It's nuts!

Hazelnuts, or nocciolo are every where in Italy. It's found  in chocolates, Nutella and even as a gelato flavor.

This hazelnut orchard is part of the private property of an Italian family.

Depending on the shell to fruit ratio, a hazelnut can be listed as "D.O.P." per the Italian government. Any product with the label "D.O.P" or "D.O.C" means it's legit. Olive oils often have this demarcation as do San Marzano tomatoes.

In case you were wondering, here is what a hazelnut looks like on the tree:

The tour of the hazelnut orchard was followed, of course, by a tasting. We tried raw hazelnuts:

Toasted hazelnuts:

And a hazelnut brittle:

Needless to say, I ate A LOT of nuts that afternoon. Those toasted hazelnuts are addicting! There was also cold beer and walnut liquor (not a fan) so there came a point where I actually started to feel a bit sick. I avoided all hazelnut products for the duration of the trip.