Neccio

The Italian government has declared neccio a prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale (PAT) of Tuscany. Neccio is typical of Pescia and the Pistoia Mountains, the Lucchesia, the upper Versilia, the Garfagnana, the Frignano and the upper Reno Valley. It is also prepared on the French island of Corsica. In Garfagnana, a region of Tuscany, neccio is a term that designates the chestnut nut and its derivatives. Other names used for neccio are ciaccio (in Versilia, upper Garfagnana and Frignano), cian (in Lunigiana), caccìn (in the province of La Spezia), panèlla (Sestri Levante and surroundings), castagnaccio or patolla (having a more consistent dough) or nicciu (in Corsica). The dough is made with chestnut flour, water, and a little salt. In the Pistoia area, chestnut flour is stored in special chestnut wood containers called bigonce or bugni, or in wooden crates called arconi, from which the flour flakes are taken and strained through a sieve, then chopped by hand. Cooking is difficult and requires both a considerable expertise and either special discs called testi, made of fire-quenched sandstone, pre-heated on the fireplace fire, or iron discs with long handles, named ferri or forme, which must be placed on the surface of the wood stove.