In Valle Camonica chestnuts are present on both sides of the lower and middle valley, up to around 900 / 1,100 metres, and until the 1960s the production and consumption of chestnuts were widespread. In the valley, 12 varieties of chestnuts have been identified: Agostana, Anèr, Barèra, Bilina, Blant, Catòt, Matta, Paeschì, Platèla, Rosér, Rossa, Soèrba.

HISTORY
Chestnut groves used to be held in high regard, like wheat fields in the plains, a true treasure.
Chestnuts were exchanged for corn from the plain and provided the polenta for three quarters of the year.

CHARACTERISTICS
Chestnuts have literally fed entire generations of inhabitants of Valle Camonica.
Chestnut flour is used to make the pupa (or papa) de schelt, a sweet or savoury polenta. Otherwise, chestnuts can be boiled, after having removed a piece of peel, along with laurel or rosemary, and some call them “pelate” (peeled). If they are cooked with the peel, then they are called tettole and, finally, if they are roasted, some say they are mondine, while for others they are called mondole.

SEASONALITY
Chestnuts are a typically autumn fruit

ANECTODES
The chestnut is a very perishable and delicate fruit and must be harvested in a very short time. Just as important is the preservation, although our ancestors have found solutions to extend it up to a year.
The most peculiar method is the ricciaia, a heap of urchins placed in the fields or in special rooms where chestnuts are kept for many months, or also the "novena" in cold water for 7/9 days after harvesting.
However, the most common preservation technique is slow drying the chestnuts in a special room, called gràt.