Gragnano: the town, its pasta and the 'frizzante' red wine of the same name

Gragnano has a strategic position on the Lattari Mountains and has always been very important for the defence of Amalfi, in fact the castle of Gragnano was in defense of the territory. Gragnano borders the following municipalities: Agerola,Casola di Napoli, Castellammare di Stabia, Lettere, Pimonte, Ravello, Sant'Antonio Abate, Santa Maria la Carità, Scala.

This town is very famous for the production of pasta, produced since 1500. "A hill town wedged between a mountain crest and the Amalfi Coast," Gragnano is home some of the best dried pasta in Italy. Gragnano's "main street was laid out expressly to capture the mountain breeze mixed with sea air back when pasta makers hung spaghetti on drying rods like laundry," according to a Forbes Life write up. More recently heaters are used to dry the pasta at low temperatures (approximately 122 degrees fahrenheit) for two days and it is shaped with bronze to give it a rough texture.

The pasta of Gragnano is delicious and of high quality and the first type of pasta was called "macaroni": for foreigners macaroni has always been a "synonymous" of Italians. A group of artisan producers in the area are seeking a European Union designation that would protect the pasta's provenance.

Agriculture and wine production are important resources too and have been practised since Roman times. Wine production is very known and the typical red sparkling wine produced in this area is appreciated worldwide. Gragnano, the frizzante red that comes from the town of the same name on the Sorrentine Peninsula.

Gragnano surely deserves a visit, because pasta and wine are delicious, nature is beautiful, and the interesting fortresses from the XII century, its churches and water mills are worth to be seen.