Varietal characteristics

The Madernassa pear is a variety native to Piedmont, named after the small hamlet of Madernassa in the municipality of Vezza d’Alba, just a few kilometers from the town of Alba, in the heart of the Langhe and at the gateway to the Roero area. It is precisely here, near the Prunotto Mariangela farm, that this variety found the ideal conditions to thrive.
The original Madernassa mother tree, grown at the Gavello farmhouse, was cut down in 1914, when it had already reached an age of about 130 years, with a trunk circumference of 2.60 meters and a yield exceeding 25 quintals. This cultivar is believed to have originated from a natural cross between the Martin Sec variety and a wild pear tree, from which it inherited its robustness and rustic character.
The Madernassa pear is deeply rooted in the gastronomic tradition of the Roero area, especially during the autumn and winter months. The tree is vigorous, hardy, and highly productive, although in older orchards it may be subject to alternate bearing. It flowers in the mid-early season and has the distinctive trait of being a parthenocarpic variety, meaning it can produce fruit even without seeds.