Tirrena: a thousand years of Tuscan land become pasta
There is a precise corner of Tuscany, southwest of Florence, where the breeze rising from the Tyrrhenian Sea meets the rolling hills of the Val di Pesa. It is here, among the estates of the Frescobaldi family, that Tirrena is born: a pasta created not simply to nourish, but to tell the story of a place. A name inspired by the sea The name is no coincidence.
The ancient Greeks called the Etruscans Tyrrhenians, and the word Tirrena brings together two roots: terra- the land that nurtures the wheat- and Tyrrhenian, the sea whose afternoon breezes shape the climate of these hills. Even its name reflects the meeting of land and sea that defines the identity of the product. The Frescobaldi family has cultivated the Tuscan countryside for more than 700 years.
Across thirty generations, they have combined tradition and innovation in the pursuit of agricultural excellence. At the heart of Tirrena are three heritage durum wheat varieties: Senatore Cappelli, Khorasan, and Evoldur. This is not an aesthetic choice.
After years of experimentation on the family’s estates, these varieties were selected because they are particularly well suited to the local microclimate, producing a more authentic pasta with superior nutritional qualities compared to conventional wheat. Tirrena is made using semolato, a lightly refined durum wheat semolina that preserves the grain’s natural fiber, polyphenols, and vitamins, along with its original aroma and flavor.
Slowness as a method
The pasta is bronze-die extruded using a traditional technique passed down through generations, then slowly dried in static chambers for between 84 and 144 hours, depending on the shape, at temperatures that never exceed 38°C (100°F). It is a process that stands in stark contrast to fast industrial production.
It demands time, but rewards it with pasta distinguished by its characteristic hazelnut color, greater digestibility, and an exceptional ability to absorb sauces. As the company itself describes it, Tirrena is a “living” pasta. Tirrena proudly maintains a short, entirely regional supply chain. The wheat is grown on the family’s estates in the Val di Pesa, milled at Molino Borgioli in Calenzano, and transformed into pasta at Pastificio Fabbri in Strada in Chianti. “From Tuscany to Tuscany”: a journey that never crosses the borders of the region that gives the pasta its identity.
A shape for every experience
The Tirrena collection includes eight short pasta shapes—including Fusilli, Penne Rigate, Paccheri, and Riccioli—and three long formats: Linguine, Spaghetti No. 3, and Spaghetti No. 5. Each shape has its own carefully calibrated cooking and drying times. Paccheri, for example, require 96 hours of drying, while Spaghetti No. 5 are dried for as long as 144 hours. Tirrena is the story of a landscape, told through the hands of a family that has farmed it for nearly a thousand years.
