In the end, it is just a tomato…
It is quite reasonable to think so at first glance, but living in Vaiano - right in the heart of the Val di Bisenzio - the story of this unique vegetable, linked to my land and many of my fellow citizens, immediately piqued my curiosity, so I did not hesitate to contact the person who has best preserved its memory over time.
Our story begins with Simone Rossini, a young local entrepreneur who has collected the testimonies of the last senior gardeners and - after being designated by the Region as the "guardian of the species" - has resumed cultivating the Borsa di Montone on a larger scale, promoting its history and dissemination.
Apart from the simple narrative of events, what I learned from this experience is that in the constant energetic flow of life, sometimes we can find ourselves facing drastic changes along our path, the true motivation of which we cannot even grasp at the moment. We simply deviate from the main road, the one that has been taught to us since childhood - the easiest and most traveled one - to follow a small, winding, and solitary path, which - at first glance - may appear to be a gamble, but our instinct tells us it is necessary.
This is how Simone tells his story, sitting in front of a cup of tea at the local bar, confiding to me that he arrived in the valley as an adult after experiences in life that were absolutely distant from the "land": first studying political science, then a career as a sound technician, and finally the desire to create something with his own hands; to leave the chaos of the city - which he now felt as an increasingly tight grip.
Returning to the simplicity of peasant life: an ancestral call
Simone is thirty-six years old, with a smile that lights up the room and the light in the eyes of someone who knows what they want;
that energetic emotion of someone who now has the certainty of having found their direction in that little hidden path. His transformation begins by first becoming a beekeeper, then also trying his hand at producing olive oil in the Carmignano area, until he decides with his family to move from Prato to Luicciana, in the municipality of Cantagallo, where he now manages the Agriturismo Selvapiana.
In addition to hospitality and catering, many zero-kilometer products are produced here: from his beloved honey (even with curious experiments of sparkling mead) to saffron, but the absolute star is him: the “Borsa di Montone” tomato.
Crucial to this story was the meeting between Simone and Amerigo Brandolin, who was also a great enthusiast of bees and botany, and took care of a beautiful, vibrant garden, one of those where everything is in balance. Here he also cultivated
a quirky tomato, with a shape similar to the Canestrino, but with very thin skin and characterized by unusual whitish stripes
to whom Amerigo, not by chance, had nicknamed "Tiger of Luciana" (having received the seeds as a gift years earlier from a farmer living in the village of Luciana, in Vernio).
In the search for more information, Simone discovers that the tomato was widely used in the area and known as “Borsa di Montone.”
Among the other growers was also Ademaro Bartolini (founder of the agricultural institute of Vaiano), who exclusively cultivated this tomato in his garden, ensuring its preservation over the years from possible hybridizations. It was indeed the Bartolini family, upon returning from France in the Forties, that introduced the cultivation of “Borsa di Montone” in the Val di Bisenzio, and Ademaro, with his agricultural institute, then made it known and appreciated throughout the valley, managing to sell about ten thousand seedlings a year.
Then, in the 1990s – with the advent of commercial hybrids – it was, unfortunately, gradually supplanted by other more resistant and productive varieties. The Borsa di Montone, in fact, has a very delicate skin which, while making it easier to digest and having low acidity, also renders it a product that is less resilient after harvest, inevitably limiting its commercial attractiveness.
Simone convinces Ademaro to give him some of the "original seedlings"
to start its cultivation even in his agriturismo, with the intention of continuing this mission of preservation.
An additional confirmation of the validity of the path comes when Simone encounters a group of researchers (funded by the Department of Agricultural Sciences of the University of Pisa), who are interested in Borsa di Montone as a plant species at risk of extinction, with the intention of including it in the Germplasm Bank (that is, the archive containing all the seeds of at-risk varieties).
Thus begins a study that lasted about two years, during which Simone provided the Pisa university with every part of the plant in its different vegetative stages (leaves, flowers, fruits in various stages of ripening) and which also included its cultivation in the areas of Alberese (in the province of Grosseto) and Pisa. The research that was conducted has discovered that the typical whitish stripes are a characteristic of the plant and not the effect of a virus.
Perhaps the commercial misfortune of this product has also been marked by its
particular appearance, the white streaks on the skin, which do not quite fit with the concept of aesthetic perfection given by a uniformly red tomato, as happens in large distribution.
Going beyond the prejudice about its shape reveals an exceptional and unique product in its kind.
A thin skin, streaked with white, that contains flesh almost completely devoid of seeds, meaty, sweet, and tasty.
Great to eat raw, but equally versatile in the kitchen and well suited for the production of sauces and preserves.
A perfect marriage I have undoubtedly found between the Borsa di Montone and the potato tortello from the Val di Bisenzio. A typical dish from the Tuscan territory, various regions claim its origin: from Mugello all the way to the Prato valley, where the tradition of stuffed pasta is thought to have arrived after the development of transportation and the inevitable contamination with the nearby Emilian cuisine.
The combination is unique between the aromaticity and savoriness of the tortello.
(which includes a filling of boiled potatoes, cheese, spices, and aromatic herbs) with the sweetness and fullness of flavor of this tomato, where the roughness of the pasta embraces the richness of the sauce, creating a rich and emotional bite, which for me – having grown up in Mugello, where I spent summer mornings making tortelli at home with my grandmother – is almost a Proustian memory.
Thanks to Simone's generosity, I had the opportunity to taste the last tomatoes of this season, which I shared - along with the intriguing story - with my family, in the most classic and genuine way for us Tuscans: on a slice of "bozza" bread from Prato, with extra virgin olive oil and basil.
And for a moment, nostalgically, I thought back to its pioneers - Amerigo and Ademaro - who alas are no longer with us, but have found in Simone a curious and young foreign hero, who has made the valley his new home, protecting its history and its products over time.
