A passion as big as the Chianina

“For the memory of my father I set up this organization”

Each organization, by its very nature, needs somebody who stimulates the group.
Somebody who briefs the members about what happens in their common interests. Giovanni Corti, an architect, is somebody like that. As president of the Amici della Chianina he works to reassess the Chianina.

“My father was a great proponent of the Chianina. He has been working for a long time at La Fratta, one of the most important farms in the neighborhood. After his death I thought it would be nice to set up this organization,” says Giovanni Corti.

Documents

The architect searched for members. He took Bettolle as departure point because Ezio Marchi was the first man who introduced the selections. “In some old documents I read that the modern selection started in 1927. As a result of this I contacted the ex-manager of the Assocazione Senese Allevatori (A.S.A.), Mario Grazzi, and also Franco Franchi,” says Corti. He went, together with the two men, in search of people to divide the tasks. It is striking that most of the people who are in the organization, are personal friends.

“They knew how big my passion for the white animal was. Initially they thought they would never do something like representing the Chianina. My enthusiasm stimulated them. They are surprised and they feel really involved,” he says.

Reputation

At the end of 2005, after two years of investigation, the organization was officially appointed by the notary. Last Summer the first procession took place, an event that has to convince people of the quality of the Chianina meat and the conservation of the exclusivity. “Last year we wanted to invite a foreign Chianina organization. It would be interesting to start an exchange program with organizations from Argentina, Canada and Australia …

From left to right: Giovanni Corti, Alberto Polvani, Franco Franchi, Paolo Franchi, Bruno Nucci, Matteo Salvini, Aurora Cipolli, Massimo Betti en Claudio Bambini

We want it to happen that the Chianina looses her unicity,” says Corti.“Currently the market is partially falsified because of the great demand and the limited supply.

Giovanni Corti: "My enthusiasm
stimulated the others"

There are many people who believe they buy Chianina meat, but eventually it has been proved to be meat from another country. The problem is, that if the market would be correct, the supply could not follow the demand, with an extreme price increase as consequence. In de toekomst willen de Amici graag een boekje uitgeven over de Chianina en haar geschiedenis. Hun ledenaantal zouden ze graag uitbreiden. “Also in Umbria they are reaching for Chianina. When there would arise a similar organization as ours, we would for sure consider A cooperation bond,” says Corti.

Visit the website of the Amici della Chianina

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