Gragnano is a comune

Comune

In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...

(municipality) in the Province of Naples

Province of Naples

The Province of Naples is a province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital city is Naples, within the province there are 92 Comuni of the Province of Naples.-Demographics:...

 in the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 region Campania

Campania

Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...

, located about 30 km southeast of Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

. As of 1 January 2007, it had a population of 29,818 and an area of 14.6 km². "A hill town wedged between a mountain crest and the Amalfi Coast," Gragnano is home some of the best dried pasta

Pasta

Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...

 in Italy. A group of artisanal producers in the area are seeking a European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 designation that would protect the pasta's provenance.

The municipality of Gragnano contains the frazioni

Frazione

A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...

(subdivisions, mainly villages and hamlets) Aurano and Caprile.

Gragnano borders the following municipalities: Agerola

Agerola

Agerola is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 35 km southeast of Naples.As of the last official census on 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,392 and an area of 19.6 km²....

, Casola di Napoli

Casola di Napoli

Casola di Napoli is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 30 km southeast of Naples. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,752 and an area of 2.6 km²....

, Castellammare di Stabia

Castellammare di Stabia

Castellammare di Stabia is a comune in the province of Naples, Campania region, southern Italy. It is situated on the Bay of Naples about 30 kilometers southeast of Naples, on the route to Sorrento.-History:...

, Lettere

Lettere

Lettere is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 30 km southeast of Naples. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,917 and an area of 12.0 km²....

, Pimonte

Pimonte

Pimonte is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 30 km southeast of Naples. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 5,946 and an area of 12.5 km²....

, Ravello

Ravello

Ravello is a town and comune situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, southern Italy, with has approximately 2,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination.-History:...

, Sant'Antonio Abate

Sant'Antonio Abate

Sant'Antonio Abate is a commune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 30 km southeast of Naples....

, Santa Maria la Carità

Santa Maria la Carità

Santa Maria la Carità is a comune in the Province of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 25 km southeast of Naples....

, Scala

Scala (SA)

Scala is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. It is located on a rocky hill c. 400 m over the sea level and is part of the Amalfi Coast It has a main Square which has a café, restaurant, chemist, deli and others. There is also a very beautiful...

.

Pasta

Gragnano's "main street was laid out expressly to capture the mountain breeze mixed with sea air back when pasta makers hung spaghetti on drying rods like laundry," according to a Forbes Life write up. More recently heaters are used to dry the pasta at low temperatures (approximately 122 degrees fahrenheit) for two days and it is shaped with bronze to give it a rough texture, producing a pasta with "nuttier aroma and chewier mouth feel"

External links

• web.rcm.napoli.it/gragnano