Rosetta, from Rome's iconic bread to a product for nostalgics

ROME - Difficult life in the capital for nostalgic lovers of rosette, typical Roman bread, together with ciriola, which has characterized the meal and snacks of many generations delighting them with mortadella, salami or cheese fillings thanks also to its "particular signs" : those of being a puffed bread, empty inside, golden, crisp and crumbly, vaguely resembling a rose. With an average production figure of the last few years in decline, passed, according to experts, from 50 kg per day to 20 kg, today only the historical ovens of the city have remained to produce the rosette, present in most of the cases in the peripheral area, the others, the central ones, seem in fact more oriented towards choosing new market preferences and by the majority of consumers directed towards more refined, healthy products made in part with ancient grains.

"A productive choice - explain the operators - also due to the need to have a special machine to produce the rosette, to an average long processing time to prepare it and to the new requests that come from the consumer that go to other types of bread". A downward trend in production which is also confirmed by Claudio Conti, president of the Assipan Italian Bakery Association.

"The decrease - says the president - must be included in a broader discourse and in the cycle of a decrease in the consumption of bread in Italy which today has reached 60 grams per capita".