The protected geographical indication (PGI) ‘Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria’ designates bulbs of the Allium Cepa variety which belongs to the local ecotypes listed below, excluding all other types. They are characterised by their shape and by their early bulbing, which is a result of the effect of the photoperiod.

‘Tondo Piatta’: an early crop; ‘Mezza campana’: a mid- to early crop; ‘Allungata’: a late crop.

Three types of products can be distinguished:

‘Cipollotto’ (new young onion): colour: white to pink or purple; flavour: sweet and mild; size: see the standards applicable under EU rules. ‘Cipolla da consumo fresco’ (fresh onion): colour: from white to red to purple; flavour: sweet and mild; size: see the standards applicable under EU rules. ‘Cipolla da serbo’ (known as ‘storage’ onions): colour: mauvish red; flavour: sweet and crunchy; size: see the standards applicable under EU rules.

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All the production stages for the ‘Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria’ indication, from sowing to harvesting, must take place in the geographical area of production.

After harvesting, the ‘Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria’ bulbs are processed as follows:

the bulbs of new young onions must have their earth-stained outer skins removed; their stalks are then cut to a length of between 30 and 60 cm before being assembled into small bunches ready to be loaded into crates; when the onions are to be consumed fresh (‘fresh onions’), the skins are removed from the bulbs and the stalks are cut to a length ranging between 35 and 60 cm; the onions are then assembled in bunches weighing between 1,5 and 6 kg and are loaded into crates of varying sizes; as regards onions for conservation (or ‘storage’ onions), the bulbs are laid on the ground in rows, covered with leaves and then left to dry for 8 to 15 days so that they gain in density and resilience and become a bright red colour. Once they have been dehydrated, the bulbs are either ‘topped’, in other words separated from the parts visible above ground, or used to produce braids, in which case the above-ground part is left intact. The minimum number of onions required to form a braid is six, regardless of their size. These onions are packaged in bags or crates, whose weight can vary up to a maximum of 25 kg.

Packaging must take place in the production area and must comply with traditional methods, which are deep-rooted in tradition and local historical folklore, so as to ensure that the product can be traced and checked and to maintain product quality.

The packages must display, in printed characters twice as large as for other indications, the terms PGI ‘Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria’, whilst specifying the type of onion — ‘cipollotto’, ‘cipolla da consumo fresco’, ‘cipolla da serbo’ — and the brand.

When released for consumption, adhesive (or any other type of) labels are placed on young onions and on storage onions, displaying the EU logo and the product’s brand. On the other hand, a detailed label must be placed on each bunch of fresh onions packed in crates, whatever the size of the latter, displaying the company’s business name, the EU logo, the brand and the type of product so as to guarantee its traceability and to make it perfectly recognisable.

‘Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria’ is cultivated on sandy or partly sandy land of average composition containing open clay or silt-laden soils, located along the coastal line or running alongside rivers and streams. Despite their gravelly texture, these soils of alluvial origin do not constrict the development and growth of the bulbs. Coastal land is well-suited for growing early-maturing onions to be consumed fresh, whereas internal land, made of clay or open clay soils, are well-suited for growing storage onions. Red onions have long been, and continue to be, grown both in family vegetable gardens and across large-scale areas and are an integral part of the rural countryside, of people’s diets, local dishes and traditional recipes.

The soil and climatic features of the territory combine to make a product which is quite unique, of high-level quality and renowned throughout the world.

‘Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria’ is known for its quality and organoleptic features such as the tenderness of its bulbs, its sweetness and easy digestibility. These features also enable one to eat ‘Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria’ raw, and undoubtedly in far greater quantities than for normal onions.

The request to have the PGI ‘Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria’ recognised is justified by the product’s reputation and renown which notably grew thanks to various promotion campaigns, as demonstrated by historical and bibliographical sources. Various historical and bibliographical sources suggest that the onion was first introduced into the Mediterranean basin and in Calabria by the Phoenicians, then by the Greeks. The onion, very much appreciated during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, was considered a key product in people’s diets and for the local economy; onions were either bartered directly or sold and exported by sea to Tunisia, Algeria and Greece. Several travellers who visited Calabria and the Tyrrhenian coast between 1700 and 1800 refer to common ‘Cipolle Rosse’ (red onions) in their writings. Onions have always been a part of farmers’ diets and of local production. Already in 1905, during a trip to Calabria during which he visited Tropea, Doctor Albert was struck by the poverty of the peasants who only ate onions. At the turn of the twentieth century, the cultivation of the Tropea onion moved away from small gardens and family vegetable gardens and started to be grown on a very large scale. In 1929, the construction of the Valle Ruffa aqueduct enabled onion crops to be irrigated, which improved both the yield and the quality of the product. It was during the Bourbon period that the greatest impulse was given to spreading onion cultivation towards northern European markets. The onion soon became a sought-after and much appreciated product, as demonstrated by the ‘Studi sulla Calabria’ (Studies on Calabria) of 1901, which also refer to the shape of the bulb and to the red, oblong onions from Calabria. The first statistics compiled on onion cultivation in Calabria can be found in the ‘Enciclopedia agraria Reda (1936-39)’ (Reda Agricultural Encyclopaedia). The unique commercial features of this onion, which ensured its renown nationally, and also, above all, its historical and cultural value in the geographical area in question (still very much present in current cultural practices such as cooking, folkloric demonstrations and everyday idiomatic expressions) explain why this product has often been imitated and why its name is subject to counterfeiting.