Sorana beans have been grown for centuries in a small valley along the stream of Pescia in the province of Pistoia. Sorana beans owe their quality to a number of favorable natural factors. The alluvial soil that characterizes this damp valley is in fact sandy and well protected from both bad weather and the summer sun. 
       The valley's climatic conditions make Sorana beans noticeably different from other cannellino varieties both in shape and taste. Sorana beans are milky white with pearly veins or wine red with more intensely colored veins. The white beans have a squashed shape, while the red ones are cylindrical with a harder seed coat. Both varieties have a rich but delicate taste and a tender skin. 
       Sorana beans have long been known outside their native Tuscany. The great composer (and fine gourmet) Gioacchino Rossini loved Sorana beans and is said to have asked for a supply of these beans in return for the revision of some music scores for his friend Giovanni Pacini.

SEARCH THE SITE