Peas are among the world’s oldest legumes. They have been a staple food on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius since the times of the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans, and over the centuries the local growers selected many different varieties. One of these is the Centogiorni, cultivated in the Vesuvius area for at least a century. Its name, which means “a hundred days,” refers to the average length of its production cycle. The peas are grown in open fields, often intercropped with fruit trees like apricots and cherries, or sometimes grapevines, and do not need irrigation. The climbing plants are given support from a system of wooden poles and interwoven wires or nets. All the cultivation phases are carried out manually, from the sowing (in single rows) to the harvesting of the fresh pods, a long and gradual process. The peas are eaten either green and waxy, or when dried and the seeds turn beige.
Appreciated for their sensory qualities, such as their exceptional sweetness, and the tenderness of their skin, even when dried, the peas make an excellent accompaniment to meat dishes and to the king of Neapolitan cuisine, baccalà (salt cod). They also star in a typically Neapolitan soup of pasta and peas, in which the peas are cooked with onion and pancetta before the addition of little tubes of pasta or mixed pasta shapes.
Season
The harvest is from March till the first half of May. The dried peas can be found year round
Back to the archive >The Presidium was started to save and promote this variety, currently grown in tiny plots (covering a total of around 10 hectares) and to draw attention to the work of the Vesuvian growers.
Production area
Municipalities around Vesuvius, Naples province
Presidium supported by
progetto iPark- Presidio e Cittadinanza - Cod. prog. 2015 - AMB - 0070.
Pierfrancesco Ammendola
Via San Leonardo, 83
San Giuseppe Vesuviano (Na)
Tel. +39 339 3525975
antichisaporives@libero.it
Antica Trochlea
di Luciana De Martino
Via Gramsci 10
Pollena Trocchia (Na)
Tel. +39 392 9479427
info@anticatrochlea.it
Carmela Calabrese
Via Napoli, 304
Castellammare di Stabia (Na)
Tel. +39 347 6744925
info@ortodicarmela.com
Casale Pietropaolo
di Francesco Espresso
Via Aldo Moro, 8
Sant’Anastasia (Na)
Tel. +39 333 3366260
info@casalepietropaolo.it
Cooperativa Sociale Lavoro in Corsi
Piazza Masaniello, 31
Napoli (Na)
Tel. +39 333 3900484
presidenza@lavoroincorsi.it
Vincenzo Egizio
Via Camillo Cucca, 295
Brusciano (Na)
Tel. +39 389 2713615
scrivenzo@libero.it
I profumi e sapori del parco
Via Santa Maria delle Grazie A Castello
Somma Vesuviana (Na)
Referente Salvatore Sorrentino
Tel. +39 331 1369639
salvatore.sorre@gmail.com
Masseria dello Sbirro
di Lorenzo Cozzolino
Via Zumbini, 27
Portici (Na)
Tel. +39 349 6212808
info@masseriadellosbirro.it
Bruno Sodano
Via Pratola I Traversa
Pomigliano d’Arco (Na)
Tel. +39 347 8070109-340 3026435 (Raffaele)
aziendaagricolabrunosodano@yahoo.it
Il Sole del Vesuvio
di Serena Matrone
Via Armando Diaz, 18
Boscoreale (Na)
Tel. +39 339 2209654
ilsoledelvesuvio@gmail.com
Villa Mazza al Vesuvio
di Simona Briganti
Via Boccea, 6
Torre del Greco (Na)
Tel.+39 339 7055185
smbriga@gmail.com|
Vera Verrone
Tel.+39 392 9479427
pisellocentogiorni@gmail.com
Slow Food Presidium coordinator
Francesco Fusco
Tel. +39 333 4035312
francofusco2016@gmail.com