The “Giglietto di Palestrina”, the story in a biscuit of eggs and ancient grains
A perfectly dosed dough based on eggs, sugar, stone-ground flour and lemon zest, then a quick “move” of expert hands that transforms three sticks of dough into a flower. And here is the Giglietto di Palestrina and Castel San Pietro Romano, a Slow Food presidium since 2014, the large international association that since 1999 has also been involved in safeguarding the genuineness and goodness of small food and wine productions. Arrived in the square of Castel San Pietro Romano just follow an unmistakable fragrance, a few meters to arrive in the Fiasco oven which houses the biscuit symbol of the town and its history. A story that goes all the way to Paris in the 1600s. This is where the recipe would have come from five centuries ago.
History
On the death of Pope Urban VIII, his noble family, that of the Barberini, took refuge in the court of Louis XIV with cooks and pastry chefs in tow, who learned how to make the biscuit from their French colleagues and revived it when they returned home. The tradition then passed from hand to hand for generations of women and became the symbol of two neighboring villages, Castel San Pietro Romano and Palestrina.
Erminia and Laura, the keepers of tradition
It was the women who preserved the tradition and the recipe, passing it from mother to daughter. Since 1967, her sisters Erminia and Laura Fiasco have kept her alive. “The ingredients – explains Erminia, who in front of the oven coordinates a team of specialists capable of making a lily and composing dozens of them in just a few minutes – are few and simple, but all produced here. From eggs from free-range hens to stone-ground ancient grain flours of the Solina type. But the secret of the perfect success of our biscuit lies in the beating and whipping of the dough “. The dough must therefore be flawless. So much so that the secrets of dosage have only one custodian: her sister Laura who works on that precious balance of flavors in an adjoining room.
How to taste the lily
If in the past the lily was used for brides’ refreshments together with sugared almonds, today it is the daily protagonist in local families: it accompanies breakfasts with milk and snacks. But it is also the basis of a special tiramisu. The Slow Food recognition has given new impetus to the ancient biscuit from the Prenestini Mountains. A special ambassador of authenticity who brought him not only to the Salone del Gusto in Turin, but also to the Netherlands, France and the United States. And it kicked off the “Giglietto and Ghiottonerie dei Monti Prenestini Festival” which takes place in August in Palestrina.
At school for lily
At Castel San Pietro Romano it is also possible to take lily lessons. In 2019 the Region financed for the first time a project for a real school proposed by the Municipality in collaboration with the Diffused Museum and the Fiasco oven.
Where is it
Castel San Pietro Romano, pearl of the Prenestini Mountains, is located 45 kilometers from Rome and 29 from Tivoli.
