Feast of the Befana of 6 January 2022 with a return to the typical and traditional flavor thanks to a sock full of local delicacies, in addition to sweet coal, evergreen of the Epiphany with which the manifestation of the divinity of Jesus to the three Magi is celebrated . A survey conducted among the members of Cna Agroalimentare - National Confederation of crafts and small and medium-sized enterprises - revealed the tendency to relaunch typical products. The forecasts on the eve of the Befana's night say that under the fireplace there will be socks with special sweets linked to the traditions of the North, Center and South combined with sweet charcoal, a tradition that brings back to the fire that was lit in the first days of January as an element auspicious for the harvest. Coal, the real one,it was a threat of a gift from the Befana to children who had committed pranks.
Among the products, for example, that will be included in the socks, in addition to the coal that has become over the years - underlines Cna- dolce for economic business - the sweet puff pastry camels of Varese that recall the horses of the Magi and that, compared to the past, now they are also filled with cream or whipped cream, jam or fruit. In the province of Cuneo, the Befana instead has its fugassa d'la Befana, a sweet with a soft, rounded dough, inside which two beans of different colors were once hidden. Whoever got the light bean had to pay for the focaccia, whoever got the dark bean had to buy the drinks. In Liguria for the Epiphany the last batch of anicini is being prepared,a festive dessert characterized by the presence of anise halfway between a focaccia and a biscuit that does not require the use of any kind of fat. In the Triveneto the Befana is dedicated to the pinza de la marantega (Befana, in Venetian), a sweet bread enriched with raisins, dried figs, candied orange, pine nuts, grappa, preferably cooked under the ashes of the bonfires and covered with cabbage leaves. Cavallucci, soft leavened biscuits, are prepared in Tuscany in and around Siena, and befanini between Lucca and Viareggio, which also include rum and are made in typical Christmas shapes. In the Ancona area the pecorelle, puff pastry sweets stuffed with jam and dried fruit. In Abruzzo and Molise from Christmas to Epiphany pepatelli are prepared with black pepper added in small quantities to flour, cocoa, honey,almonds and orange peel. In Puglia, the cartellate from Bari and the purcidduzzi from Salento. In Naples at the Epiphany you can enjoy the first pastiera of the year. For the party there is an international and traditional offer such as the Galette des Rois (the Cake of the Kings), proposed in particular in Rome by the Le Carré Français establishment. The dessert, with the intention of giving a day like a king, is a base of puff pastry, frangipane cream (made with almond flour) where the "fève" is placed inside, the bean protagonist of the French dessert - and another layer of puff pastry. Golden in the oven, the cake is then glazed. Finally, for lovers of Christmas sweets on 5 January in San Martino al Cimino (Viterbo), at Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, there will be a tasting of delicacies such as Sicilian Buccellato or Neapolitan struffoli,the Roman Pangiallo or the Panpepato.