Onion

Taste

Onion

Onion – whose scientific name is Allium cepa – has ancient roots, given the fact that records date back to ancient Egypt, where it began to be cultivated, in the 4th millennium B.C.

Due to its adaptability, it managed to spread in many parts of the world, taking on various shapes, together with different botanical and organoleptic characteristics. Since the 1400s and for longer than five centuries, it has been one of the leading products of our agricultural industry.

Onion is rich in mineral salts and contains a certain amount of vitamin C. It is also a diuretic, with disinfectant properties, and a good regulator of blood glucose levels, widely used by the canning industry. It is characterized by a small, flattened globe-shaped, externally straw-yellow bulb. Its ductility makes it possible to obtain two different varieties, which must be harvested at appropriate times – one in spring and one in autumn – consequently ensuring its presence on the market throughout the whole year. 

Since 2005 it has benefited from the De.Co. (Denominazione comunale) quality marker and has been included by the Reggio Emilia Province in the list of those 42 species that need to be protected in terms of biodiversity.

Nearby

monastero san benedetto brescello

Monastery of San Benedetto


Following a legacy by the Duchess Eleonora d'Este, in the second half of the 15th century, the Benedictine nuns became owners of the Monastery, until the advent of the Cisalpine Republic. Then, in 1758, the religious order was suppressed. As early as 1553, the Monastery was home to a school for convent girls. Later, in 1798, the Monastery was suppressed. In 1873, the Municipality of Brescello became owner of the building and transformed it into a military barrack. At the beginning of the 20th century, the building wing overlooking “Via Primo Maggio” was used as an elementary school, whereas most of the building was residential or the seat of small workshops. In 1933, the south and west wings were demolished, while the main body of the building housed the “Casa del Fascio”, and served as a location for meetings and orchestra rehearsals.