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About Us

We are farmers

Società Agricola “L’Oro di Navelli” di Papini Niccolò e Mario società semplice is formed by the Papini-Simone family, a family with centuries-old roots in Abruzzo.

chiesetta di Caporciano
raccolta dello zafferano nei campi della piana di Navelli
piana di navelli - caporciano
chiesetta di Caporciano
raccolta dello zafferano nei campi della piana di Navelli
piana di navelli - caporciano

The return to Abruzzo

Born and raised in Brescia, Italy, we went back to our roots.
As children we loved spending summers and winters with our grandparents in Caporciano, a small town in the province of L’Aquila.

There we breathed in the slow pace of country life watching the crocus blossom and the immense tables of purple flowers dreaming, every time we returned, of leaving the city and moving back to the life of the land.

Since 2016, this dream has become a reality and is called Società Agricola “L’Oro di Navelli” di Papini Niccolò e Mario società semplice.

We have taken over the legacy that has been handed down to us and made it our job, decided to take care of this little corner of the world and give back to the world.

Saffron in respect of land and traditions

We remain faithful to the oldest traditions of saffron cultivation. The name “saffron of the Abruzzi” of the Agricultural Society “L’Oro di Navelli” of Papini Niccolò and Mario simple company is a tribute to the preciousness of this spice. Once called “red gold,” it has always been a source of commercial and social wealth for this territory. Our ancestors dedicated themselves to the cultivation of this Italian excellence that, thanks to the microclimate, the karst composition of the territory and the peculiar method of cultivation, makes it the best saffron in the world.

The process and quality
of our saffron

Saffron cultivation is a fascinating and delicate process that requires great care and attention. Each step, from the manual harvesting of the flowers to the drying of the stigmas, helps to preserve the intense aroma and unique properties of this precious spice. The work begins at dawn, when the flowers are handpicked to prevent the sun from altering their quality. Next, the stigmas are precisely separated and then dried to obtain the pure saffron we all know and appreciate.

campi di zafferano a Caporciano, provincia dell'Aquila

01 - Traditional cultivation

Each year we select the best crocus sativus bulbs.
Like the ancients, we follow crop rotation: in the summer,
after uncovering the saffron grooves of the last harvest,
we harvest the bulbs by hand and plant them to plant in a new plot.
The explanted soil will remain stationary for years: this will improve its health
and optimize its nutrients.

fiore di zafferano

02 - We don't use pesticides

Our cultivation is pesticide-free: we believe in sustainability as a founding value

of human activities, and we carry this principle forward by favoring quality over quantity.

03 - 100% Craft Process

All our processing is completely manual: even in October, when we pick the flowers, we do it by hand, at dawn, to prevent the sun from ruining the precious pistils contained within. As in ancient times, we skim the saffron flowers one by one and dry them over almond and oak embers using traditional methods. To make one kilogram of saffron, 200,000 flowers are calculated.
zafferano in stimmi l'Oro di Navelli

04 - High quality for great chefs

The peculiarity of our processing guarantees saffron a high safranal content giving coloring capacity, great intensity and aromatic persistence. For these characteristics it is appreciated and sought after by great chefs.

05 - Packaging

After a period of “aging,” we manually package the saffron in an airtight package to best preserve its organoleptic and nutraceutical properties.

The team

Niccolo Papini

Niccolò Papini

Class of 1987 Commercial Farmer

Mario Papini

Mario Papini

Class of 1990 Farmer Social media manager Commercial
fiori di zafferano nella piana di Navelli
fiori di zafferano abruzzese colti
Coltivatori di zafferano abruzzese