Mezze Penne Rigate pasta 500g from durum wheat

History of Pastamanicni Manufacturing

Mariano Mancini founded Azienda Agricola Mancini in 1938, later expanding his son Giuseppe’s 5 hectares to 70 hectares by combining farming with development in the footwear sector. He also passed on to his son Massimo the values of reliability and a grounded approach, which allowed him to pursue his own dreams. Thus, Massimo Mancini graduated in agricultural studies in Bologna under the guidance of Giorgio Stupazzoni, an economist specializing in pasta production chains. This is how the dream of a pasta manufacturing company was born.

In 2010, Massimo Mancini established Mancini Pastificio Agricolo, where pasta is produced exclusively from wheat cultivated on his own fields, surrounding the brand on all sides. Some refer to it as a company in the middle of wheat fields growing on 300 hectares.

Mission of Mancini Pastificio Agricolo

Good Agricultural Practice is a set of principles that Mancini Pastificio Agricolo applies to ensure environmentally friendly and sustainable management of agricultural activities, aiming to produce raw materials of the highest quality and healthiness with minimal environmental impact and zero chemical residues.

The goals of Good Agricultural Practice are:
- to respect natural resources (air, water, soil) through optimized agronomic interventions and rational external inputs;
- to produce high-quality raw materials that are most suitable for our transformation process;
- to ensure the health safety of the final product.

This is achieved through continuous crop monitoring and implementing self-control measures during the production process, such as frequent soil, plant, and pathogen analyses. Crop rotation is practiced to maintain and improve soil fertility, alternating durum wheat with improving crops (alfalfa, clover, vetch, peas, chickpeas) or renewing crops (sunflower).

The packaging material used for the pasta is the result of ongoing research with industry experts to ensure optimal preservation of the pasta combined with maximum recyclability of the packaging. Made solely from cellulose derived from wood from forests managed according to strict environmental, social, and economic standards (FSC® trademark), the bag can be completely disposed of with paper waste. The ATICELCA® 501 UNI 11743 method certifies its recyclability.

Advantages of Italian Pasta Pastamancini over other similar products
Wheat is harvested annually in summer only when it naturally reaches full maturity and the appropriate moisture level to ensure better preservation. The use of state-of-the-art threshers allows real-time analysis of grain quality parameters.

The threshed wheat is cleaned and stored using cold techniques, bringing it to a temperature of 18°C, ideal for halting insect and mold activity without resorting to chemicals. Different varieties of grains are mixed into a single blend that characterizes each pasta batch.

Wheat grains are milled into semolina with the appropriate granulation for Mancini’s pasta production method. Milling is carried out continuously throughout the year, allowing the company to produce pasta always from fresh semolina, which is key to achieving a product with a distinctive wheat aroma and flavor.

Perfection at Pasta Mancini begins in the fields but becomes concrete in the pasta factory: the roughness of spaghetti and short pasta results from using bronze dies rather than Teflon, as in the food industry. The dough is pushed toward a round perforated disc, as was done decades ago, rather than a rectangular one, as is common in nearly every modern pasta factory. This ensures even pressure, providing greater uniformity, especially in long formats.

 To preserve and enhance the important nutritional properties of Mancini wheat, special drying recipes have been developed for each pasta shape based on a combination of temperature, humidity, ventilation, and resting principles. Mancini pasta is dried at temperatures below 55°C, with peaks as low as 36°C. These values mean a drying time ranging from 24 to 44 hours depending on the format, ensuring a full-value and tasty product.

On every Mancini pasta package, the harvest year is printed as proof of the artisanal pasta factory's mission: to produce pasta only from wheat that grows directly in the surrounding fields. Since January 2021, packages feature a QR code printed on the bottom, which, when scanned, allows instant access to quantitative and temporal data from the four main production phases, verifiable through Blockchain technology.

Manufacturer information