14. Pan Pepato di Palestrina
History
A typical sweet of the Prenestini Mountains, Panpepato, whose name refers to the conspicuous use of pepper with which it was spiced, has very ancient origins. The story goes that already in the times of the Colonna princes first and then the Barberini, the subjects brought this sweet preparation made of flour, honey, candied fruit, sultanas and dried fruit (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and pine nuts) as a gift to the lords of Palestrina. In the years that followed, it became a tradition to make this cake throughout the Prenestina area, especially at Christmas time when it was customary for the eldest diner to slice the cake while the youngest was in charge of serving it to the guests, always saving a few slices for the beggars who knocked on the door. The expression 'Si lassato lo muzzico dello palestrinese!' (literally 'You have left the morsel of the inhabitant of Palestrina!') is still used in common parlance to indicate the remains of food left on the plate, in memory of a time and a history long gone. Panpepato is still made today by local bakeries and a few families who preserve the traditional recipe. This involves mixing the raw materials (dried fruit, sultanas, candied fruit, cocoa or chocolate, pepper) with honey melted in a bain-marie, then forming round loaves to be solidified on a covered shelf until the following day. In the next step, the traditional shape of zuccotti with a diameter of 10-20 cm and a height of 5-8 cm should be obtained, to be baked in the oven for about an hour.
The product
The Panpepato Prenestino, characterised by its zuccotto shape, has a brown colour and an irregular surface due to the dried fruit of which it is made. The high olfactory intensity is characterised by pronounced notes of dried fruit (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and pine nuts), honey, cocoa and sultanas, combined with light toasted hints. The taste is harmoniously sweet. Good crunchiness and aromatic persistence.
THE TEMPLE OF PRIMORDIAL FORTUNE IN PALESTRINA
By a strange coincidence, the bombings that hit Palestrina during World War II returned the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia to the city. Largely buried by the buildings that had been superimposed on it over the centuries, this complex is now one of the most fascinating sanctuaries left to us from the Republican age of ancient Rome, and represents a scenic backdrop that leaves the visitor breathless when he arrives in Palestrina, ancient Praeneste.
The sanctuary, dedicated to the goddess Fortuna, must have been one of the most venerated places of worship for the Italic peoples: they flocked there from afar to consult the fates (wooden tablets from which they drew auspices for the future) that were extracted from a child, as Cicero recounts in a famous passage from De Divinitate. The sacred complex traces the architectural style of Hellenistic sanctuaries: in fact, it extended along the slopes of Mount Ginestro, now occupied by the city agglomeration, with a system of artificial terraces, connected by ramps and staircases perfectly axial to the upper temple and on which porticoes, nymphaea and colonnades opened. On the fourth level, oracular worship took place, while the apex was occupied by a circular temple where today stands the Palazzo Colonna Barberini, home of the National Archaeological Museum. Among the many exhibits, the Museum houses the wonderful mosaic depicting the Flooding of the Nile, a 2nd century BC Alexandrian work, and the extraordinary sculptural group of the Capitoline Triad.
