We arrive in this small village that has about one thousand inhabitants and it is situated in the foothills of Cicerale Mountain few kilometres far from the national park of Cilento. When we go through the small village we suddenly understand that chickpeas are one of the main symbols of this place because in the town hall crest we find a picture of them and a Latin statement “terra quae cicero alit”, that means “land that feeds chickpeas”.

There is a centuries-old tradition of chickpeas cultivation and already in the Middle Age the village was famous for its particular legumes. We go deep into the small village to look for a person who can tell us something about chickpeas and their history inseparably linked to this small town.

Wandering through Cicerale, we meet Anna, an old chickpeas grower, and we ask her for the special characteristics of Cicerale chickpeas. She is happy to answer to our questions because she is very proud of the product of her land. The first thing she says is that the most important thing to know about the Cicerale chickpeas is that they don’t need any water to grow and that adapts to the worst climate conditions.

She tells us that the harvest period is starting in a short-term and she explains also that the process hasn’t changed during the centuries. When the seed ripens, the dried plants are pulled up from the ground and put on burlap sacks and then they are beaten with big wood sticks.

These old traditions are passed on in order to serve chickpeas without adding any chemical product and to keep their unique taste unchanged. Once understood the working process, Mrs Anna lets us taste this delicious product.

They have a more intense taste than the normal chickpeas. We are extremely satisfied and we enjoy the chickpeas dish prepared by Anna who tells us that the best way to taste them is with “lagane”, fresh pasta very similar to tagliatelle. She promises to prepare them for us the next time we are visiting her. We thank Anna for her kindness and courtesy and we say goodbye promising to see her again to taste “lagane”. After all there is always a good reason to go back there.