{"id":7704,"date":"2021-01-19T19:46:58","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T19:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.selectitaly.com\/?p=1704"},"modified":"2021-01-19T19:46:58","modified_gmt":"2021-01-19T19:46:58","slug":"six-italian-candy-capitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/food-wine\/six-italian-candy-capitals\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Italian Candy Capitals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s talk about that sweet, tooth-tickling treat no man can resist: candy! Italian dolci<\/em> are among the world\u2019s tastiest and best. Zanier things have been done than planning entire itineraries around chocolate and other sweets, and when you consider the scenic and historic settings for the making of some of the finest Italian candies, it\u2019s no surprise. A little chocolate, a little zucchero <\/em>(sugar) and a lot of fine craftsmanship in the best Italian tradition, and you\u2019ve got some places in the bel paese <\/em>that you\u2019ll be sweet to visit before you can even say \u201cCandy Capital.\u201d So, here are six of them.<\/p>\n

Perugia<\/h3>\n

The capital of Italy\u2019s hilly, wooded Umbria region is known for its Renaissance art treasures, its annual summer jazz festival \u2013 and its chocolate. The city\u2019s official symbol is the griffon but it is perhaps best known as home base of the Baci<\/em><\/a>, little \u201ckisses\u201d of chocolate with hazelnut and chocolate filling, with a little love note to boot. There\u2019s also a white chocolate variation on the classic dark chocolate baci.<\/p>\n

Torino<\/h3>\n

Torino, or Turin, is the capital of Italy\u2019s Piedmont region and a major cultural and commercial powerhouse in Italy. It was actually the first capital city of modern Italy. Torino has architecture from ancient Roman to Art Nouveau, it has the Shroud of Turin, but most \u2013 or at least, sweetest \u2013 of all, it has great chocolate. The iconic treat of the city is the Gianduiotto<\/em><\/a>, a tasty chocolate candy made from a paste of cocoa, sugar and ground hazelnuts, and usually wrapped in gold or silver foil.<\/p>\n

The elongated triangular shape is derived from the gianduja<\/em>, a mask used in commedia dell\u2019arte. And it\u2019s something you\u2019ll want to sink your teeth into on an as-frequent-as-possible basis. Torino is a focal point of proud culinary traditions and several of Italy\u2019s best chocolate makers are based there, including Venchi, Caffarel and Streglio.<\/p>\n

Palermo<\/h3>\n

Sicily\u2019s sweeter side is always on colorful display in Palermo, famous for its frutta alla Martorana<\/a> <\/em>marzipan which is fashioned into brightly colored, life-like food forms: figs and cherries and berries to be sure, but also clams, spaghetti and even fried eggs. This old-fashioned, high-concept marzipan was originally created by local nuns at La Martorena, and today you\u2019ll find it in just about any pastry shop in and around Palermo.<\/p>\n

Alba<\/h3>\n

This town in the Piedmont \u00a0is home to Ferrero<\/a>, the company founded in 1942 that brought the world such sweet essentials as Nutella and (in 1969) the Tic Tac. According to Ferrero, \u201cfrom the signature rattle and flip top opening to feeling the small, oval pellets on your tongue, enjoying a Tic Tac is a uniquely sensual experience.\u201d It is a simple treat, true, but one of legends: there was the story of the girl in England who could eat nothing but Tic Tacs, and the claim by some that a package of Tic Tacs might have done a better job at being President than George Bush.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the serene, hilly setting of Alba<\/a> helps foster innovation. Ferrero also produces such on-the-go delicacies as Pocket Coffee<\/a> \u2013 dark chocolate with a liquid espresso center \u2013 and the latest offering, instant ice cream in flavors ranging from lemon to cappuccino, but all with a common denominator of \u201cyum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chocolate Valley (Tuscany)<\/h3>\n

True, you won\u2019t find Chocolate Valley on any official map of Italy, but still, there is some seriously seductive chocolate being made in this nook of Tuscany. It was the Italian food and wine magazine Gambero Rosso<\/em><\/a> that christened this region some 40 miles west of Florence and nearby the River Arno (not far from Pisa) the Chocolate Valley, and with good reason: some of Italy\u2019s leading chocolatiers have set up shop here. These include\u00a0 Roberto Catinari, Luca Mannori, Paul de Bondt, and Amadei.\u00a0 The latter, based near Pontedera, makes chocolate so divine that many top chefs claim it is the world\u2019s best.<\/p>\n

Modica<\/h3>\n

This ancient town in southern Sicily was rebuilt as a Baroque showcase after a major earthquake in 1693. Superior quality chocolate has been a specialty of Modica<\/a> since the 16th<\/sup> century when the Spanish, returning from the New World, introduced the Aztec tradition of chocolate production to the area, then a feudal state. Handcrafted Modica chocolate is intensely flavored and has a unique granular texture due to the lower quantity of cocoa butter. Traditionally it\u2019s produced in a variety of flavors including vanilla and cinnamon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s talk about that sweet, tooth-tickling treat no man can resist: candy! Italian dolci are among the world\u2019s tastiest and best. Zanier things have been done than planning entire itineraries around chocolate and other sweets, and when you consider the scenic and historic settings for the making of some of the finest Italian candies, it\u2019s no surprise. A little chocolate, a little zucchero (sugar) and a lot of fine craftsmanship in the best Italian tradition, and you\u2019ve got some places in the bel paese that you\u2019ll be sweet to visit before you can even say \u201cCandy Capital.\u201d So, here are six of them:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":30794,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[427],"tags":[283,590,410,266,591,12,589],"class_list":["post-7704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-wine","tag-palermo","tag-perugia","tag-piedmont","tag-sicily","tag-turin","tag-tuscany","tag-umbria"],"yoast_head":"\nSix Italian Candy Capitals - It's All About Italy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/selectitaly.com\/blog\/food-wine\/six-italian-candy-capitals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Six Italian Candy Capitals - It's All About Italy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Let\u2019s talk about that sweet, tooth-tickling treat no man can resist: candy! Italian dolci are among the world\u2019s tastiest and best. Zanier things have been done than planning entire itineraries around chocolate and other sweets, and when you consider the scenic and historic settings for the making of some of the finest Italian candies, it\u2019s no surprise. 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