Valoriani Ovens a joining “arch” between the ancient and the modern

The wood burning oven has a tradition dated back to the antiquity. Nowadays it has become the object of a great widespread interest. Many people wish to have a wood burning oven for their home to cook bread, pizza and many other delicious dishes. It is an object that leads to the culinary tradition and the genuine taste of the food: Refrattari Valoriani, in Reggello (FI),  has been operating for a century with the strong desire to make this dream comes true.

The earliest forms of ovens dated back to the times of Egyptians, a forerunner civilization in scientific, culinary and medical practices. Along the Nile banks, during the excavations, a large numbers of cone shaped structures were found, they were used to cook food. In these ovens the cooking chamber was placed above that one of combustion, they were separated by a slab of stone that transmitted the heat to the top absorbing it from the fire. Even today, with the necessary changes concerning materials and construction techniques, Valoriani uses an evolution of this indirect cooking method in Valoriani and Garden ovens.

The Egyptians taught, they represented the starting point for the future upgrade of this tool essential for the development of every civilization. The art of cooking food, and more specifically bread, played a so important role that the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, introduced a festival called  Fornicalia in honor of Fornace, guardian goddess for the proper functioning of the oven.

The dome and the arch, respectively introduced by Greeks and Romans, are the key steps that lead to the modern concept of the wood burning oven. As the year go by no significant innovations happened in the art of building a wood burning ovens, at least until the advent of the prefabricated ones.

These features go to our ancestors and are still present in Valoriani wood ovens: the old techniques have been increasingly refined so to realize a professional oven made in refractory bricks that even today a lot of people try to imitate.