Antonio Longo  and  Corrado Del Verme are born in Cilento.
Friends since their adolescence, after studying in Rome, they took completely different paths.
Geologist the first, manager the second, they met again in the Cilento after having had very different professional experiences, (the two are very different themselves, both in training and in character!), which would have later become their creative and entrepreneurial force.
From their new and mature exchange of ideas, and supported by their historical friendship and new enthusiasm, in 2000 they came together to share a dream: bring Santomiele to life.
It is the adventure of two young boys who, starting from a garage of 70 square meters, after having invested just 5 million of old lire, and above all by betting on imagination and on the desire to create something new, pursued a dream which was simple and revolutionary at the same time: to resume what was the activity of Antonio's grandfather in the early 1900s, but reinterpreting it in a modern way.
Curiosity, passion and determination have become the driving forces of their challenge.
The idea was not only to produce, but also to transform the fig- a product that has always been considered poor, although an archetype and a literary symbol - aiming for excellence.
An excellence that starts from the raw material, from the figs that are rigorously selected, sun- dried and carefully handcrafted.
In a few years they have revolutionized the way of processing and transforming the figs, imposing their philosophy and brand at an international level. 
In 2009 they bought an old oil mill dating back to the 18th century, situated in the ancient village of Prignano Cilento. After careful and long renovation work, they managed to transform it into a special, highly evocative place, making it not only the official headquarters of the company but also a laboratory in which design and food culture blend masterfully, and where the beauty of the territory is expressed in a culturally stratified language.
Inside, there is a photographic exhibition about art and beauty; on the outside, terraces sloping down to the hilly landscape of the Cilento become perfect places to meditate, and to learn the techniques of the "handmade".

They choose master craftsmen who work the figs with skill, accuracy and ancient wisdom; each of them carries out the processing of the fruit at their own counter, for a limited production, following a tradition that is declined in craftsmanship and respect for the past.
By reinventing the fig in a surprising way, they constantly create new products, so alluring as to land on the Queen of England's table.
“La Pigna” Santomiele has become a cult! A cake of six hundred grams, of which only 500 pieces are crafted a year; it is made of slices of dried figs, tied by an extra dark chocolate and enriched with Giffoni almonds and pine nuts.
The intuitions follow one another, leading to research, experimentation, and more: meetings with experts, chefs, journalists, visitors, mere onlookers. This, in turn, leads Corrado and Antonio to travel all over the world to give university lectures on the history, the characteristics, the properties of the fig and its processing.


They have received numerous awards for their innovative approach to doing business.
In 2011, the foreign press awarded Santomiele as best Italian product of the year with the following motivation:
"For foreign correspondents it is not easy to find topics, other than politics, to write about Italy.
The Santomiele figs have moved foreign journalists, who did not expect that from such a humble raw material, but full of dignity, it would be possible to obtain refined and high quality products. And this is the simple reason why the Santomiele company received our 2011 production award ".

In 2012, Santomiele was ranked first for best figs by Gambero Rosso. About the company they said: 
… Antonio Longo and Corrado Del Verme are the men of the fairy tales: they transformed the pumpkin into a carriage, Cinderella into a princess. From the simple dried fig they have brought out the best beyond expectations, transforming something simple by definition into a small, precious and rare delicacy for gourmet palates, used by great chefs as a tasty counterpoint in a dessert or paired with a great cheese. 
In 2017 Santomiele received the Pio Alferano Award with the following motivation: Vittorio Sgarbi, the Artistic Director, wrote: “The award to Santomiele is the prize to the beauty of nature. The best and broadest tradition and the most effective technology make Santomiele a sanctuary of taste, an equivalent, in care and presentation, of editorial refinement… ”.