This small town lies in the heart of California's Central Coast farm country less than 100 miles from San Francisco and less than three miles from the Pacific Ocean and public beaches. For over 50 years, this "Artichoke Capital of the World" has celebrated harvests of their number one crop with an Artichoke Festival held usually in May.

Founded in 1863, Castroville is the second oldest town in Monterey County. Agriculture sprang up with crops of sugar, hay, beets, grain and dairy farms. The artichoke, for which it is now known, began appearing in fields around 1920. Just a few miles inland from the Pacific Ocean is where you will find this old fashioned community and where you can see the artichoke bounty. Pezzinni Farms is one of several store fronts selling artichokes and artichoke items brought in from the surrounding fields and made available to the public.