TAmong the keys to understanding a city and a country you visit, perhaps the most immediate is the food. In the dishes and desserts of a place that is not our home we find the identity card of a different cultureits declaration of intent, the welcome to the stranger, the summary of years, often centuries, of stories, customs and traditions.
And, among all, sweets are the caress that we most willingly accept even from a place that is unfamiliar to us, especially during the Christmas period, when markets and pastry shops offer specialties that we are happy to taste.
Modica, for the special chocolate
On an ideal journey from the south to the north of the country, the first stop is Modica, in south-eastern Sicily, in Val di Noto, cradle of Baroque and city of a special chocolate, the first in Europe to obtain the PGI mark in 2018. It is pleasantly grainy because it is worked “cold”, without the sugar mixing with the cocoa.
Modica, city of Baroque and chocolate. In December it hosts the Chocofest. (Getty Images)
In the historic center, will be held from 7 to 10 December Chocomodicawith a program of tastings, masterclasses, chocotalks and chocolabs. An address of worship is theAntica Dolceria Bonajutowhich over the years has become synonymous with chocolate. In Modica you can also taste ‘mpanatigghi, sweet parcels filled with veal and chocolateprobably children of the Spanish domination of the sixteenth century given their resemblance to empanadas.
In view of Christmas, in the Sicilian town you can also buy excellent leavened products, such as pandoro and panettone, at Adamo coffee. Pastry chef Antonio dedicates himself to it with passion, churning out slow-rising products, with butter from Alpine pastures, Sicilian orange paste and other top-quality ingredients.
And to stay on the subject of sweet cuddles, the opening is expected in spring, after a careful renovation reopening of the Hotel Principe d’Aragona: in the heart of the Iblean city, a four-star hotel which, thanks to the combination of comfort, modern design and impeccable service, represents the ideal choice for those looking for an excellent starting point to discover the beauty of the surroundings and a warm welcome for families (hotelprincipedaragona.it).
The swimming pool of the Principe d’Aragona hotel, in the center of Modica
In Rome, pangiallo is the taste of the capital
The scent of Christmas sweets is starting to be felt in Rome too: From November 22nd the Christmas village in Eur will be inaugurated, where you can wander around the Christmas market in the typical wooden houses, visit Santa Claus’ house with the children and have fun on the ice rink, before sipping a mulled wine and admiring the large Christmas tree.
However, it is not the only attraction for Christmas enthusiasts: from December 1st, Piazza Navona lights up with the lights and decorations of the classic marketwhile at Villa Borghese the scenographic Christmas World it will attract visitors from all over; Christmas delicacies will triumph at Cinecittà World, open from 8 Novemberwhere in the sweet village, among wooden houses, hot chocolate, biscuits and sweets, you will breathe the most classic Christmas atmosphere. After a stop in the Vatican for the exhibition of the One hundred nativity scenes from all over the worldwhich opens to visits on 8 December under Bernini’s Colonnade in St. Peter’s Square, you can go in search of a good Roman dessert.
St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome will be the backdrop for “100 Nativity Scenes in the Vatican”. (Handle)
An example? The pangialloa preparation with a round shape and a colour, as the name suggests, yellow, of ancient origin, whose cornerstones are honey and dried fruit and which, according to the recipe, must have the icing enriched with saffron. From a historic shop in Trastevere, the Innocenti Artisan Biscuit Factorya scent of sweets arrives that spreads throughout the street. It has been delighting customers since 1940 with its biscuits cooked in an oven, on a fourteen meter long belt. At Christmas you can also buy panettone, nougats and gingerbread biscuits here.
Many people think that there is no better time of year to carve out some time for a good five o’clock tea and it is precisely for them that the tea room has been open since 1893, and is the oldest in Italy Babingtons which offers mixes from all over the world and stands with hot scones served with butter, strawberry jam and cream, small sandwiches filled with salmon, egg, gherkins and samples of apple sponge cake or hortbread tart, an English shortcrust pie filled with custard and covered with strawberries or berries.
The afternoon tea ritual is also experienced at Lumen, the bar and restaurant St. Regis in Romewhich focuses on an impeccable selection of fine teas and accompanying finger sandwiches, as well as classic pastries and the inevitable scones accompanied by red fruit jam and cream.
Venice, the scent of sugar in the lagoon
The trail of goodies leads to Venice, where you can admire the tree of Christmas in Piazza San Marco and you can do Christmas shopping in the markets of Campo Santo Stefano and Campo San Polo; between one gift and another you pamper yourself with roasted chestnuts, mulled wine and Venetian desserts such as baicoli, on sale in the markets. They are biscuits which have been popular since the eighteenth century and which sailors used to take with them on long journeys, perfect because they lasted for a long time. They can be purchased at Emilio Colussi pastry shop in San Marco and are accompanied with zabaglione or wine at the end of the meal.
At Christmas, the city’s pastry shops also offer Venetian marzipan. It seems that the first recipe for the dessert was born right here, around the fourteenth century, when in Venice there was an abundance of ingredients such as dried fruit and sugar due to its flourishing trade. One of the symbols of Christmas is the Bûche de Noël, the chocolate logwhich children can learn to prepare, in Venice, from Babette Maison Gourmeta cooking school in Cannaregio. He usually organizes a morning in December during which the children, wearing kitchen aprons, they try their hand at the French dessert.
For romantic trips as a couple, the Hotel Indigo Venice-Sant’Elenaa modern hotel with garden, immersed in the oasis of peace of the Parco delle Rimembranze, offers a “magic winter” package with a sweet welcome in the room to create the atmosphere of the holiday and a Christmas-themed aperitif. The other proposals are also interesting, such as the Unconventional Tour of the most secret places of the lagoon city ( indigovenice.com ).
The bar of the Hotel Indigo Venice – Sant’Elena, in Venice.
Trieste, Central Europe and apple strudel
Even the elegant Trieste prepares for Christmas with the San Nicolò Fair, where you can find artisan products, decorations and typical sweets such as presnitz, a rolled puff pastry filled with dried fruit, chocolate and herbs, and with the Christmas markets Christmas in the city squares, which from 7 December will be open to visitors in the beloved wooden houses.
Piazza Unità d’Italia, in Trieste. The San Nicolò Fair is coming to the city. (IPA)
Then you can go looking for gods here too typical desserts, such as putizzaa leavened cake filled with dried fruit, chocolate, raisins, honey and cinnamon, the rigojanci cake, made with chocolate, typical of Trieste but of Hungarian origin, or the strucolo de pomi, or apple strudel with dried fruit and raisins.
In Trieste you can sleep in a historic building from the early 1900s, completely renovated to preserve original stucco and decorations, marble, mosaics, fountains and fireplaces: the DoubleTree by Hiltonan excellent starting point for discovering the city, its historic cafés and museums.
Where to eat
La Bomboniera pastry shop
Via Trenta Ottobre 3, Trieste. In the center of Trieste we stop in this nineteenth-century pastry shop to have a snack, drink a cup of tea and taste the presnitz, a dessert created (it is said) in honor of Princess Sissi visiting Miramare Castle. instagram.com/pasticceria_la_bomboniera.
What to buy
Antica Dolceria Bonajuto
Corso Umberto I 159, Modica (Ragusa). Historic pastry shop where you can buy chocolates, pralines and “bean to bar” chocolate bars, i.e. produced from the cocoa bean to the bar. There is also a tasting corner. bonajuto.it.
Grue
Viale Regina Margherita 95, Rome. In this pastry shop in the Trieste district, during the holidays the pastry chefs Marta Boccanera and Felice Venanzi work candied fruit, chocolate, dried fruit and honey and churn out a contemporary version of pangiallo. gruepasticceria.it.
What to do
On December 13th and 14th at La Fenice Theater in Venice you can attend the concert directed by Kazuki Yamada, with music by Takemitsu, Saint-Saëns and Rachmaninov. teatrolafenice.it
In Triesteon December 10th, finger food courses, and on the 22nd a cooking session to create a Christmas menu, both organized by Eataly. eataly.net/it_it/corsi/trieste.