In 1922, the young Renato Orsucci, born in Altopascio, on the hills around Lucca, started a “Castagnaccio” shop in Corso Vittorio Emanuele II in Padua, the city where he had come to do his military service. In addition to the traditional Tuscan cake, made with chestnut flour, typical of the autumn season, Renato also ventured in making ice-cream, which he used to resell at a kiosk in Prato della Valle. Pizza cameonly a few years later and it wasa success, so much so that today it’s still proposed by the founder’s grandson, Marco Orsucci, and wife, Paola.
Today as in the past, Orsucci bakes pizza and Castagnaccio in the typical moulds called “testi”, traditionally used in the areas between the Apennines and the Tyrrhenian Sea. The exquisite products are sold as in the past: wrapped in tissue paper and then enveloped in other branded sheets with the name of the place. Another specialty that you can find at the shop is the “fettunta,” a Tuscan bruschetta consisting of a simple slice of bread and olive oil.
