The origin is probably Arab, with a diffusion that then moved northwards from Sicily, until Campania found an ideal place for production and creative re-elaboration.

So much so that fusilli has become one of the most characteristic pasta shapes of the region, with significant variations that link it to specific areas, where it has established itself as a symbolic product, protagonist of some of the most iconic dishes of the local tradition.

From one area to another, the list of ingredients and types of wheatused vary, the lengths and thickness vary, the recipes and sauces combined vary depending on the typical productions of the territories and individual and family tastes. The name and characteristics of the ferretto used to obtain the perhaps most representative macaroni of the South also vary, but there is an essential element common to all realities: the great skill - and patience - required for the processing of pasta in all the phases, the fruit of ancient wisdom, handed down from generation to generation through the centuries, in the female line, until it becomes a true family heritage.

Another peculiarity is the use of “ferretti”, of various thickness and length, but almost always with a square diameter. Once upon a time, the iron ribs of umbrellas or wool needles were used, then abandoned for iron objects and today steel objects made specifically by craftsmen. But, just like the "secrets" of pasta making, “ferretti” are often passed down in families. Although they are produced in every area of Campania, starting from the very famous Gragnano, some types of fusilli are so characteristic of specific countries and territories that they have also earned, with their particular fame, regional recognition as Typical Agri-Food Products (PAT).

Avellino Fusilli

They are the pasta of Sunday and, in general, of the day of celebration, on the tables of many Irpinians, residing in the most diverse localities of the province. Even if Fusillo PAT has as its official production area the localities of Serino, Santo Stefano del Sole, San Michele di Serino, Santa Lucia di Serino, Atripalda, Cesinali and Aiello del Sabato. Among the small variations on the theme developed by each community, the unifying element of the workmanship is that it must be strictly handmade. Starting, in the land of wheat, from the main ingredient, that is, durum wheat flour, also with the addition of semolina, always from durum wheat, to which hot water is added. Then begins the delicate processing phase to obtain cylindrical pieces of pasta about 5 centimeters long, of a pale yellow colour. They must then be crushed with the "spindle" with a skillful movement from bottom to top, in order to obtain the typical screwed helix shape and an elongation of up to about seven centimeters. Once removed, the fusilli are left to air dry for a few hours, depending on the degree of humidity of the pasta and the external climate. It is necessary for them to be thoroughly dried before immersing them in abundant boiling salted water for optimal cooking.

The name "fuso" (spindle), which is the basis of the name of the pasta shape, derives from the similarity of the small iron for shaping the pasta with the spindles of the loom, from which it derives.

Irpinian fusilli are seasoned with various meat sauces, red or white, even with the addition of mushrooms, or with fresh tomatoes in the height of summer. The recipe for "fusilli in tegamino" is also widespread and includes tomato, basil and stringy mozzarella.

Felitto's Fusilli 

It is an area of organic production of quality grains, hilly and mountainous, also ideal for the production of pasta. Which with five centuries of history has become the typical flagship production of Felitto and surrounding areas. Not just any pasta, but fusilli, which triumphs on the table during the most important holidays of the year such as Christmas, Easter, the feast of the Madonna and the patron saint San Vito and the Carnival period. According to an ancient custom, on the evening of Shrove Tuesday, a plate of fusilli is set aside to be fed to the chickens on Ash Wednesday, as a propitiatory rite that makes them more productive. Eggs, obtained from organic farms, are the other fundamental ingredient of Felittese pasta. What differentiates the local fusilli from that of other areas of Campania. And you need a lot of eggs, as many as six or eight per kilo of durum wheat semolina, mostly of the Senatore Cappelli variety.

Legend traces the origin of Felitto pasta to the 16th century, when, during a long siege, the commander of the village asked the women to cook something substantial with what they had available. And so they, with eggs and semolina, since water was too scarce and precious, managed to make for the first time the long holey macaroni calledfusilli.

The dough, therefore, does not include water, only semolina and eggs, and must be worked for a long time, with skill, greasing the hands with local extra virgin olive oil in the last phase, until obtaining cylindrical macaroni, of an intense yellow in colour, around twenty centimeters long and not very thick. They must be further worked one by one, with a process, the cingolatura, which involves the use of a very thin steel rod, with a square section. At the end, you get 'u fusillu, which is not twisted, but stretched out, up to 25/32 centimeters long, and perforated. Drying takes place on linen tablecloths, before cooking in salted water. The porous pasta perfectly absorbs the condiments, which can be the most varied, based on meat and even fish. Local tradition suggests a goat mutton sauce and the addition of Cilento goat pecorino or cacioricotta before serving.

Every August, the Felitto Fusillo Festival takes place. Fusillo is also a Slow Food presidium.

Gioi's Fusilli

According to legend, the origin of the "fusiddi" of Gioi as well as those of Felitto, both from Cilento, also has to do with a long siege suffered a few centuries ago. And since then, in line with what happens in other production areas in Campania, the ability to make them has been handed down over time in families up to the present day. With the help of a square section iron around which the pasta scraps are twisted, to form fusilli of about fifteen centimeters which, when released from the iron, retain a void inside. That void is ideal for accommodating the sauces that pasta, which is very porous, is usually paired with. Mostly a rich meat sauce, but the format also lends itself to being combined with other condiments. The so-called fusilli of Gioi is also the heritage of other nearby centers such as Orria, Salento, Stio, Campora, Magliano Vetere, Monteforte Cilento, Perito and Moio della Civitella.

 

The Fusilli furitani of Minori 

Only three ingredients and a lot of passion are the "secret" of fusilli in the Minori version and, in general, of the Amalfi Coast. Durum wheat semolina, water and a little salt are the basic elements from which skilful domestic processing produces a sheet of pasta, about half a millimeter thick. It is divided into sticks to be wrapped around a special iron, in this case round and very thin. It takes experience and good manual skills even in the spiral wrapping method of the pasta, to obtain what are called in dialect "ricci" or "riccioli" if they are shorter or "fusilli furitani" when they are long.  After the operation, they are laid out to rest on a bed of semolina, so that they remain separated and dry before cooking. They are usually seasoned with meat sauces, but also fish and seafood sauces in compliance with the maritime tradition of the Amalfi Coast.