ABOUT LAURA

I was born in Rome in 1959, earned a middle school diploma, then started working in the family bakery. The first time I hand-kneaded the panpepati, I was with all the women who helped my mother. Those days marked my destiny. The giglietti, fleur-de-lis-shaped cookies from the 17th century, were in high demand because it was the dessert of weddings and celebrations. Many were sold in Rome during Christmas. In 2012, I went to Terra Madre in Turin, to the Salone del Gusto, with Slow Food Lazio to introduce our giglietto. I was so proud when we returned to the village because the giglietto had been integrated into Slow Food's Ark of Taste – we had saved a simple and special dessert, made by elderly women only for special occasions and weddings, and made it precious for all occasions. In 2014, it became a candidate for the Slow Food Presidium; Erminia and I feel so proud of our work. It's not enough to use your hands to knead and shape. Making bread and giglietti means thinking, remembering, exercising intelligence. This is our art and culture that we want to pass on.