Rice from Molinella

The agriculture of the lands of Molinella is based around a cereal linked to water: rice.

In the early Nineties an expert of rice has created a company to commercialize the grains of rice under the brand "Riso di Molinella". The goal: reviving a historical production of rice well known in Emilia and grown in the area of Molinella.

The brand was later sold to the company Fratelli Mantua from Sora (Frosinone), which has commercialized it between 1998 and 2001 with particular attention to exports. Since 2001 the brand has been absorbed by the rice producer Campanini from Mantova.

Historically considered too stimulating and a carrier of malaria, the rice was banned for centuries by the State of the Church. Intensive cultivation only began after the introduction of hydraulic systems during 18th and 19th centuries.

These changes took on great importance in Molinella with the arrival of the workers’ and socialist movements. This is the birthplace of Giuseppe Massarenti, who passed from the struggle for the trade unions to the creation of the first cooperative for consumers, production and workers’ of the region.