Fagioli di Cortale

Cortale lies between the Pilla and the Pesipa, with the Lamezia Terme plain on one side and the isthmus of Catanzaro on the other, in valleys of chestnut and beech that give way to pine as they climb. The soil is fertile and well watered and grows wheat, maize and vegetables, but what it is known for is beans. The Inchiesta Jacini, the parliamentary enquiry into Italian agriculture at the end of the 19th century, has Senator Stefano Jacini noting that they grow potatoes and enough white beans, commonly called rognone, to export to the neighbouring towns.