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The product
What Altino sweet pepper is
A small, sweet red horn pepper for drying.
Altino sweet pepper is a small horn-shaped pepper, deep red and sweet. Locally it is called «a cocce capammonte», meaning head up, because the fruit grows pointing upwards, or «paesanello».
It is mainly used dried: crumbled or ground, it is a key ingredient of Abruzzo cooking and of ventricina del Vastese. It is a Slow Food Presidium, grown according to a production protocol.
Territory
Where it comes from
Altino is a small village perched on a rocky spur above the Aventino valley, in the province of Chieti. The Presidium area also includes nearby municipalities.
- Altino
- Archi
- Perano
- Roccascalegna
- Casoli
- Sant’Eusanio del Sangro
- Atessa
From field to table
How it is made
- The peppers are picked from early August, when they turn red.
- They are threaded with needle and string at the stalk, forming long strings called «crollo».
- The strings hang in the air for several days until the peppers are completely dry.
- Before use they are toasted for a few minutes in the oven or passed quickly through boiling oil.
- They are crumbled or ground in old mortars called «piloni», giving a red powder.
In the kitchen
How to use it
Altino pepper adds colour and a sweet, fragrant taste to countless recipes.
- Crumbled and fried over pasta, salt cod and vegetables
- With pork, sausages and potatoes
- Powdered, to season pasta and colour pasta and bread red
- In cured meats, such as ventricina del Vastese
Tips
How to choose and store it
- Keep the strings in a dry, airy place.
- Toast the peppers only briefly: burnt, they turn bitter.
- Keep the powder in a closed jar, in the dark: light fades its colour and aroma.
- The dried product is available all year.
Good to know: it is sweet, not hot. If you want heat, add chilli separately.
Ordering
Where to buy it and whom to contact
Contacts checked on the official websites in October 2026: check availability and prices before ordering.
Domenico D’Orazio
Producer in Altino and contact person for the Slow Food Presidium producers.
- Mobile: 333 742 5829
- Email: peperonedolcedialtino@gmail.com
- Address: Contrada Sant’Angelo, 24 – 66040 Altino (CH)
- Source: Fondazione Slow Food
Aca Agrolearia
Farm in Altino, a Presidium producer.
- Website: peperonedolcedialtino.eu
- Mobile: 335 404653
- Email: aca.altino@gmail.com
- Address: Contrada Briccioli, 1 – 66040 Altino (CH)
- Source: Fondazione Slow Food
La Tavola dei Briganti
Donatello D’Alonzo’s business in Altino, a Presidium producer.
- Mobile: 333 665 0118
- Email: info@tavolabriganti.it
- Address: Via Benedetto Croce, 117 – 66040 Altino (CH)
- Source: Fondazione Slow Food
Gallery
Photos
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The image is an illustration drawn for abruzzoparchi.it: we could not find free photos showing the Abruzzo product itself. If you have a photo to share, write to us.
Tradition
History and trivia
Its origin is probably Eastern European: paprika is thought to have come from the Balkans with the Slavic peoples who settled in the province of Chieti in the 15th century. This would also explain the Eastern European habit of grinding the pepper into powder.
In 2009 the Associazione del peperone dolce di Altino Oasi di Serranella was founded to study, conserve and promote this old variety. Every summer in Altino a festival sees the village districts compete with pepper recipes.
Did you know? it takes about twelve quintals of fresh peppers to make one quintal of powder.