OK. You can’t talk about Perugia without talking chocolate. Baci chocolate is known world-wide and Perugia has been named in the top 5 destinations for chocolate lovers like me (and probably for you too).
Thank you Luisa
Thanks you Luisa Spagnoli, who in 1922, created the Baci Perugino recipe that has only 8 ingredients. But they are a secret. We do know is that hazelnuts are roasted by Perugino experts and then covered with Luisa’s secret special recipe. The first Baci chocolates were shaped into a small ball that looked like a knuckle. Luisa actually named the first chocolate Cazzotto meaning punch in Italian. That’s all we know, the rest is a secret but the end result is a yummy tasting truffle.
Photo from Nestle.com
To find out how Baci chocolates are made you can start with a tour of the Perugina museum. The museum will bring the tiny chocolate workshop to life where Luisa and her husband turned the humble cocoa bean into rich chocolate. The tour will also take you into todays chocolate factory and you will see master chocolate makers at work.
OK, so you’ve are now educated about chocolate making in Perugia, your next job is to buy your self several boxes of chocolates and go back to your accommodation and spend an evening with Baci and un caffe. Now please buy a box or two for your lucky friends and family!
The Eurochocolate Festival!
If you haven’t had enough chocolate delights, you could time your visit to the world famous (yes it actually is) Eurochocolate festival held during October in Perugia since 1994. The festival attracts just under 1million people every year and chocolate makers from around the world. (I haven’t visited because crowds and I don’t agree with each other).
I am told that the beautiful winding streets of Perugia filled with carts of chocolate and other chocolatey things. The best place to get information on the festival is here https://www.eurochocolate.com/.
Visit this site to find out about the chocolate sculpting competition. Yes that is a thing and a big thing at that! http://inperugia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/eurochocolate-sculpture.jpg
If you are going the festival, it goes without saying that I would highly recommend booking your accommodation early given 1 million of you will descend on the pretty city of Perugia.
Dig a little deeper
Luisa Spagnoli wasn’t just a chocolate making genius she was also a brilliant textile and fashion industry pioneer. During her short life on this earth – just 58 years – she lead the industrialisation of Umbria and Italy that created many jobs during a time when there was none during the war. Luisa moved her home based business to a significant plant and therefore the number of people that could be employed. She championed fair work conditions for women on the front line of production of all manner of goods and services with men left to fight the war. Luisa was a very successful business-women. She had a social conscious and cared for the well-being of people who contributed to her the success of entrepreneurial adventures.
Extraordinary as all of that seems, she built terraced houses, a swimming pool, hosted leisure activities such as dances, football matches, competitions and parties to help people fit and healthy.
Luisa opened her first fashion store in Perugia in 1940 and she followed up with stores in Florence, Rome, Venice, Naples and Milan in her chain of stores. Her fashion label was characterised by haute-couture, large range of items and created beautiful stock catalogues.
One more tid bit? During the 1920’s, Luisa began breeding Angora rabbits in her garden to obtain yarn to produce her clothing – not a popular thing in Italy at that time but she was ahead of her time – always.
Visit Luisa Spagnoli Boutique
So where can you visit a boutique in Perugia?
Luisa Spagnoli Perugia Boutique LS Perugia Corso Vannucci, 43, 06121 Perugia Phone: +39-755720303 Perugia
But you have to book a head for an appointment which suggests to me that you need to peruse the catalogue before you go and check the prices against your bank account.
1. http://www.nestle.com/aboutus/history
2. https://www.carnifest.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Euro_Chocolate_.jpg Iists carnivals and festivals around the world
