Calling All Chocolate Connoisseurs to Include These Towns on Your Next Italian Itinerary
There is truly something for everyone in Italy. You can visit the country to see enduring archaeological sites, admire incredible art, soak up the sun at spectacular beaches and eat delicious food. You can also visit the beautiful country to satisfy your sweet tooth. Italy is famous for its high-quality chocolate production that has a long history of tradition. You can travel across the boot to visit some of the cities that are known for making fantastic chocolate. Here are 4 Italian towns you must visit if you’re craving a divine treat:
Torino, Piemonte
The capital of Piemonte, Torino, has a long history with cacao. The first cioccolateria was opened in Torino in 1678. In the following years, many other chocolate shops in the region began to open, turning the city into a European center of chocolate making. The entire Piemonte region contributed to the development of the chocolate industry in Italy and in the rest of the world. It was the Alba-based company, Ferrero, that made the local pasta gianduja, a hazelnut and chocolate paste, world-famous under the name Nutella. Another chocolate-based icon of Torino is the drink bicerin, made of espresso coffee, chocolate, and whipped cream. Torino hosts the annual 10-day-long chocolate fair CioccolaTo, running from the end of November through the beginning of December for chocolate lovers.
Modica, Sicily
Modica, one of Sicily’s baroque towns, produces cioccolato modicano, dating back to the 1500s. During the production of Modica’s cacao delicacy, chocolate is kept below the temperature at which sugar melts, throughout the process, giving cioccolato modicano its typical granular texture. Modica’s chocolate is very natural since it’s made only with hand-ground cacao and sugar. On a trip to Modica, you must visit Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, founded in 1880, this confectioner offers a whole range of delicacies flavored with the typical Modica chocolate, as well as almond sweets. Modica is also the home of Chocobarocco, a festival dedicated to the town’s centuries-old chocolate tradition.
(Photo Credit: Antica Dolceria Bonajuto)
Perugia, Umbria
In Perugia, the capital of Umbria, chocolate is taken very seriously. It’s the birthplace of the world’s most romantic cocoa-infused bonbons: the blue-foil-wrapped, Baci Perugina and to one of the most important chocolate fairs in Italy, Eurochocolate. You can visit Casa del Cioccolato, the famous chocolate museum founded in 1997. Another institution in Perugia dedicated to chocolate is the Pasticceria Sandri, the most ancient pasticceria of Umbria. It is still run by the descendants of the same family of Swiss confectioners Schucani who came to Italy in the 1800s.
(Photo Credit: Umbria 24)
Pistoia & the Chocolate Valley, Toscana
The Chocolate Valley refers to the strip of land that goes from Prato to Pisa, with Pistoia in its center. This part of the Tuscan region is home to some of the most renowned chocolatiers. Famous chocolatiers include Roberto Catinari from Agliana, Andrea Trinci in Cascine di Buti, and the Cioccolateria Slitti in Monsummano Terme by Andrea Slitti, world champion chocolatier and first Italian to win the Grand Prix de la Chocolaterie in Paris. While many of the stores in this area have been founded on ancient techniques of chocolate production, contemporary owners have created new-wave shops and cafes offering delicious treats in a more modern environment. Tuscan chocolate is unique because it incorporates the flavors of central Italy, such as rosemary, lavender, and olive oil, and is handmade with the highest attention to detail in boutique shops.Arianna DiCicco
Arianna DiCicco is an educator and writer from California, born into an Italian American restaurant family with strong ties to her grandparents’ home in Abruzzo, Italy. She has lived in San Francisco, Rome and New York City where she’s made deep connections within the Italian communities and gained new perspectives about her own culture. With a Masters in International Education, Arianna has a love and passion for learning and educating others about Italian history & culture.