IGP red onions from Tropea represent the most important excellence of their place of origin, that is the area of Capo Vaticano - Ricadi, in Calabria, where many farms grow and market the famous red onions commonly referred to by the name of the most important centre in this area, Tropea. From here, for centuries they were sent by ship and train and where imported by the Phoenicians.
'Delizie Vaticane' di Tropea is one of the companies which process this typical regional product, known and used throughout the world. Domenico Furchì, owner and founder of this company, wants to underline: «Our company remained a 'craft' one because we did not want to give up to both quality and excellence of our product». When their company was founded, Domenico Furchì was a young student who emigrated from Calabria to Northern Italy, but he felt homesickness for his own land and decided to go back to his origins. As he came from a family who since 1966 had marketed and produced fruit and vegetables, in particular red onion, Domenico Furchì took over his family’s experience, creating an activity which today is among the most relevant on the market in this field.
Onion jam... and not only
Furchì states: «As everyone knows, red onions of Tropea are the best ones in the world, but not everyone knows that with this vegetable, undeservedly known as 'squeeze tears', it is also possible to prepare a delicious jam». ‘Onion Mousse' is the company's flagship product - whose variant 'Onion Hot Pepper Mousse' could not be missing. Its recipe was born from the confrontation between Italian and Arab cuisine, which combines sour taste with sweet. «The secret consists in finding a right balance between these two extremes».
Onion Mousse goes in a delicate way with all types of cheese, enhancing their flavour and taste, without covering them. In order to taste it at its best, it is advisable to combine it with very tasty cheeses, such as Parmigiano Reggiano, sheep’s milk cheese, goat cheese, and Gorgonzola. It is exquisite with every type of melted cheeses, such as fondue of Val D'Aosta, and accompanied by all kinds of meat, especially wild game and pork, roasts, boiled meat, but also grilled fish. 
‘Cipolla Marinata alla Donna Canfora’ is exclusive even in its name: it is a tribute, as it is borrowed from a recipe prepared with pickled onion attributed to ‘Donna Canfora’, «a very rich and beautiful lady, expert in ancient recipes and delicious sauces, which she prepared personally using local products based on red onions that grew sweet and delicious in its area. This lady met her death by throwing herself into the sea for escaping the Saracen raiders along the coast of Tropea and Capo Vaticano», Furchì tells.
High quality is the base of each jar, from ‘5 Sfizi Cipolla & Olive’, to ‘Condifileja Cipolla’ (Tropea Red Onion, tomato sauce, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, green olives, carrots, basil, salt, oregano, sweet red pepper, celery, peppers) and its variant ‘Cipolla & nduja’ (onion, green olives, olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes, 'nduja of Spilinga, salt, natural flavours) «always rigorously free of preservatives and artificial dyes, because the onions are processed in olive oil according to tradition, thus preserving nutrients, but mainly because the flavour of exclusively fresh raw materials is unique and unmistakable».
Freshness and quality are also at the root of the packaging of these products packed in glass jars in order to preserve their goodness and also in a group, in carton packs containing from 12 to 15 jars, with a label which wants to remind the craftsmanship of the product itself.
The products proposed by Delizie Vaticane are exported to Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Great Britain: from ‘Bruschetta Vaticana con 'Nduja’ (onion, dried tomatoes, 'nduja of Spilinga, olive oil, green olives, capers, sweet red pepper, salt, oregano), 'Bruschetta Tropeana', 'Bomba Vaticana Cipolla' (olive oil, vinegar, olives, hot pepper, salt, oregano), and glazed onion, onion in sweet and sour sauce, as well as onion pate.
