The Toscano cigar is 200 years old... but it does not look that old at all!

The Toscano cigar is one of the many extraordinary things of this wonderful region. A pleasure for true connoisseurs, an ambassador of the Made in Italy brand that is exported to more than 60 countries. It is a cigar produced only in Italy with unbleached and naturally fermented Kentucky tobacco. And do you know where it hails from? Florence! But the funny thing is that it was founded by chance! What happened was that a bale of tobacco got wet because of a heavy downpour of rain. To avoid it being wasted, it was left to dry it in the sun. It was then decided to use it to produce cheap cigars to be sold to the people of Florence. Nobody realized in any way that something exceptional had just been invented. Yet those cigars gained a lot of popularity and their fame also crossed the borders of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany as something similar started to be produced even in Naples.

In 1818, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Ferdinand III, founded a tobacco factory in Florence, where cigars made of fermented tobacco were produced using the same procedure that, by chance, had been used to dry it after the downpour. And yes, his majesty the cigar will turn 200 years in 2018 but it does not look that old at all! It is still highly appreciated all over the world.

At the Manifattura Sigaro Toscano it is still produced by hand, without the use of machines. In the Lucca plant, one of the oldest, where the 'high quality' line is produced, the cigars are still produced by hand. Thanks to the skillful work of the cigar rollers who, with gestures handed down from grandmothers and aunts, transform the tobacco of Kentucky into the famous cigars. Just think that an experienced cigar roller, whose training takes at least 18 months, produces up to 500 cigars in one shift.

What else can we say? Tuscany in terms of excellence never ceases to amaze. Do you want to discover some other unique products? Our advice is to check our food and wine tours section: interesting itineraries during which you can taste delicacies such as wine, olive oil, cheese and cold cuts.