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Vesuvius centogiorni pea

Slow Food Presidium · PAT · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Campania

Apulica editorial team · Sources checked:

In brief

History and origin

In the countryside around Vesuvius peas have been an everyday food since ancient times: the Presidium sheet recalls that they were already grown in the days of the Greeks, Etruscans and Romans. Over the centuries farmers selected varieties suited to these volcanic soils, among them the centogiorni (hundred days), present in the Vesuvius area for at least a century. The name comes from the average length of its growing cycle.

Until the 1970s it was widespread, on about 500 hectares. Then the market demanded more productive varieties suited to the frozen and canned food industry and to mechanical harvesting, and the centogiorni survived almost only in family gardens, passed from one generation to the next.

The Slow Food Presidium was created to save it and to give value to the work of Vesuvian farmers, who now grow it on tiny plots, about ten hectares in all. It is also listed among Campania's traditional products.

Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Pisello centogiorni del Vesuvio · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura: Pisello centogiorni (prodotti tradizionali) · Masaf — Elenco nazionale dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali, XXVI revisione (2026)

Area and method of production

The centogiorni is grown in the towns of the Vesuvius area, in the province of Naples; the regional sheet names the foothills of Vesuvius and the agro nocerino-sarnese. It grows in the open air without irrigation and often shares the field with apricot or cherry trees or vines.

The plant is a climber and needs support: wooden poles and twisted wires, or nets. In the past hazel prunings were used as stakes. Sowing takes place in autumn, in single rows, and every stage of the work is done by hand.

The harvest of fresh pods is long and staggered: it starts in March and continues until the first days of May. After picking by hand the peas are packed into crates and sent to markets, mostly local ones, often through growers' cooperatives. Part of the crop is left on the plant until fully ripe, to be eaten dried.

Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Pisello centogiorni del Vesuvio · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura: Pisello centogiorni (prodotti tradizionali)

How to recognise it

The pod is light green and on average 8-12 centimetres long; inside there are usually seven or eight round seeds about five millimetres across. The plant is an annual herb with a thin, delicate stem, pinnate leaves ending in a tendril and rather showy white flowers.

It is eaten mainly at the waxy stage, when the seed is still green and tender. Left to ripen fully it dries and turns beige, and in this form it is available all year round.

The qualities that made it loved are its great sweetness and tender skin, which stays soft even in the dried seed. This delicacy, together with yields lower than those of modern varieties, explains why it has remained a niche product linked to the local market.

Sources: Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura: Pisello centogiorni (prodotti tradizionali) · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Pisello centogiorni del Vesuvio

In the kitchen

The centogiorni is the pea of Neapolitan pasta e piselli: the peas are cooked with onion and pancetta, then tubetti or mixed pasta are added. A simple dish in which the sweetness of the pulse makes all the difference.

It pairs very well with meat as a side dish, but above all with salt cod, the king of Neapolitan cooking, to which it adds a sweet, springlike note. The regional sheet also mentions it with pasta and as an accompaniment to main courses.

Fresh peas are available in spring; dried, thanks to the skin that stays tender, they are used all year even in the months far from the harvest. Those cooking in season can take advantage of the March and April harvest to serve them freshly picked.

Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Pisello centogiorni del Vesuvio · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura: Pisello centogiorni (prodotti tradizionali)

Where to taste it

The centogiorni pea is found in the towns on the slopes of Vesuvius, in the province of Naples, where Presidium farmers grow it between rows of apricot and cherry trees; the regional sheet also places it in the agro nocerino-sarnese.

The right season is spring: from March to early May the fresh pods reach local markets, which remain the main sales channel. The dried product is available all year round.

For visitors to Campania in spring, the Vesuvian towns are a chance to combine a visit to Vesuvius with the discovery of a farming cuisine made of pulses, fruit and vegetables grown on volcanic soils, with the centogiorni as the star of the season.

Sources: Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio Pisello centogiorni del Vesuvio · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura: Pisello centogiorni (prodotti tradizionali)

Protection

When

Where

Campania