The Bisacquino onion is distinguished by characteristics that make it unique among its kind. It is highly aromatic and notable for its unusually large size compared to common onion varieties—specimens can even reach a weight of one kilogram.

When speaking of local products that, as in this case, constitute tangible heritage, a broader discourse on belonging and on the notion of identity emblem is also invoked. The cipolla busacchinara functions precisely as such an emblem. While it is a material good, it also embodies intangible dimensions, insofar as it conveys a body of knowledge and practices related to collective agricultural know-how and community-based foodways.

This knowledge manifests through multiple expressions: the careful cultivation and preservation of the crop, the creative adaptation of its culinary uses, and the organisation of community festivals and local fairs held in its honour. One key event is the celebration that takes place on the eve of the Feast of the Madonna del Balzo, the patron saint of Bisacquino.

In this context, the Bisacquino onion—like the traditional sweet rice dish also prepared for local festivities—constitutes a form of symbolic and identity capital, evoking the memory and continuity of a rural Bisacquino, where agricultural practices, ritual occasions, and food heritage intertwine to express the community’s enduring sense of place and belonging.

 

This element has been included in the Register of Intangible Heritage of local interest of the Municipality of Bisacquino, as part of Intervention “Activation of the Observatory on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Territory through the application of the REIL methodology – Register of Intangible Heritage of Local Interest”, within the “BISACQUINO, BORGO DEL CINEMA E DELLE ARTI” project, funded by the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), Mission: Digitalisation, innovation, competitiveness, culture and tourism, Component: Tourism and culture 4.0, Investment 2.1 “Attractiveness of villages” CUP D99I22000160006.