Photos taken from Web
Among the many culinary delights, Turin also boasts the tradition of Easter eggs. If not as an absolute invention, it at least contributed to their worldwide spread and popularity.
The tradition of eggs
The tradition of preparing and decorating eggs has very ancient origins and is linked to pagan beliefs. This is evidenced by the discovery of decorated eggs in some ancient Egyptian tombs, symbolizing life, as it seems that even the ancient Persians exchanged chicken eggs during spring as a wish and symbol of life renewal.
With the advent of Christianity, the egg is maintained as a symbol of Christ’s resurrection. Its shape, similar to a stone, recalls the boulder that covered the Holy Sepulcher, while inside it holds a new life, symbolizing the resurrection.
Later, in the Middle Ages, the tradition of giving richly decorated eggs with gems and precious materials during the Easter period spread in Germany. These were exchanged among the most important noble families of the time as a gift of good fortune and prosperity.
The first chocolate eggs
However, the first chocolate eggs appeared in the 18th century in France, at the court of King Louis XIV. To be honest, it seems they did not have much success.
The idea was brilliantly reworked in nearby Piedmont. In Turin, chocolate had long been popular as an important and common delicacy among aristocratic families, and the city had several workshops for its processing. One of these was the Giambone shop, located on Via Roma.
Here, the widow Giambone had the idea of filling the empty shells of chicken eggs with liquid chocolate, then displaying the finished product in the window of her pastry shop, apparently next to a live chicken. It is said to have been 1725, and unlike what happened in France, the novelty in Turin immediately had great success.
Easter eggs
The growing demand for Easter egg production is also reflected in one of the most prestigious Turin companies: Romualdo Ferrero. Founded in 1858, it is probably the oldest in Turin.
After changing several locations always in the city of Turin, today it is based in the Borgo San Paolo neighborhood. Romualdo was initially specialized in the creation of ivory billiard balls. Over time, it progressively abandoned ivory, dedicating itself to metalworking and the creation of machines and molds for chocolate production.
It was Romualdo who made the first mold for chocolate eggs for the Turin chocolatier Michele Talmone. The mold was so successful that all the main Turin chocolatiers (Venchi, Caffarel, Baratti, Streglio, etc.) requested it. Even today, Romualdo is an international leader in chocolate processing machinery.
Despite the molds developed by Romualdo, only solid eggs continued to be produced. It was only in 1920 that the Sartorio company patented a machine capable of creating hollow chocolate eggs of large dimensions.
The surprise
The tradition of inserting a surprise inside eggs dates back to the late 19th century and comes from Russia. Tsar Alexander III commissioned the famous jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé to create a particularly rich egg to give to his wife during the Easter holidays.
The first egg made by Fabergé was in enameled platinum. Inside it was a second solid gold egg that contained a reproduction of the imperial crown and a golden chick.
In 32 years, Fabergé produced 69 eggs, all very lavish and precious. The eggs are now preserved in various museums around the world; a small part is instead kept in private collections.
Following Fabergé’s idea and thanks to the Sartorio machine that allowed the creation of hollow chocolate eggs, in 1925, for the first time, surprises were inserted inside chocolate eggs.
Initially, they were small sugar paste animals, but soon these were replaced with toys for children or gifts for adults.
Easter eggs today
The history of the chocolate egg sees its last act in 1974. Given the enthusiasm of children to open the Easter egg to find the surprise, Michele Ferrero (son of Pietro, founder of the eponymous company) said he wanted to give children Easter every day. Thus, the Kinder Surprise egg was born, which quickly conquered the world market.
Although the chocolate egg is now recognized as an Easter symbol worldwide, there are some countries where it is not so widespread and popular. In Northern Europe and Anglo-Saxon countries, the tradition of the rabbit (or hare) persists. This was considered a prolific animal, a symbol of rebirth during the spring period, which with the advent of Christianity coincided with the Easter period. In any case, even with the rabbit, it is now traditional to insert a small surprise for children.