On November 11th, St. Martin is celebrated, who holds a significant position in the vast pantheon of saints. Especially in Venice, but over the years, this tradition has expanded geographically. On this occasion, pastry shops and sweet stores prepare and sell a large shortcrust pastry biscuit in the shape of the Saint on a horse, with the drawn sword held high, ready to perform his noble gesture of dividing the cloak. The sweet can also be covered with a layer of chocolate and is richly decorated with confetti, colored strips of hardened sugar, and chocolates. Beyond the deliciousness of this simple shortcrust pastry sweet, what matters is the emotion and magic that repeat every year, making us feel like children again as we eagerly attack the calorific Saint, deciding where to start biting. There is also a version called “persegada” in dialect, known as “cotognata” in Italian, which is a very ancient-tasting sweet. It uses a forgotten and hard-to-find fruit: the quince apple. In Venice, with “persegada,” they prepare “medallions” with the image of St. Martin, decorated with colorful sugar candies, less common but appreciated by enthusiasts of flavors from the past.
