  
 Over a hundred years ago the De Cecco story began in the small village of Fara San Martino, located at the foot of Mount Maiella. Here the De Cecco brothers, with their passion for pasta, started their pasta enterprise. First, the molino, the mill, and later the pastificio, the pasta factory. At this location, don Nicola De Cecco produced only "the best flour from the surrounding countryside" in his stone mill. The result of his care was that in time De Cecco became a worldwide synonym for quality and Italian pleasure.
Just as it had been for generations, "Zi Nicola" passed on all his knowledge and passion to his son Filippo. Filippo resisted the temptation of going to America. Instead he began a new chapter on the De Cecco family history by increasing the production of pasta. Thus the molino and the pastificio of the De Cecco brothers became firmly established. By 1887 "the best flour of the surrounding countryside" had started its long journey towards becoming the superior world quality pasta, as we know it today.
By combining old craft traditions with engineering intuition, Don Filippo De Cecco created a new "low temperature" ”-drying drying model, which allowed pasta to dry in 24 hours, exceeding the limitations imposed by weather conditions.
Until then, pasta had always been sun dried, the only possible method to preserve it, and guarantee a product of high quality. It is thanks to this innovation that De Cecco started opening up new markets, most important of which was the international business segment of the company.
In 1908 the country girl from Abruzzo with the wheat stacks became the trademark of the company. After World War II, De Cecco under went a huge growth resulting in its current commitment to overseas sales. The factory, razed to the ground by German bomb attacks was rebuilt, and with that production took off as market demand increased. In order to sustain this consumer demand in the '50's,' De Cecco built the Pescara pasta plant. However, demand continued and in 1980 the Fara San Martino production plant opened. In 1985 followed a refined marketing system and this resulted in a sophisticated sales network.
Another important milestone in De Cecco history was the 1986 establishment of the “Olive Oil Company.” This was a first step toward differentiation of products. The nineties were years of big investments. The new mill in Fara San Martino with 11,000 quintals of wheat production per day was opened. More change came in 1997 with the closing of the Pescara mill and the opening in Ortona of a modern, cutting-edge mill.
However, an on going quest remains. This is the will to preserve, safeguard and consolidate the productive principles of the founders. Therefore, only selected semolina is used. It is ground fresh in our own mills, with bronze plates drawing the pasta and then followed by a low temperature drying under a constant quality controlled circumstance. Just as in the past, today everything comes from a deep passion coupled with an obstinate search for perfection. The result is the superior De Cecco pasta.
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