Toscanita

In the post-war years, it was customary for housewives to prepare homemade pasta for their family, served steaming hot and fragrant. From the 60s onward, however, changes in society also led to changes in eating habits and packaged foods started to become popular. In that period, a small workshop opened in Valdichiana, near Sie- na, where good use was made of the ex- perience gained and secrets learned in the family kitchen to produce bread and fresh pasta, especially ravioli and pici, typical of the area. Ancient pastas, linked to a culi- nary tradition that has also become cultur- al: for tortelli, going by the name of ravio- li, we can even recall a tale in Boccaccio’s Decameron, which speaks of Bengodi, the land of plenty, where “folk did nothing but make macaroni and ravioli”; or a sonnet by Pucci, which tells of women who “sell eggs and cheese / to make herb pies and cakes / and ravioli and other dainties”. As for pici, they seem to go as far back as the Etrus- cans, and are possibly depicted in the fres- co of the Tomb of Leopards in Tarquinia.

The small workshop produced excel- lent fresh pasta that tasted just like the

homemade pasta of the old days. Activity soared, and over the years the workshop developed further and moved to Monterig- gioni in 1979, adopting the Belverde mark. Even the corporate structure changed, as often happens quite naturally over time, and the Bigazzi family, well established and appreciated in the food industry for fifty years, took over the company. The new management did not forget the pas- sion of the beginning, back in the 60s, but rather made it its own, and reissued the challenge. So, the company moved to Il Casone, a district of Monteriggioni, and developed Arte Pasta Senese. There, it or- ganised a 4000-square metre facility, with the intent of pursuing and improving the quality of production, and set additional, concrete and ambitious targets. And this is how Toscanità came to be. A trademark (Toscanità) that wishes to express all the pride of representing an area of excellence and its products. In particular, the pasta, many different types of pasta, all capable of conveying the essence of this unique land through their taste, genuineness and goodness. From 2020 the new production line for frozen fresh pasta starts.