Pachino, Datterino and Piennolo del Vesuvio: the varieties of Italian tomato

Red and tasty, tomatoes are a food that is almost impossible not to associate with Italian culinary culture, with pizza, caprese, and sauce for the thousand shapes of pasta that fill our first courses. Yet, these colorful and juicy vegetables come even from another continent, from where they arrived centuries ago to stay and acclimatize.

Sicily and the South in general are the first homeland of tomatoes; here they thrive in the mild and sunny climate: it is from ancient Trinacria that some of the most famous varieties of small tomatoes emerge, which we will describe in today's article.

Pachino Tomatoes

Born from the IGP area of Pachino, Noto, Rosolini, and Ispica, Pachino tomatoes are divided into four varieties – cherry, ridged, smooth round, and cluster – artificially selected in the 1980s by Hazera Genetics. To sum it up: an American vegetable has been “modified” by an Israeli company and has been IGP of Sicily since 2003. Not bad for a food considered common and taken for granted!

The first Pachino tomatoes even had specific names initially: Naomi and Rita, two varieties no longer available on the market, but the “mothers” of the future success of these round delicacies, loved and appreciated all over the peninsula.

Datterini Tomatoes

Of Asian origin is the cross that gave rise to the datterino tomato, sweeter, juicier, and with a thicker skin compared to their “cousins” cherry tomatoes. Although they do not significantly differ in shape, datterini cannot be confused with their Pachino cousins due to their slightly different organoleptic characteristics in the sub-varieties.

We thus find lucciola tomatoes, weighing 35-45 grams; Datter tomatoes, sweeter than average; and the Mandurio tomato, very versatile in terms of ripening and harvesting characteristics.

Piennolo Tomatoes of Vesuvius

Campanian tomatoes known for receiving DOP recognition in 2009, specimens of this Mill variety cultivar originally stood out for being easy to cultivate, preserve, and consume under preserves, at a time when it was important to streamline agricultural demands and stock up on a product.

Also known as “mountain tomatoes”, they are high-altitude productions located in the metropolitan area of Naples, in the municipalities of Boscoreale, Somma Vesuviana, Torre del Greco, Portici, Ercolano, Torre Annunziata, Trecase, Cercola, Ottaviano, Massa di Somma, Boscotrecase, San Giorgio a Cremano, San Giuseppe Vesuviano, San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Terzigno, Sant’Anastasia, and Pollena Trocchia.