Around 1000, in the Apennines, the chestnut tree took the place of oak and chestnut has become a key resource, great momentum, especially in the Middle Ages by the will of the Countess Matilde di Canossa, as reported in many papers.
In the economy of mountain Chestnut came to play a major role, so that the chestnut was called "bread tree" and the chestnut"bread of the poor".
It was in 1700 with the spread of corn and potatoes, the surface of chestnuts trees decreased substantially. But in the mountainous chestnut and the fruit had already acquired such importance, and not lost until an advanced industrial stage.