talians were preparing and consuming sweet foods even before the first professional bakers appeared in Rome in the 2nd century BCE. Since then, and especially since the introduction of sugar in the Middle Ages and chocolate from the New World in the 16th century, the variety of Italian confections has expanded enormously and their quality has never ceased to improve.
The specialties range from rich, puffy cakes, crunchy or soft-centered cookies, spicy biscuits, flaky pastries and creamy chocolates and candies to smooth, refreshing, puddings, ice creams and sherbets. Each has a distinctive flavor and aroma enhanced in innumerable cases through the addition of candied fruit, nuts of every kind, herbs, spices and many other flavorings.
Each part of the country developed its own special confections and a large number of them have survived; some have even entered the national "pantheon" of dolci. Both panettone, a Milanese specialty, and pandoro, originally linked with Verona, were created in the Middle Ages and are now served throughout the country (and much of the world) in the Christmas season, although there is no valid reason to restrict their consumption to a particular period.
Tradition is stronger than reason, it seems. To fill a perceived gap, colomba (a dove-shaped cake) was invented fairly recently for the Easter season. Throughout Italy, Easter means eggs but not those laid by a chicken. They are almost always made of milk chocolate and their hollow interiors always contain a surprise.
The Sienese, however, have not allowed themselves to be bound by seasonal limitations. When guests show up, they offer them panforte, an extremely dense, rich and spicy cake made in many variations. The citizens of Siena are also fond of ricciarelli, almond cookies prepared, they say, according to a recipe brought back from the Mideast by the Crusaders. In Umbria and the Marches as well as at Ferrara in the Romagna, Christmas is celebrated with pampepato, a peppery sweet bread that is also of medieval origin.
Throughout Tuscany, hospitality means a goblet or two of vinsanto, often made by the host from a few vines in his garden, accompanied by cantuccini, hard re-baked biscuits made with oil and anise and usually containing almonds. The cantuccini are so hard, in fact, that they must be softened before they can be consumed and the best and tastiest way of doing that is to dip them in vinsanto. The flavors of the wine and the biscuit blend to perfection.
Slightly more than a century ago, some bright Piedmontese confectioner had the brilliant idea of combining hazelnuts and chocolate. The result was gianduiotti, a candy named for a local hero of legend. More recently, the combination has yielded spreads, like Nutella, that children (and they're not alone) find it impossible to resist. Another medieval creation, torrone, a form of nougat, also retains its fascination, while Americans and many others throughout the world have learned to prize cannoli--it didn't take long.
