is characterised by its large and very roundish base, the leaves opens in a fan shape and the stem is rather small: the base is white and fades to dark green, a leek weighs about 800 grams.

Altipiani Cimbri Slow Food Community

Represents the first Slow Food Community in Trentino Alto Adige and everything started from the rediscovery of a vegetable that once characterized the crops of the Nosellari area, in the Oltresommo, the leek. The reflection has been extended to food, environment and sociality. The aim of the Community is to challenge depopulation, promoting the return to the land and creating opportunities for work development for young people and not only. The Slow Food Community works for the rediscovery of traditional crops and systems of work, breeding and transformation that respect the landscape and local identity according to the principles of agroecology. Last but not least, the commitment to pass down mountain culture and at the same time open up to sustainable innovation.