The land owned by the family for more than 60 years always cultivated with respect to nature. The company consists of approximately 158 hectares of arable land with the cultivation of ancient grains and legumes.
A line of zero chemical residue pastas produced with ancient and rare grains such as Saragolla Lucana is possible only in these territory thanks to the soil and climate characteristics.
Bronze-drawn pasta, dried at low temperature (maximum 30 °) in 24 hours.
Saragolla wheat, a turanic wheat is not a very well-known cereal, nor is it very cultivated in Italy. The Saragolla wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) is an ancient variety of khorasan, it is a type of wheat with a low gluten content and rich in antioxidants and proteins.
The Saragolla Lucana wheat was registered in a Reale (a land) only in the municipalities of Banzi, Palazzo San Gervasio, Genzano and Forenza.
Only in these territories is it possible to grow this wheat. We have been cultivating it with passion for more than sixty years in Banzi, in the north-eastern part of Umbria, bordering the south-western part of the province of BAT.
This wheat was introduced to central Italy by the Balkan populations of Middle Eastern origin, in 400 AD: the term “Saragolla”, in fact, derives from the ancient Bulgarian word, that meant “yellow grain”. The decline of the Saragolla wheat begins at the end of the eighteenth century when the colonial conquests and the population increase caused the importation of very productive hard grains from North Africa and the Middle East, and this variety remained the most cultivated one only in the Adriatic side of central Italy : the hybridization of the ears, carried out at the beginning of the twentieth century, has accentuated its marginalization. Currently the Saragolla grain survives only in certain areas of Lucania. Saragolla is an early-cycle wheat, hard and amber-coloured, and it has a stem high up to 180cm. It has the caryopsis, i.e. the envelope of the seed, naked and elongated more than that of any other wheat and its flour is of an intense yellow color. In this type of pasta there is a gluten called “wide mesh”, which is highly digestible and also suitable for those with light gluten intolerances.
Flours milled in the Dibenedetto artisan mill of the 1950s.
Both the structure and the production process have remained intact since then. This guarantees a quality product, made according to traditional methods.
Located in the center of Altamura, the Molino Artigianale Dibenedetto has been in business since the early 1950s. Its structure, almost entirely in wood, has remained intact since then. The production process has also not changed. All this guarantees a quality product, made according to traditional methods.
The small family-run factory represents the only reality in the area for the transformation of hard grains and it preserves the custom of processing for third parties.
The ground grains are the result of a rigorous selection. Organic wheat is not missing: the mill is in fact part of the ICEA (Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification). From grinding the re-milled semolina, spelled, whole wheat flours and flours for food intolerances are produced.
Land owned by the family for more than 60 years always cultivated with respect to nature. A line of zero chemical residue pastes produced with ancient and rare grains such as Saragolla Lucana is possible only in these territories thanks to the soil and climatic characteristics. Bronze-drawn pasta, dried at low temperature (maximum 30 °) in 24 hours.
