Menaica Anchovies
Anchovies fishing, which is still carried out with the so-called menaica (traditional net) and menaide (a small rowing fishing boat), is surviving only in Pisciotta, in the Province of Salerno. Fishermen go out fishing at night and at dawn their women immediately clean the anchovies and cover them with salt in terracotta jars. Both fishing and salting are very ancient techniques, deeply linked to the traditions of this small medieval village along the coast of Cilento; however, even in these places, only a few people know and preserve them. The Slow Food Presidium, born thanks to the significant support of Cilento e Vallo di Diano National Park and also thanks to the collaboration of the Municipality of Pisciotta, aims at ensuring an income to this group of fishermen: to save an important tradition, a micro-economy, and an important product of the Italian gastronomy.
