APULICA / FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND PULSES
Pietrelcina artichoke
Slow Food Presidium · PAT · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Campania
In brief
- A variety introduced around 1840 in Pietrelcina, near Benevento, and also grown in Pago Veiano, Pesco Sannita and Paduli. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina)
- The green, purple-tinged heads are covered with the plant's own leaves to make them more tender; it is not irrigated. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina)
- It is sold in bunches tied with rushes from the Tammaro river; the local dish is stuffed artichoke. (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina)
- It is a traditional product of Campania. (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))
History and origin
Pietrelcina is a medieval hilltop village in the Benevento area, set in an open, gentle landscape crossed by the Tammaro river. Although its land has little water for irrigation, the village has always lived from farming, and among the wheat and tobacco fields a particular artichoke variety found its home here.
According to tradition it was introduced around 1840 by a prefect from Bari. Since then it has been grown on small plots, with work that remains manual at every stage, and it has become a symbol of the village.
In recent decades the local variety has largely been replaced by more productive Romanesco artichokes, so much so that it entered the Campania Plant Germplasm Bank among traditional varieties at risk. The Slow Food Presidium supports its recovery, with production rules shared by the growers; the artichoke is also listed among Campania's traditional products.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina · Regione Campania — Prodotti tradizionali: Carciofo di Pietrelcina · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)
Area and method of production
The Presidium covers the municipalities of Pietrelcina, Pago Veiano, Pesco Sannita and Paduli, in the province of Benevento. The soils are cool, deep and well aerated, and the plant has adapted so well to the lack of water that it needs no irrigation.
New fields are started from carducci, the shoots that grow at the base of the plant: the best are chosen and usually transplanted at the end of September. All the work is done by hand, from cutting back the stems in summer to removing surplus shoots in autumn, repeated in spring.
A traditional technique sets this artichoke apart: the still immature heads are covered with the plant's own leaves or with freshly pulled young shoots, which shield them from the sun and make them more tender, fleshy and colourful. Harvest runs from the first half of April to the end of May, depending on the year.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina · Regione Campania — Prodotti tradizionali: Carciofo di Pietrelcina
How to recognise it
The plant has an upright stem and can reach 80 centimetres. The head has green bracts with violet shading, made even more marked by covering it with leaves.
The central head, the mammarella, is about 10-15 centimetres across; the secondary heads are smaller. The artichoke is very tender and delicate in flavour.
It can also be recognised by the way it is sold: the heads are tied in bunches of four or eight. The tying is called ammazzamento, and each bunch of four mammarelle, also known as cimarole, is bound with vinchi, the rushes still gathered along the banks of the Tammaro.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina · Regione Campania — Prodotti tradizionali: Carciofo di Pietrelcina
In the kitchen
Its tenderness and delicate flavour, highly prized in the village, make it a versatile ingredient. Local cooking has many recipes, but the stuffed artichoke of Pietrelcina tops them all, filled with breadcrumbs, potatoes, chicory, meat, eggs and pecorino. The artichoke also goes into tagliatelle with artichoke ragù and into a flan served on cheese fondue with crisp pancetta.
The same plant gives another product: the shoots are bent over, tied and covered with soil and leaves until they become cardone. In Benevento it is much in demand especially at Christmas, as the key ingredient of zuppa di cardone, made with chicken broth, beaten eggs, small meatballs and pine nuts.
Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina · Regione Campania — Prodotti tradizionali: Carciofo di Pietrelcina
Where to taste it
The right time is spring, between April and May, in the fields of Pietrelcina and of the Presidium's neighbouring villages, Pago Veiano, Pesco Sannita and Paduli. The regional sheet notes that the people of Pietrelcina celebrate their artichoke with a festival held every year in May.
Pietrelcina is also the birthplace of Saint Pio, and the old town is home to the diocesan Sanctuary dedicated to him next to the parish church of Santa Maria degli Angeli: for many visitors the spring festival is one more reason to discover the village.
The Presidium works for short supply chains and direct sales, so the artichoke is found mainly in the village and around Benevento.
Sources: Regione Campania — Prodotti tradizionali: Carciofo di Pietrelcina · Comune di Pietrelcina · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina
Protection
- Slow Food Presidium — carciofo-di-pietrelcina (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina)
- Traditional agri-food product (PAT) — Campania, n. 177, 26th revision (Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026))
When
- Harvest: April–May (Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Carciofo di Pietrelcina)
- Spring