The term “Campodolcino potatoes” (tartifui in dialect) indicates two varieties of late potatoes that are grown in a mountain area that is almost exclusively in the Municipality of Campodolcino in the province of Sondrio.
Evidence of the cultivation of these potatoes seems to date back to 1822, when the Swiss Karl Kasthofer, belonging to the Société Royale d’agriculture de France, reported the potato harvest during his crossing of the San Giacomo Valley. Over the years this area has become famous for the roasted potatoes served by an Osteria located at the Sanctuary of Gallivaggio, a destination for many visitors.
This cultivation takes place in gardens that are more than 1200 meters above sea level. Sowing takes place in late spring after fertilising the soil, and harvesting begins between the end of summer and the months of September/October.
The Campodolcino red potato has an ovoid shape with superficial eyes (buds) which are, at the base, they are red-purple in colour like the rest of the skin whilst the flesh is dark yellow. The shoots that emerge from the eyes of the tubers reach large sizes when placed in bright, sunny conditions. Once harvested, the red potato is stored in a cellar and covered with soil during the winter season.
Together with chestnuts, potatoes are the basis of nutrients in mountain foods: they represent an important source of sustenance for the harsh winters. The red potato of Campodolcino is consumed boiled in salads, in polenta and for the preparation of some local gastronomically traditional dishes such as: potatoes and chestnuts (to which a pig’s trotter is also added), maschárpa (a cheese similar to seasoned ricotta) and potatoes, menestra de castegn (chestnut stew), fet and riis (potatoes and rice), pizzoccheri (a pasta dish), and others. This variety of potato, unlike the white variety, should not be fried.
In recent years, attempts have been made to recover this cultivar, even in higher altitude areas where some custodian farmers are trying to keep this traditional crop alive.
This potato variety has been the subject of research projects that have been completed by some professors and researchers from the University of Pavia, who have also collected a lot of information on a large number of local Lombard varieties in a publication ("Traditional Lombard agronomic varieties at risk of extinction or genetic erosion Vegetables and cereals: an overview ", G. Rossi, F. Guzzon, M. Canella, E. R. Tazzari, P. Cauzzi, S. Bodino, N. M.G. Ardenghi, Pavia University Press, 2019).
The research activities necessary for the reporting of this product in the Ark of Taste online catalogue were financed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the General Directorate of the Tertiary Sector and Corporate Social Responsibility – notice n° 1/2018 “Slow Food in action: communities protagonists of change”, pursuant to Article 72 of the Tertiary Sector Code, referred to in Legislative Decree No. 117/2017.
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