PETRA srl - via Roma 49 - 35040 Vighizzolo d'Este (PD) Italia IT03968430284
PETRA srl - Vighizzolo d'Este (PD) IT03968430284
PETRA srl - IT03968430284
For us, flour represents art. This concept guides our everyday work. It inspires us to eliminate all the superfluous, in order to communicate only our true values.
Since day one, Molino Quaglia has always looked for new forms of understanding the milling process of grains. Here at the mill, we are able to bring visionary ideas to life by applying the best technology to Nature. The result of our daily efforts is Petra, a genuine and honest flour, which sums up our true nature and values. Through the selection, cleaning and milling of wheat, the organization of trainings and workshops in the mill’s school and an advanced marketing strategy, Molino Quaglia always looks at the future.
Concretely, this means developing new milling technologies that combine both the new generation of millstones and the traditional cast iron cylinders in order to obtain clean, stable, and flavorful state-of-the-art flours.
Research and innovation are two key concepts for Petra. Among the unique features of Molino Quaglia, there is the "fabbrichetta" (little factory) where we toast bran and wheat germ. Moreover, since 2013, we opened a plant for germination and assisted fermentation of cereals and pulses in a mother yeast culture, which boasts a patent that is exclusive in Europe.
There is also an adjacent milling plant with cast-iron cylinders that is the most advanced in Italy, where the wheat, personally selected year after year wherever the climate offers the highest quality, is transformed into fine flours for professionals of bread, pizza and pastry making, and cooking in general.
Petra is the representation of a family of millers who have gradually combined, like no one else, the quality of their craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technologies that help transfer the inestimable energy of wheat grains to the table.
THE SCHOOL AND THE COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES
It is very important to provide food artisans with the best flour. But it is also fundamental to preserve and promote technical knowledge and baking skills. For this reason, in 2002, the old mill, no longer in use, has been transformed into a school known as Il Laboratorio®. It is a five-story building which hosts different fully furbished laboratories and multimedia teaching facilities, and it has now become the largest, most complete business school inside an Italian mill. Here, it is possible to learn the Italian “Arte Bianca”, the art of making bread and pastry, in the very place where flour, the main ingredient, is produced. At the same time, students can learn management and sales techniques to make their own companies successful. Il Laboratorio® gave birth to projects like Università della Pizza®, Accademia del Pane®, PizzaUp® and Pasticceria Dinamica®, etc. Read more here.
At Molino Quaglia, we love sharing our knowledge and ideas. For this reason, we are very active on social media and online communication. We want to share with people around the world what happens in our School and in our Shop located at opposite ends of the small historical square in Vighizzolo d’Este, a small town in the north east of Italy. Teamwork is fundamental for us as we want to continue organizing the best courses and events in Italy and all around the World for many years to come. (Read more about Petra Selected Partner)
Today, as then, the mark of passion characterizes our thoughts, actions, and relationships. Everyday, we strive to find better people, better grains and better technologies that respect our family tradition. We really value the energy that Nature infuses in wheat grain and we work to transfer it entirely to consumers' tables. In order to do this it is not enough to produce, we also need to communicate , to let everyone know what a good flour is.
2014 - the birth of Bricks di PetraViva®, revolutionary ingredients that, in their pre-germinated version, are the forerunners of food that is natural, tasty and nutritious, but in smaller portions. The Bricks are cereals and pulses, whole or reduced into powder, that can be mixed with Petra® flour creating countless combinations. It is possible to obtain tailor-made flavors and different nutritional profiles: a unique touch for any recipe. Bricks di PetraViva are genuine “bricks” full of flavor and nutrients that create natural food for daily consumption. They provide a healthy choice for the wellbeing of consumers.
2012 - Petra is finally made by milling only Italian wheat. From September 2012, our Mill is buying a growing quantity of Italian wheat from sustainable agriculture, grown just a short distance from the mill, between Rovigo and Ferrara. That wheat is traceable all the way from sowing to milling thanks to the compilation of "Quaderni di Campagna" (electronic notebooks) and it is checked during growth by a team of experts who advise farmers according to the quality specifications drawn up by the Emilia Romagna Regional Government. Petra represents the mark of the countryside in a country that depends on wheat supplied from abroad to the tune of 60%. Moreover, this flour contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions: the fields where the wheat is grown are less than 40 minutes drive away.
2011 - Petra® enters the homes of food enthusiasts with the new 1kg bag and then with even larger packets, along with the realization that home-made dough, perhaps using mother yeast (sourdough), can be learnt and regularly applied in daily life. End consumers are interested in learning more about the choice of ingredients, dough-making techniques and rising processes. Techniques well known to our grandmothers, but forgotten by recent generations. A transparent flour bag with the history of the mill hand-drawn on it. A history that invites whoever uses Petra® to enrich it with their own experiences and creativity in the kitchen.
2008 - this year marks the birth of Petra®, an uncompromising flour line in terms of flavour and nutritional quality. For the first time in Italy, a stone mill uses state-of the-art technology to grind perfectly clean common wheat. Impurities and toxins are eliminated by rejecting (and not just cleaning) defective and "infected" grains. In this way, it is possible to eat the husk of the wheat grains with no risk to health. The idea is born from the desire to restore the age-old family knowledge on wheat and ancient stone-grinding techniques; a forward-looking vision that anticipates the need of the consumers to rediscover the flavors of yesteryear with a contemporary note.
2007 - this year sees the birth of the projects Università della Pizza®(University of Pizza), Accademia del Pane® (Academy of Bread) and Migliori Pasticcieri d'Italia® (Best Pastry Chefs in Italy). For the first time in Italy a business school trains artisan bakers to produce, organise and manage their own business. This school teaches how to invent new recipes, with one eye on traditional ingredients and the other on nutritional balance, in tune with our contemporary way of life. Over time, new techniques have been created, for example Pizzeria Dinamica® (Dynamic Pizza Making), Panificazione Dinamica® (Dynamic Bread Making) and Pasticceria Dinamica® (Dynamic Pastry Making).
2003 - a new form of communication is born: the old family mill becomes Il Laboratorio, an interdisciplinary centre to learn dough-making, the rising processes, and how to create new recipes. This was an idea of Chiara Quaglia, who entrusted Piero Gabrieli with the management of the Marketing Department. Together, they created a brand identity for the flour, usually considered a "poor" product, giving it value through training courses, symposiums, and different marketing activities. They also organized events that offered end consumers different immersive experiences. They realized that flour was a common and anonymous product, perceived as a generic and replaceable ingredient by consumers and professionals in restaurants, pizzerias, bakeries and pastry shops. From that point, we worked together to give our ingredient a clear identity, restoring values that were lost. Today, our flour has a face, a name, and unparalleled benefits for the health.
1989 - Lucio, Chiara and Andrea Quaglia take the helm of a company renowned and appreciated even outside the region's borders. The year 1998 marks a real turning point for the company. The wheat mill starts operating with the most advanced technology in Europe and the siblings present this new seven-storey building which the press will describe as the "flour spaceship". Its launch is celebrated with a contemporary art exhibition, the slogan "Where Flour Becomes Art"* is born.
1913 - Angelo Quaglia leaves his father's home to open his first mill on two rafts anchored on a loop in the river Adige in Sant'Urbano (Padua). That mill will leave an indelible mark on the next three generations, just like the grooves hand carved by Angelo on the millstones.
A MILL BETWEEN PAST AND FUTURE
Images of Petra Molino Quaglia's history
