Imagine being on a mission of chocolate tasting throughout beautiful and historic areas of Italy. It was a reality for writer Libby Margolis-Pineo who lets us tag along, virtually, on a trip she went on. Be sure to give the two Italian dessert recipes she shared a try in the link at the bottom of the article.

Which would you choose? Chocolates in a shop in Montecatini, Italy. Photo by Elizabeth Margolis-Pineo.

Chocolate Italian Style

The story of chocolate begins with Christopher Columbus famously sailing in the wrong direction — and “discovering” cacao in South America. Originally used by ancient Mayans for religious purposes, the humble cacao seed would be worshipped for hundreds of years.

From Columbus’s home town of Genoa, chocolate began a steady migration into the rest of Italy. Towns like Perugia, Turin, and Modica, all now claim that they have the best chocolate, “il cioccolato migliore.”

Chocolate Tasting in Italy: Montecatini 

Montecatini Terme is a Tuscan treasure whose elegant spa scene and sweet indulgences have enchanted visitors for centuries. In the late 1800s, graceful Belle Epoque bathhouses in landscaped parks offered thermal baths and soothing mud treatments called fangotherapy. Bright lights like Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini flocked to Montecatini for the thermal waters and salubrious treatments, but were soon captivated by her abundant natural charms.

As an Italian chocolate maven, I head to nearby Cioccolato e Company to continue my delicious research.  I begin with an immodest trifecta of nut bark in three shades of decadent. For a sweet recharge, spoons made Italian dark chocolate beg for a twirl through hot cappuccino. Yum!

Stop to admire the Fontana Guidotti in Montecatini while on a chocolate tasting visit.

Italian Chocolate in Siena

Piazza del Campo is a luminous space where the Palio horserace has run since 1633. I love ricciarelli almond cookies with a foamy cappuccino at Bar Palio. It’s a fragrant combination with a great view, day or night.

Or shop for cheese, wine and Tuscan specialties like pecorino di Pienza, truffles or salumi di cinghiale. It’s all here — from savory to sweet. Don’t miss Nino and Friends’ for pralines with hazelnut creme, espresso beans or candied citrus in dark chocolate, slabs of chocolate bark studded with pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts or dried fruit.

Or just stand and stare at the hypnotic chocolate waterfall.

It’s a veritable waterfall of chocolate at Nino and Friends in Siena.

Still More Chocolate Tasting: Ferrara

We make our way north to Ferrara, a lovely brick town with a world-class chocolatier, Rizzati.

One of my favorite things about Italian desserts is that they are smaller and not as sweet as their American counterparts. Rizzati gets it right! Their signature Tenerina is deep, dense cupcake made with pure chocolate. Organic and gluten free, Tenerina’s high percentage of dark chocolate and low lactose combine in a tiny treat with gigantissimo flavor and magical mouth-feel.

Rizzati also has a velvety selection of pralines and bonbons with pistachio, coffee and hazelnut cream filling, shrouded in dark chocolate. And of course, they feature a popular four-season gelato service!  Their candied-fruit chocolates are made from organic citrus, local plums and ginger. The deeply mysterious bergamot is my personal favorite. Yum.

Silky chocolate. Gelato. Foamy cappuccino. Sweet and savory, Italia has it all!

The warm colors of a brick building in Ferrara. Photo by Elizabeth Margolis-Pineo.

— Story and photos by Libby Margolis-Pineo

Hungry for more? Make two authentic Italian desserts, a Chocolate Bark, and Almond Cookie recipes Libby shared in this post.

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