Zucca Berrettina di Lungavilla

Pumpkin farming is an integral part of the agricultural traditions of the Po plains. In the Lungavilla area pumpkins have been farmed for many centuries. Berrettina pumpkins are specific to Lungavilla. They are turban shaped, not too large, pale greenish-blue in colour with a strong flavour and ideal for both sweet and savoury recipes. The local community has decided to dedicate its Festa di Sücc to this pumpkin in a festival which brings the whole town together in celebration on the 8th of September every year. The festival took its name from the fact that pumpkins are usually placed outside houses for the duration of a procession which makes its way through the town during the festival. This pumpkin called 'berrettta' (beret) was once probably commonly grown across the Po plains but changing tastes and dietary habits made it progressively rarer. This is a phenomenon which has also affected the Lungavilla area where the variety was saved only thanks to the farsightedness of the few growers who conserved the seeds from year to year. From 2007 onwards the town council has sponsored a project to recover the traditional Berrettina variety. From the starting point of producers' seeds, the volunteer Gruppo Promotori della Zucca Berrettina association, in partnership with Ente Nazionale Sementi Elette in Tavazzano (Lodi), has launched research aimed at recovering the original features of the variety. Parallel with this project, on the first Sunday of October a food festival called La Festa dal Capè da Prèvi dedicated to Berrettina pumpkins is held in Lungavilla. Production site: The Zucca Berrettina di Lungavilla production zone is the town of Lungavilla and those around it including Pizzale, Verretto, Montebello della Battaglia and Castelletto di Branduzzo