Palestrina and Castel San Pietro Romano Giglietto Biscuit

Flour, sugar and eggs. These are the only ingredients necessary to make Giglietti, a simple biscuit rooted in history. Giglietti are in fact closely linked to the fate of Roman nobility, in particular of the Barberini family, lords of Palestrina (in Lazio).
An influential family, the Barberini also count a Pope, Urban VIII, amid their descendants. During his papacy he bought the town of Palestrina from the Colonna princes and transformed it into the family’s noble estate. It is during their exile at the court of Louis XIV (having been accused of bad government) that the Barberini discover the Giglietti (‘giglietto’ the Italian word for ‘small lily’), biscuits in the shape of the fleur-de-lis, symbol of the French Bourbon dynasty. Once back in Palestrina, the bakers of the court began recreating them but substituted the fleur-de-lis for a bee, symbol of the family stem. The bee-shaped biscuits were not as successful and for this reason they returned to the original fleur-de-lis form which has been used to this day.
Despite the simplicity of ingredients and short cooking times, making Giglietti requires particular skills which have been handed down though the years by only a handful of families. It is a product rich in history, yet little known outside the local area and at risk of disappearing due to the technical difficulties in making them.

Season

It is available throughout the year.