The name of Lagnasco is a synonym of good fruit throughout the world!

Lagnasco, Italy

LAGNASCO, a small agricultural centre, stands on the fruitful plain at the feet of the mountains and not far away from the sea, in the province of Cuneo, called "Granda" (the big one) in local dialect because of the vastness of its territory.

It is situated in the southwest part of Piedmont, approx. 60 km away from its main town, Turin. Its altimetrical and geographical position is definitely favourable; it stands on a flat area situated approx. 350 m above sea level, in the narrow space between the Alpine arch and Langhe, between Po and Tanaro rivers, on the first strip of what will later, downwards, become the vast Po valley. In the southeast, besides the Alpine passes, there is the Ligurian Sea.

Here, on a surface of 1785 hectares, or better, as local inhabitants say, of 4685 "giornate" (a Piedmontese measuring unit which equals 3810 sq.m), live and work approx. 1300 inhabitants of Lagnasco, called the "Lagnaschesi" for at least 900 years.

The first, fragmentary documents on the origin of Lagnasco date back to the XIIth century when the settlement was called Lignascum, a name which derives from the word "lignum", the Latin word for "legno" (wood) because of the vast woods around the Varaita stream.

After the years of submission, the economic development started in the 30-ies, in this century, when some families from Lagnasco started the growth of fruit-plants.

In half a century, the fruit production of peaches, pears and apples, and later of kiwi, became the main activity for local inhabitants who, thanks to their business intuition, knew how to use at best the whole production network which permits the growth, picking, storage, packaging, transport and selling of fruit by using only the local resources: this turned Lagnasco to the Eldorado of fruit-growth.