Cardinale, the town of the Nocciola Tonda Calabrese

Autumn is the season for dried fruits and trips out of town to enjoy the warm colours of the hills and undergrowth.  

Among the region's most prized autumn fruits, the sweet Nocciola Tonda Calabrese produced among the hazelnut groves of Cardinale, in the province of Catanzaro, is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited and used by tradition and the national confectionery industry.

Let's taste it together, on a trip to Cardinale and its surroundings.

The Tonda di Calabria Bio

The Nocciola Tonda Calabrese, or Tonda di Calabria Bio, is a particular variety of hazelnut linked to a well-defined habitat.

Introduced in the second half of the 19th century by the Filangieri family, of Bourbon origin, in the latifundia of what is now the municipality of Cardinale and its immediate surroundings (Torre di Ruggiero, Chiaravalle, Simbario), i.e. in the foothills of what are now the Serre Vibonesi, the hazelnut adapted perfectly to the local climate, developing its unmistakable rounded shape and the organoleptic characteristics that see it as the autumn basket case.

Today, the Nocciola Tonda Calabrese is a product of regional agro-food excellence, awaiting the PGI mark.

Cultivated on approximately 500 hectares of small to medium-sized hazelnut groves, most of which are still family-run, the Tonda di Calabria manages to maintain the organic regime and the characteristics that make it inimitable and appreciated on the national market.

A true panacea, the Calabrian hazelnut is a precious food for psychophysical wellbeing, as well as tasty to the palate, because it is rich in Omega 3 and 6, fibre and vitamins of the B and E groups, essential nutrients against ageing and necessary to promote the synthesis of serotonin and melatonin, the so-called "good mood molecules".

In addition to the pleasure of munching them raw and au naturel, freshly picked from the tree, Calabrian hazelnuts combine the goodness of enjoying them processed, as they are the secret and indispensable ingredient of various confectionery and pastry products (creams, pralines, gianduiotti, etc.), the most famous of which remains Nutella, which has always drawn on the raw material from Calabria.

A precious oil is also extracted from the Nocciola Tonda Calabrese for the cosmetics industry, the basis of many anti-ageing beauty creams and make-up removal products as it is non-greasy.

Finally, the Tonda di Calabria is used in distilleries, for the production of liqueurs and liqueur creams.

The Calabrian Organic Hazelnut Association and its consortium have the task of protecting this precious fruit and defining the supply chain for national recognition. Indeed, Calabrian coriliculture is a sector that deserves great attention due to the positive socio-economic impact on the entire production area.

What to see in Cardinale and its surroundings

As we were saying, we are located in the hilly area of the Preserre and the Serre Regional Natural Park, straddling the provinces of Catanzaro and Vibo Valentia, in the municipality of Cardinale.

The old town centre tells the story of a village nestled in the Ancinale Valley and mowed down by the river during the terrible flood of 1935, which nevertheless was able to react and reinvent itself, starting with the new settlement of Novalba (as its name suggests), in a slightly higher position than the Conca di Cardinale.

In addition to the Chiesa Matrice of San Nicola di Bari, various monuments and ancient fountains, remains of mills and the old town that bear witness to the indissoluble bond with water, a number of 18th-century architectural complexes are part of the town's monumental history, such as the Filangieri Castle, also known as the Casino della Razzona, and the Ferriera di Razzona di Cardinale, among the great Bourbon foundries of Calabria.

These are places of very ancient human habitation, as demonstrated by the prehistoric finds in and around the area, some of which have been reproduced at the interesting children's theme park "The World of Prehistory" in the neighbouring municipality of Simbario (VV).

Among the sacred places to visit in the vicinity are the Convent of the Capuchins, in Chiaravalle Centrale (CZ), and the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie in Torre di Ruggiero (CZ), the destination of an important Marian pilgrimage in the month of September.