The earliest written sources about his cultivation in the alluvial plain of the Tanaro river date back to 1914, when a competition from the Astigiana Horticultural Society revealed that various horticulturists from Costigliole d'Asti and some nearby municipalities produced it. The square pepper, a quality cultivated for over a century in the lands south of the city of Asti, in the alluvial plain of the Tanaro river, in particular in the vegetable gardens of Motta (a fraction of the municipality of Costigliole d'Asti) was one of the most valuable. The characteristic quadrangular shape of the yellow or red berry was accompanied by generous dimensions, thick and fleshy pulp, an intense but sweet and delicate taste, given by the high sugar content which made it both delicious and quickly perishable.
Horticulture in these areas is a very ancient practice. In the XNUMXth century, the area along the Tanaro was called vivarium, with a clear reference to the cultivation of vegetables. But all this is not enough to safeguard over time some products of that great heritage of biodiversity on which the Italian boot rests.
It is true that in one hundred years the square pepper of Costigliole d'Asti met great commercial success arriving to be produced up to 40-50 thousand quintals in the 60s and 70s, when the Motta area was proudly nicknamed "little California". Then the decline, with the luxuriant vegetable gardens replaced by other cultures, first with flowers and then with hazelnuts. The famous square of Motta becomes extremely rare and then unobtainable, even if the tradition of the Motta pepper festival, which is held every year in the last week of July, remains alive.
Dipped raw in oil, stuffed, preserved under a rasp, or roasted and then sprinkled with bagna cauda, the Motta square pepper has earned a leading role in the Piedmontese culinary tradition but 13 years ago the semen was almost completely lost.
Carlo Petrini, president of Slow Food, in the book “Good, clean and right” he recalls one of his experiences dating back to 1996: “The square peppers of Asti, a fleshy, fragrant and tasty variety, were hardly produced in the area anymore. [...] I met a farmer, he confirmed to me that precisely there, until a few years before, those magnificent vegetables were grown. But not anymore and he said to me in dialect: «It's not worth it, the Dutch are cheaper and nobody buys ours anymore! They give work and it's all effort thrown to the wind!». […] For me that day – says Petrini – was the official start date of eco-gastronomy: the raw material must be grown and produced in a sustainable way, biodiversity and local food and production traditions must be safeguarded at all costs".
But the day of redemption has finally arrived and today the Motta di Costigliole d'Asti square pepper has become a Slow Food Presidium.
Those who have always believed in the importance of keeping the crops of this extraordinary pepper alive have historically been Guido and Lidia Alciati, of the historic Da Guido restaurant, of which this year marks the 60th anniversary of his birth.
It was her husband who found the best products for Lidia, as her son Ugo, who inherited the helm of the restaurant, recalls today: «Since the early 60s, when the restaurant opened, my father went around the Asti countryside with the intention of convincing the small producers of the area not to abandon the cultivation of rare and quality local varieties. Some, after the years of oblivion, made it and marked a turning point for their territory, such as the hunchback thistle of Nizza Monferrato, now a Slow Food Presidium. The square pepper got a little lost along the way”
And it is precisely a young farmer, already the protagonist of a Piedmontese Slow Food Presidium, the Sorì Asti artichoke, who let himself be inspired by this passage, baptizing his farm Duipuvrun. «I had read Carlo's book and this story had struck me, and I also had a childhood memory of when I went to the market with my grandparents to buy peppers». And so, since 2015, Stefano Scavino, now thirty-three, has decided to invest a part of his hectare, cultivated with the biointensive method, on this variety, but the seeds of the traditional cultivar are not so easy to identify. The only solution becomes to contact the Germplasm Bank of the University of Agriculture in Grugliasco: “They gave me a small amount of seeds which I began to grow. In 2017 I participated in a tender by the European Union which supported the enhancement of local ecotypes, together with the Cnr, the University of Agriculture and Agrion di Manta, presenting both the artichoke and the pepper. For two years, thanks to their scientific and agronomic contribution, we selected the plants in the field to improve yield and resistance to disease» continues Stefano. Today the pepper seeds, fruit of the field selection work in the Duipuvrun company's garden, have been made available to the Casto nursery which has produced the seedlings for the current year and to Giorgio Austa's company which has joined the project .
«If I had to express a wish, I would like that the establishment of the Presidium was a direct message to young people, so that they understand that one can also play a role in this world by being a farmer and using agroecological methods. Furthermore, Stefano says, teaming up makes it possible to invest in agronomic research, to have higher quantities of product and to increase profit margins: «It is important that the Presidium peppers begin to be used again by restaurateurs and shopkeepers in the area, who are the first ambassadors, but it is also true that if production increases, other markets can be conquered: a customer of mine in London who buys the Sorì artichoke has been waiting for the Motta square pepper for some time, I hope this year to be able to send him the first batch".
«Today, after 25 years, says Carlo Petrini, knowing that the Motta square pepper is fully part of the Slow Food Presidia is a source of great pride and satisfaction for me. The fact that this very vegetable, which I brought to the world as a symbol of the paradoxes of agro-industry, once again represents good, clean and fair values and in full harmony with food and production traditions, means that no effort has been in vain, and that the path marked out by Slow Food in recent years is the right one to pursue, also for the new generations of farmers willing to commit themselves to cleaner and more sustainable agriculture»
