Martelli Pasta has been made in the castle in Lari in northern Tuscany since 1926. It claims to be the only pasta made in a castle in Italy and probably the world.
My friends and I visited Lari before the current restrictions. It is a tiny hilltop town in the Province of Pisa. The town has Etruscan roots and dates from the 8th century BC. The castle dominates the hilltop. (Photo Wikipedia)
We found a carpark near one of the old entrances and walked the short distance to the top, following the wall of the castle. Because of Covid we could not go into the main part of the castle.
A road circles the wall around the central part of the castle. The whole town would once have been circled by the outer wall.
At the end of a tiny laneway, Via dei Pastifici, is the entrance to Martelli pasta factory. There were once 2 pasta factories in this lane, which is called a “ruga”, meaning wrinkle. It really is a narrow lane.
For a long time there were 2 factories, the Pastificio Catelani and the Pastificio Meini, which ceased production in the early 1950s. Both business supplied only the local market.
Pastificio Catelani employed many people from Lari, including 2 fatherless boys, Guido and Gastone Martelli. Close to old age, and without heirs the Catelani left the business to their 2 loyal employees and in 1926 the brothers became the owners of the factory.
Even though the Martelli factory is small it now sells its pasta all over Italy and several countries around the world, while still using the traditional method of production.
Our friendly guide met our small group outside the door to the factory and explained what we would be seeing. There is not much space inside and covid restrictions make it necessary to keep a distance.
The pasta dough is made using only durum wheat semolina and cold water kneaded slowly in small batches. It is then pushed through bronze dies to give the pasta the required shape.
It is then dried slowly at a low temperature, cut to size and later packaged in the distinctive bright yellow Martelli packaging.
Larger factories use Teflon dies and higher drying temperatures to speed up the process. The bronze dies and cool temperature mean the pasta will have a rougher surface, which helps the sauce cling to it.
Here is a list of countries Martelli pasta goes to.
After our tour we wandered around the town and bought some pasta to take home at a store in the centre.
Naturally all this talk of pasta made us hungry. We had lunch at Il Rosso della Paola in Via Belvedere, just outside the town centre. The service was friendly and helpful and the food was delicious, traditional fare cooked and presented very well.
The countryside around Lari is pretty.
Along with the interesting story of the pasta and an excellent lunch it made for a great day out. Thank you to Raffaela and Stephen for the research and driving.
http://www.famigliamartelli.it
