chickpeas The chickpea is the seed of a legume known only in its cultivated form. Its fruit is a small comose legume containing two or three seeds: chickpeas. They are round, hard, cream-colored and with a smooth or wrinkled surface. The seed, reaped between June and October, is used as a food in its dried form and is also a source of flour.  The chickpea has served as food for humans for at least 7000 years and it is known in a myriad of foreign countries, including  India and the Far East.  Chickpeas can only be bought dried and there are two principal varieties: the Mediterranean variety, larger and with a color verging on yellow; the Eastern, smaller and reddish in color.

Beans In Gradoli, in the municipality of Bolsena (VT), the ancient Volsinii where the Orvietani lived for centuries during the Roman occupation, theso-called "Fagiolo del Purgatorio" or "Purgatory Bean" is grown. It is a local ecotype close to the cannellino or white kidney bean variety. Small in size, it cooks fast, all to the advantage of the organoleptic characteristics which remain practically intact. There is also a special three-day Festival dedicated to the "Purgatory Bean", which is held every year beginning on December 8th. Lentils Lentils have always played an important role in the nutrition of rural populations since they are easy to grow and adapt to various kinds of soil, withstand drought and are an excellent food rich in proteins and vitamins. Broad or fava beans The broad bean (Vicia faba L.) or fava bean is one of the oldest legumes in Europe and was eaten for millennia by various Mediterranean peoples. It has been found in Neolithic fields in Spain, the Isle of Jersey, and Savoia, and in Egypt in 12th dynasty tombs (2400-2200 BC) as food for the journey to the afterworld. This legume is also mentioned in the Bible (Ezekiel, 4,9-13) and in various classical texts (Herodotus  and Pliny). Spelt in Orvieto In spite of its deep-rooted tradition in the human diet, only recently has spelt been reintroduced into this area. It is also known as hulled wheat since its seed is covered by a strong protective covering which can only be eliminated after threshing by a further process known as hulling or husking. ...an introduction The Greek and Latin authors considered the territory of Etruria as particularly fertile, apparently unlike the other Italian regions.  Etruscan farming techniques were also thought to be very advanced. Despite the blows struck by the Roman occupation, the Etruscan towns continued to be the “granaries” of Rome for centuries.