National Central Library of Florence
Tribuna Dantesca and Tribuna Galileiana. Hours: 10 a.m. – 6.30 p.m. No admission charge
5 March – 10 April 2005
PRESS RELEASE
Presentation
Chocolate is enjoying a veritable golden age in Italy, and countless initiatives have been organised to promote and valorise this product.
The “Cioccolata, squisita gentilezza” exhibition and side events that will be organised by the National Central Library of Florence (BNCF) in the splendid and prestigious setting of the Tribuna Dantesca and Tribuna Galileiana are part of this trend. The BNCF events are distinguished by their extraordinary cultural value, which is also conveyed in these comments.
The initiative has been possible thanks to the contribution of Eurochocolate, the first and most famous European event dedicated to the “food of the gods”. Eurochocolate has long been committed to promoting and spreading “the culture of chocolate”, and Cioccolata, squisita gentilezza will play a key role in other events during the upcoming stages of Eurochocolate 2005 (Perugia, 15-23 October; Naples, 3-11 December).
One of the goals of this initiative is to highlight and acknowledge Florence’s historical pre-eminence when it comes to chocolate, once again making it the capital of what is now widely known as the Tuscan Chocolate Valley. This is a full-fledged production district distinguished by a top-quality product and a growing number of young chocolate makers, who will be featured along with other important Italian and foreign colleagues in the side events that will liven this sweet Florentine Renaissance.
Historical background
Experts have long been aware of the fact that Tuscany historically played a key role in developing the culture of cocoa and chocolate. In fact, the Magliabechiano and Palatino Fonds of the National Central Library of Florence have collected extensive writings testifying that, starting in 1600s, there were heated debates about cioccolatte and its consumption. These documents were written by famous men of science and culture, such as Francesco Redi and Lorenzo Magalotti, as well as equally renowned merchants like Francesco D’Antonio Carletti, one of the first to introduce the “divine” food to the area.
Chocolate was present in seventeenth-century Tuscany and it was a leading player in courtly life. Studies and research have uncovered chocolate’s historic, scientific and cultural value that has yet to be explored and that can now be conveyed for the very first time.
It was also in Florence that, starting in 1680, an endless series of texts was published on the subject of chocolate. Differenza tra il cibo e ‘l cioccolatte…[“The Difference between Food and Chocolate”], edited by Gio. Battista Gudenfridi, was published in 1680. This was followed in 1728 by Parere intorno all’uso della cioccolata [“Opinion about the Use of Chocolate”] by Dr Gio. Battista Felici, Lettera in cui si esaminano le ragioni addotte dall’Autore del primo parere intorno all’uso della cioccolata [“Letter Examining the Reasons Adopted by the Author of the First Opinion Concerning the Use of Chocolate”] by Lorenzo Serafini, Lezione accademica in lode della cioccolata [“Academic Lesson in Praise of Chocolate”] by physician Giuseppe Avanzini and Altro parere intorno alla natura, ed all’uso della Cioccolata disteso in forma di lettera…[“Another Opinion about the Nature and Use of Chocolate, Written in Letter Form”] by Francesco Zeti, also known as “Gobbo di Panone”.
The chocolate of the seventeenth-eighteenth century was different than the kind we enjoy today, because it was available only as a liquid and was enjoyed hot following specific manual preparation. Likewise, the modern processing of chocolate is nothing like the workmanship method used for the cioccolatte of yesteryear. In fact, the conching and tempering phases did not come into use until the nineteenth century.
The Exhibition
The goal of the exhibition and catalogue is to show visitors and scholars the fascinating history of cocoa and chocolate. It starts with the earliest knowledge of this fruit and the beverage made from it (first observed by Christopher Columbus and the conquistadores) through the end of the eighteenth century. In fact, it closes with a letter by Vittorio Alfieri, a connoisseur of cocoa blends and a chocolate enthusiast. A resident of Florence, he would order cocoa from Siena, discussing the recipe and arranging for payment through his banker.
The exhibition will be divided into various sections, starting with the definition and use of the words caccao, cioccolatte and cioccolata. First it will examine historical knowledge about the use of cocoa “instead of money” among the Aztecs, documented by many travellers from this period. It will then illustrate the history of chocolate in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, with the theme of “The Grand Duke’s Chocolate”. This part examines the Medici court, its figures and its venues at the Uffizi Gallery, Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, and the importance of the Fonderia and Spezieria of the Medici and the Grand Duke.
The exhibition will be paralleled by studies and research, all of which based on little-known or previously unpublished documents. The catalogue features introductory essays by well-known scholars and specialists, to accompany visitors and serve as fundamental points of reference for these studies.
It will feature priceless documents like the Magliabechi Codex Cl. XIII, 3 (now BR 232) – the image of the god Quetzalcoatl, who taught man how to grow cocoa, will be displayed – as well as a map of Central America from the Miscellanea Zorzi (one of the earliest, dating back to the 1520s) and the Atlas attributed to the Genoese Agnese, who worked in Venice from about 1520 to the 1560. These are followed by drawings, engravings and printed editions that first brought Italians vague information about chocolate.
Alongside these volumes, there will also be priceless miniatures – unknown until now – from a parchment codex from the early eighteenth century. The Hapsburg-Lorraine family brought it to Florence after they took over Tuscany when the Medici dynasty died out. Chicchere (cups) from the seventeenth-eighteenth century will be displayed, as well as an oil painting portraying the Martelli family drinking chocolate, effectively a visual document showing the success of this beverage in the eighteenth century, and the Accademia della Crusca standard of the “Confortato” (Ridolfo Paganelli), a scholar who chose a cup of chocolate as his emblem with the motto Col prezioso corpo che l’avviva [“With the precious body that enlivens it].
Visitors will also discover a series of recipes from the second half of the 1600s up to the 1700s, from the one attributed to the Fonderia Medicea to the one used by the friars of SS. Annunziata and the ones collected by Targioni Tozzetti.
Moreover, the exhibition and catalogue will document lively medical and theological debates about the beverage, as well as its pharmaceutical uses.
Literary works, verses, sonnets and poems have been dedicated to this beverage, and through them the exhibition and catalogue have reconstructed the literature about it: learned and pensive scholars were interested in it and appreciated it. Following the members of the Accademia degli Apatisti and the Accademia della Crusca (which brought the Italian language the terms cioccolata, cacao and chicchera, the latter appearing in the 1691 dictionary with an item written by Cardinal Leopoldo de’ Medici), the Colombi of the Accademia Colombaria assembled regularly during the eighteenth century for their “Turno della cioccolata” meeting.
The itinerary continues with other men of letters and librarians (notorious chocolate lovers!) and a section devoted to chocolate in music. It ends with the description and illustration of “changing customs” triggered by the introduction of this new beverage, which rapidly became a status symbol and a very popular delicacy.
With this layout, the exhibition will offer a “multisensory taste”, also through tastings of chocolate prepared according to seventeenth-century recipes, in order to offer the right instruments for visitors to compare the chocolate of today with that of yesterday, which – as already noted – differed in its appearance and processing method.
The side events
The ChocoBook Shop
Sala Distribuzione
Hours: daily from 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
On sale: exhibition catalogue, the Redi version of “La Cioccolata segreta del Granduca in Tazza”, choco-merchandising
No admission charge
The Chocolate Renaissance
Tribuna Galieliana
Hours: daily from 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.
A charming little boutique for tasting and purchasing selected products by the finest Tuscan and international chocolate-makers
No admission charge
Culture and Taste of Chocolate
Sala Distribuzione
Saturday and Sunday: 5 – 6.30 p.m.
Guided tastings with the chocolate makers of the Tuscan Chocolate Valley
Admission: by reservation (+39 075 502-5880)
Group dinners by reservation
Other cultural events are being finalised, such as concerts, films, book presentations, conferences and seminars. They will be listed shortly on the official website of the National Central Library of Florence (www.bncf.firenze.sbn.it) and on the official Eurochocolate website (www.eurochocolate.com).
In-depth studies
Attached press forms:
- L’arrivo del Cioccolato in Italia: le tre ipotesi degli studiosi
- Il Granduca ‘cioccolataio’
- Svelata la ricetta della cioccolata al gelsomino di Cosimo III de’ Medici. Il primo esperimento di ingegneria botanico-culinaria
- Cioccolata in poesia. La cioccolata dei gesuiti: una ‘bevanda dell’anima’
- ‘Cioccolatieri’ contro ‘anticioccolatisti’. Scontro tra Genova e Firenze per una tazza di cioccolata
- Tra religione e meraviglia: esposto per la prima volta un Offiziolo d’inizio Settecento.
Texts edited by: Walter Bernardi, Donatella Lippi, Giovanni Piccardi, Learco Nencetti, Maria Adelaide Bartoli Bacherini, Giovanna Giusti, Antonio Godoli, Laura Baldini, Maria Litta Medri, Francesco Morena , Lucia Chimirri, Piero Scapecchi and Zefiro Ciuffoletti
Pictures
The pictures and logo for the Cioccolata, squisita gentilezza exhibition can be consulted and downloaded from the official website (www.eurochocolate.com) in the press area section.
Scientific Committee
Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze, Piazza dei Cavalleggeri, 1 – 50122 Florence
Tel. +39 055 249-191 / Fax +39 055 234-2482; www.bncf.firenze.sbn.it
Antonia Ida Fontana, Artemisia Calcagni Abrami, Piero Scapecchi, Lucia Chimirri, Learco Nencetti, Zefiro Ciuffolotti, Walter Bernardi, Donatella Lippi, Giovanni Piccardi, Maria Adelaide Bartoli Bacherini, Antonio Godoli, Laura Baldini, Giovanna Giusti, Maria Litta Medri, Francesco Morena
Organisational Office and Press Office
Eurochocolate - Viale Centova 6 - 06128 Perugia
Tel. +39 075 502-5880 – Fax +39 075 502-5889
E-mail: info@eurochocolate.com
