The Amalfi Coast has a long tradition of pasta making. In the Middle Ages, Minori was primarily known as the city of pasta makers or maccaronari. Thanks to the presence of the Regginolo River, master “homemade” artisans of the time gave rise to a series of plants and factories where all types of pasta were produced and sold. 

The creativity of the maccaronari

In the town, there were six mills, several mortars, and 54 machines that contributed to the food needs of entire families and were a tremendous economic resource for the whole population. Such factories employed both women and men, who, with commitment and flair, put on the market some of the specialties still consumed today. Among them certainly the ‘ndunderi, a gnocco larger than the normal

The evolution of Pineta 1903

Keeping a tradition like handmade pasta requires much work, especially in terms of cost and research. Building on this coastal tradition, Carlo De Filippo and his wife Mariantonia decided to make a pasta factory inside the restaurant, the only one of its kind in the area. 

“It all happened a bit unexpectedly. Mariantonia proposed to replace the pizzeria, which we used to have, with an artisanal pasta factory,” says Carlo De Filippo, owner of Pineta 1903. “We would have been the only place with a pasta factory inside the restaurant on the Amalfi Coast. It was necessary, therefore, to look for the right machinery for the purpose. The idea was to make artisanal pasta to serve customers and market our products.” 

A new adventure

Therefore, the trademark “I tipici Campani” was registered, the symbol of which is represented by a red Neapolitan string with a gold trident, symbolizing a fork. 

“We were creating a business within another business, and it was a way to expand, to make ourselves known, and to continue that path taken by joining the Slow Food association. The pasta factory also turned out to be a way to strengthen the restaurant’s identity,” the owner explains.

The Spaghettone born from a mistake

In addition to pasta, this corner of the homemade was used, as it is still used today, to make pastries and bread. 

“For each pasta format,” De Filippo explains, “we have a different recipe, created by researching and reworking traditional formats, such as Spaghettoni Pineta 1903, which was born from a mistake I made in the measurements of the die. It was supposed to be a spaghetto alla chitarra. Still, by mistake, when providing instructions for shaping this pasta, I communicated a few extra millimeters that made them thicker, a cross between the bigolo Veneto and the picio toscano.”

Cooking with heart

Spaghettoni today is part of several culinary specialties served in restaurants. These include Profumo di Mare, the homemade spaghettone with clams and their emulsion and liquid parsley, La Nostra Nerano, with a mixture of cheeses, zucchini in a double texture, basil, and slivers of cacioricotta cheese from Cilento, a Slow Food Presidium. In short, from a small mistake, a series of opportunities have arisen to create, invent, and, above all, to let all guests experience the authentic flavor of a cuisine made with heart.