Gradoli is an enchanting medieval town near the Lake of Bolsena in Tuscia region and it well known for the production of the tasty Purgatory Bean.
It is well known that the Etruscans grew beans and used them shredded for making "condiments" to be attached to meat.
The bean is loved by medieval peasants for the ability to replenish the soil and for people for their high nutritional value.
In the fourteenth century, the Statutes of Gradoli devoted a special section to "de pena colligentium cicera et alia legumin".
Since 1600 beans have been the main dish of the "Lunch of Purgatory" on Ash Wednesday.
In 1700s the beans are considered a type of' currency and appear among the donations of the faithful and as a reward for the celebrants of Masses.
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