I pepperoni They are among the most loved vegetables in Italian cuisine, protagonists of the summer from local markets to large distribution platforms. Fruit of the Capsicum annuum L., a species that arrived from the Americas over five centuries ago, the pepper has found an extraordinary varietal diversification in Italy, from the Quadrato d’Asti to the Corno di bue from Piedmont, from the Cornetto di Pontecorvo to the peppers from Senise destined to become ‘cruschi’. Two Geographical Indications – one PDO has always been IGP —and numerous local ecotypes testify to an agricultural and gastronomic heritage that deserves attention, also in light of the nutritional virtues recognized by CREA.
Production and market
The most recent available ISTAT data (2024) indicate that in Italy pepper cultivation covers an area of over 7.000 hectares, with a production of approximately 1,6 million quintals in open fields. Cultivation is concentrated in the southern regions (Sicily, Campania, Puglia, Calabria, Basilicata, and Lazio) for early and greenhouse production, and in the north—Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna. (in primis) — for open field summer production.
The Italian pepper market has a peculiarity: unlike many fruit and vegetable sectors of the Made in Italy sector, the national production is largely destined for intern consumption, with a clear preference for the typology Lamuyo (elongated fruit with a rectangular section), while the trade balance remains in structural deficit, due to imports – especially of greenhouse products from Spain and the Netherlands – which cover demand in the cold months. The economic situation is also favorable: in 2025 domestic consumption of fresh vegetables in Italy they grew by 2,9% in volume, in a context of general recovery of the shopping cart (ISMEA, 2026).
History and legends
The pepper is a gift from the so-called Colombian exchange. Domesticated in Mesoamerica several thousand years ago, the Capsicum arrived in Europe upon returning from his first voyages Christopher Columbus, at the end of the 15th century, initially appreciated as an economic substitute for pepper – from which the name derives – and then also selected in sweet variants, without spiciness (Mustafa, 2024).
In Italy cultivation took root between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, initially in the southern vegetable gardens under Spanish influence. This is the case of Basilicata, where the pepper of Senise It has been cultivated for centuries in the Sinni and Agri valleys and gave rise to the tradition of ‘serte’, the necklaces of fruit hung to dry in the sun on balconies, still today an identifying symbol of Lucanian cuisine (European Commission, 1996). In Piedmont, however, cultivation exploded at the beginning of the Nine hundred, when the horticulturists of the plain of Carmagnola they made it a territorial specialization: since 1949 the National Pepper Fair of Carmagnola has celebrated this record every September, and is among the most important Italian events dedicated to a single agricultural product (Qualivita Foundation, 2022). Lazio southern, finally, oral tradition attributes eighteenth-century roots to the ‘Cornetto’ of Pontecorvo, in the fertile alluvial soils of the valley of the Liri and Sacco rivers.
Botanical characteristics and seasonality
Pepper belongs to the family of Solanaceae, such as tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes. The species grown in Italy is Capsicum annuum L., a perennial plant in its native climates but cultivated as an annual in our latitudes. From a botanical point of view, the fruit is a hollow berry, with a central placenta that carries the seeds. sweet varieties They are distinguished from chilli peppers by theassenza almost total di capsaicin, the alkaloid responsible for spiciness (Hassan et al., 2019).
I morphotypes the most widespread in Italy are:
the square (var. gross, such as the Quadrato d’Asti and the Topepo);
the medium long or Lamuyo;
the horn (Ox horn, Cornetto);
small fruits for frying (friggitelli) and for preserving (papaccella napoletana).
Il color — green in immature fruit, yellow, orange or red when ripe — depends on the degradation of chlorophyll and the synthesis of specific carotenoids, such as capsanthin in red fruits and violaxanthin in yellow ones (Hassan et al., 2019).
La culture requires mild temperatures (optimum 20-25 °C) and fears the return of cold: transplanting into the open field takes place between May and the beginning of June, harvesting – staggered – from July to October. seasonality The natural season for Italian peppers therefore coincides with summer and early autumn, while protected crops (Sicily, Campania, Lazio) anticipate and extend the commercial calendar.
Territories, agronomic practices and sustainability
The historical terroirs of Italian peppers tell precise geographies. Piedmont, the loose and sandy soils of the alluvial plain of the Po between Carmagnola and the Cuneo area give the local types (Square, Long or Ox Horn, Trottola, Tumaticot) thick pulp, sweetness and keeping qualities. Basilicata, the Senise area — between the provinces of Potenza and Matera, in the areas served by the irrigation systems of the Sinni valley — produces an ecotype with a thin pericarp and low water content, ideal for natural drying in the sun (European Commission, 1996). In LazioThe Pontecorvo basin (Frosinone) offers deep, cool alluvial soils for the local cornetto. The Campania region, home to friggitelli and papaccelle peppers, Capriglio peppers in the Asti area, and the Voghera pepper, now being revived, complete the picture.
On an agronomic level, the specifications of the registered denominations codify practices of sustainability before its time: the specification for the Pontecorvo DOP pepper imposes, for example, a crop rotation which allows the crop to be replanted on the same plot only once every four years, to protect soil fertility and plant health (Masaf, 2010). Selecting seeds from company-owned mother plants, manual harvesting at staggered ripening, and solar drying of Senise peppers are further examples of low-impact supply chains.
Italian DOP and IGP
There are still two Geographical Indications for Italian peppers registered in the European Union:
Senise PGI Peppers (Basilicata). Registered under Regulation (EC) No. 1263/96, the name was updated with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1718. It includes the Appuntito, Tronco and Uncino types, released for consumption fresh, in ‘evenings’ dried or in a very fine powder. The famous bran pepper, a crunchy icon of Lucanian gastronomy (European Commission, 1996; 2020);
Pontecorvo DOP Pepper (Lazio). Registered under Regulation (EU) No. 1021/2010, the PGI designates the Cornetto pepper grown in Pontecorvo and nine neighboring municipalities in the province of Frosinone: a cylindrical-conical, trilobed, red fruit with a thin cuticle and pulp that make it a particularly digestible and sweet pepper (Masaf, 2010).
Il Carmagnola pepper, recognized as a Traditional Agri-food Product (PAT) of Piedmont, is still awaiting PGI registration, the process for which – started and resumed several times since 2016 – is supported by the local consortium with the Piedmont Region and the Municipality (Qualivita Foundation, 2022).
Nutritional properties, CREA data
The CREA food composition tables show a very light vegetable and at the same time extraordinarily rich in micronutrients. raw red peppers On average, per 100 g of edible portion, they provide: 34 kcal, 91,6 g of water, 0,9 g of proteins, 0,3 g of lipids, 6,5 g of available carbohydrates (of which 6,5 g are sugars) and 1,9 g of fibre (CREA, 2019a).
The vitamin and mineral content of red grapes is extraordinary, when compared to the nutrient reference values (NRVs) established in Annex XIII to Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011:
Vitamin C, 165 mg per 100 g of product, equal to 206% of the VNR (80 mg);
chrome, 20 µg per 100 g, equal to 50% of the VNR (40 µg);
Vitamin A (retinol equivalent), 385 µg per 100 g, equal to 48% of the VNR (800 µg).
followed by, just below the legal threshold of significance, the Potassium (276 mg, 14% VNR) and the Zinc (1,36 mg, 14% NRV).
I raw green peppers they are even lighter (31 kcal/100 g) and maintain a calorie content Vitamin C excellent, equal to 127 mg/100 g — the 159% of the VNR — with 117 µg of Vitamin A (15% VNR) (CREA, 2019b).
A standard 200g serving of red peppers provides 330mg of vitamin C, more than four times the daily reference value. To preserve this vitamin—which is heat-labile and water-soluble—it’s best to eat it raw or cook it briefly and without water.
Health benefits, scientific evidence
Peer-reviewed scientific literature attributes a significant health profile to sweet peppers, linked to the synergy between antioxidant vitamins and bioactive compounds.
La Vitamin C contributes to the normal function of the immune system, to the protection of cells from oxidative stress, to collagen formation and to the absorption of non-heme iron, as also recognized by the claims authorized in the EU (Carr & Maggini, 2017; EU reg. 432/2012).
I carotenoids of bell pepper — beta-carotene, capsanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin and violaxanthin — act as antioxidants lipophilic and are associated, in in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies, with protective effects against degenerative diseases, eye health (lutein and zeaxanthin are concentrated in the macula) and cardiovascular function (Hassan et al., 2019). capsanthin, a characteristic pigment of red fruits, has shown a prolonged free radical scavenging capacity compared to other carotenoids (Hassan et al., 2019).
I polyphenols — quercetin and luteolin (in primis) — complete the antioxidant kit, with anti-inflammatory activities documented; the content of phenolic compounds and the overall antioxidant activity vary with the color and degree of ripeness, generally being highest in red fruits (Sun et al., 2007). A recent review also summarizes the evidence on antimicrobial, antidiabetic and cardio-protective properties of sweet pepper phytocompounds, while emphasizing the need for further clinical studies in humans (Mustafa, 2024).
Culinary uses and industrial applications
The versatility of peppers in the kitchen is proverbial. Raw, in dip Whether served in a salad or a pot roast, it offers crunch and sweetness with a high vitamin content. Traditional Italian dishes range from peperonata with roasted and peeled peppers, from Sicilian caponata to stuffed peppers (with meat, bread, anchovies, capers, or rice), to pan-fried friggitelli peppers and papaccella peppers in Neapolitan insalata di rinforzo, as well as Piedmontese pairings with bagna cauda. The Senise crusco pepper, fried for a few seconds in extra virgin olive oil, pairs well with cod and Lucanian pasta.
The food industry absorbs significant shares of open field production: peppers in oil and pickled, sweet and sour, grilled, frozen, creams and pestos, IV range. From the dried and ground fruits we obtain the p sweet, from the extracts the oleoresins used as natural colorants (paprika extract, E160c) and flavorings, in foods and feeds (Hassan et al., 2019).
Advice for buyers
For gourmets, the quality of the pepper can be recognized by sight and touch: fruits firm and turgid, shiny, tight skin, green, well-attached stalk, no bruises or burns. The weight should be proportionate to the volume: a heavy pepper is rich in pulp and vegetation water. It is best to favor the natural season (July-October), DOP and IGP products, and purchases from short supply chains.
The choice of organically grown products is always recommended: pepper cultivation is among those that in conventional cultivation may require repeated phytosanitary treatments, and the organic method – certified according to the Regulation (EU) 2018/848 — offers the best guarantees of the absence of synthetic chemical residues, as well as protecting soil and pollinating insects.
For professional buyers—restaurants, retail, and industry—additional criteria apply: uniform size and color, compliance with EU marketing standards, integrated or organic production certifications, batch traceability, and labeled origin. The type should be chosen based on its intended use: Lamuyo and square for fresh and grilled products, horn-shaped for pan-fried and preserved foods, and fine-fleshed ecotypes for drying. Even in the professional channel, the growing demand for quality products organic and DOP/IGP represents an opportunity for differentiation on the shelf and on paper.
Conclusions
Italian peppers are a blend of rural history, biodiversity, and valuable nutrients. The two registered designations—Peperoni di Senise PGI and Peperone di Pontecorvo PDO—and the numerous local ecotypes embody cultivation expertise that deserves support, while CREA data and scientific literature confirm an excellent nutritional profile, with vitamin C and carotenoid levels among the highest among fresh vegetables. The challenge for the supply chain is twofold: reducing dependence on imports during the colder months and supporting the transition to increasingly sustainable practices, with organic leading the way. Meanwhile, consumers have the easier task: choosing Italian, seasonal, and organic peppers.
Dario Dongo
Credit cover srinivas bandari su Unsplash
References
Carr, A. C., & Maggini, S. (2017). Vitamin C and immune function. Nutrients, 9(11), 1211. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9111211
Hassan, N. M., Yusof, N. A., Yahaya, A. F., Mohd Rozali, N. N., & Othman, R. (2019). Carotenoids of Capsicum fruits: Pigment profile and health-promoting functional attributes. Antioxidants, 8(10), 469. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox8100469
Mustafa, Y. F. (2024). Sweet bell pepper: A focus on its nutritional qualities and illness-alleviated properties. Indian Journal of Clinical Biochemistry, 39(4), 459-469. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12291-023-01165-w
Sun, T., Xu, Z., Wu, C. T., Janes, M., Prinyawiwatkul, W., & No, H. K. (2007). Antioxidant activities of different colored sweet bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.). Journal of Food Science, 72(2), S98–S102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00245.x
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1263/96 of 1 July 1996 supplementing the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1107/96 on the registration of geographical indications and designations of origin under the procedure laid down in Article 17 of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/1996/1263/oj
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1021/2010 of 12 November 2010 entering a name in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications [Peperone di Pontecorvo (PDO)]. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2010/1021/oj
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1718 of 11 November 2020 approving non-minor amendments to the specification for a name entered in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (‘Peperone di Senise’ (PGI)). http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2020/1718/oj
CREA — Food and Nutrition Research Center. (2019a). Food Composition Tables: Peppers, Red, Raw (Code 005630). https://www.alimentinutrizione.it/tabelle-nutrizionali/005630
CREA — Food and Nutrition Research Center. (2019b). Food Composition Tables: Peppers, Green, Raw (Code 005640). https://www.alimentinutrizione.it/tabelle-nutrizionali/005640
ISMEA. (2026). AgriMercati Report, Third Quarter 2025Institute of Services for the Agricultural Food Market. https://www.ismeamercati.it
Masaf. (2010). Production specifications for the protected designation of origin ‘Peperone di Pontecorvo’Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry. https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/7722
Qualivita Foundation. (2022, May 18). PGI: The Carmagnola Pepper is trying again, with the Region and Municipality supporting the Consortium.. https://www.qualivita.it/news/igp-il-peperone-di-carmagnola-ci-riprova-regione-e-comune-a-fianco-del-consorzio/
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE – GIFT – Food Times) and Égalité.
Dining and Cooking