Tasty legends

The mermaid’s singing and the Pastiera from Naples

The beauty of the gulf set between Posillipo and Vesuvio made the mermaid Partenope to fall in love with those places so much she wanted to settle there. Every Spring the wonderful creature used to emerge from the sea water to cherish the happy people from the Gulf with her magic singing. Once her singing was so tender and tuneful, her voice was so sweet and her words were so lovely and happy that the people who lived there were totally overwhelmed. Everyone rushed to the sea to hear that creature who was singing for them. In order to thank her for her gift they sent seven wonderful girls to give her some presents: the flour which represented the strength and the richness of the good company, the ricotta cheese that was a gift from the shepherds, the eggs that symbolized life, the soft wheat boiled into the water that symbolized the two realms of nature; the orange flowers’ water that was a gift from nature, the spice that represented the people who lived farther, the sugar to symbolize the sweetness of the singing of the beautiful Partenope. She was very happy to get so many gifts so she went down into the deep water to bring them to the Gods who melted the ingredients by using their divine powers and they crated the first Pastiera, as sweet and soft as the beautiful Partenope’s singing.

The bellybutton that originated the “tortellino”

Around the year 1200, a beautiful young Marquise from Castelfranco Emilia decided to stop at an Inn to rest. The inn-keeper accompanied the lady to her room but he was so charmed by her beauty that he decided to spy her from the keyhole. So he saw it... That bellybutton captivated him. He went back to the kitchen to prepare the dinner for the young Marquise but he couldn’t remove that wonderful sight from his mind so he shaped the dough sheet like a bellybutton that was so beautiful as the young lady’s one. Since he didn’t know how to serve those pieces of dough he decided to fill them with some meat so the very tasty “tortellini” were born. Someone says that he was not inspired by the beautiful girl but he took his inspiration from the Goddess Venus to underline the beauty of the creature that inspired one of the most popular dishes of our culture.

The painter who invented the risotto in the milanese way

When the famous cathedral was under construction some Belgian workers were working too, they were guided by Valerius from Fiandra and they were in charge with working the coloured windows that represented the episodes from the life of Saint Helena. There was a very talented boy among Valerius’ pupils, he could melt the saffron with the paint to make the colours brighter. So his workmates called him “Zafferano”. In 1574, when the master glassmaker’s daughter got married, the young pupil convinced the cook to add his “spice” to the risotto that he was cooking that was supposed to be served with some butter only. The guests were so surprised because of its colour that looked like gold and for its really good spicy taste that this dish that was born by chance has become one of the main legends of the traditional Italian cuisine since then.