Capitan Pastene

In 1904 and 1905 some 87 families from Modena and the surrounding Emilian country arrived in Araucania under a Chilean colonisation scheme; their settlement, founded as Nueva Italia in 1906, took the name of the Genoese navigator Juan Bautista Pastene in 1907. The land they were given was not what they had been promised and the early years were hard, but the community stayed, and what survived best was the food: prosciutto cured in the local climate, salami, and fresh pasta, made to recipes brought from Emilia and now the village's identity and its economy. An annual prosciutto festival runs in the village, and the producers sell directly.

History

The first settlers, 87 families with nearly 770 people, came from Modena in two migrations in 1904 and 1905, brought by Giorgio Ricci, who had promised them farmland; they found forested hills instead. Their settlement, founded as Nueva Italia in 1906, was renamed Capitán Pastene in 1907, and although many moved on to Traiguén, Temuco, Santiago or Argentina, the village now has about 2,600 people, many of them descended from the Modena families (Wikipedia, Capitán Pastene).

What you'll find

• An Emilian colony from 1904 - founded under a Chilean scheme.
• Prosciutto cured locally - to the recipes the families brought.
• Salami and fresh pasta - the rest of the tradition.
• A prosciutto festival - held annually in the village.

When to go

Year round; the festival is the busiest time. Half a day.

Things to know

The village is small and remote, with limited services and a long drive from anywhere. Producers are family operations with their own hours. The colonisation scheme that brought them also took Mapuche land, which is not always mentioned locally.

Nearby

Contulmo and the coastal range are west; Temuco is south-east.

Key facts