1. Istituto “F. Tozzi” di Civitella Paganico - Italia
Scuola dell’infanzia di Paganico - Scuola dell’infanzia di Campagnatico
Via Malavolti 31, 58045 Paganico
Tel. 0039 564 905037 FAX 0039 564 905675 e-mail gric8177p@istruzione.it
Laura Bozzi laura.bozzi@libero.it

7. A lot of people know and appreciate ”Panpepato” today, but there are even
more estimators of “Panforte” and other typical Sienese cakes, which are
considered among the most ancient and typical cakes in Italy.
The modern Panforte is obviously different from the one which was eaten
in the town and in the rural area during the Middle Ages. At that time there
was the “Panes Melatos”, a sort of cake made with flour, water, figs, grapes
and honey, which was rich and savoury when it was fresh and after a few
days it turned sour and took a strong taste: that is why it was called “Panis
Fortis” or “Panforte”.
During the 13th Century , thanks to the crusades and the following trades
with the East, the Sienese were among the first who discovered,
appreciated and took the precious spices to their country.
According to tradition “Panforte” was born in the monastery of
Montecellesi, where one day Sister Leta, who was in charge of cooking,
opened the kitchen cupboard and saw that the small bags containing
almonds, candies, flour, spices etc. had been gnawed off. As she could not
separate the things that had mixed up, she decided to boil some honey and
add all the ingredients spread in the cupboard, in order to cook something
for the poor.

8. A black cat arrived, just while she was cooking, it rubbed against her dress and
made a strange sound, which was not typical of cats: the nun thought he was a
personification of the Devil, so she sent him away and threw him the hot mixture.
When Sister Berta, the Mother Abbess arrived she was happy that the Devil had
run away and wanted to taste what was left. She enjoyed its smell and taste very
much and decided to call it “Panpepato”. Let us go back to the facts which have
been documented. The success of “Panpepato” ( or more generally “Panforte”)
soon passed over Sienese frontiers and several documents proof its presence at
elegant banquets offered by the rich all over Italy and also abroad.
In order to give emphasis to the great competence which was necessary to produce
Panpepato, in an old parchment of the first years of 18th century we can read a list
of primary ingredients which, in addition to water and fire, reach the number of
seventeen ( as many as the Sienese quarters, “contrade”, ever since 1675).
The order was: candied oranges, candied lemon skin, cinnamon bark, corianders,
aromatic pepper, cloves, nutmeg. Furthermore, as if it were a magical rite, the
following virtues were to be added:
- honesty
- laboriousness
- love for good things
- temperance
The man who made Panforte had to be so virtuous, because those virtues led to
perfection.

9. Panforte recipe
Ingredients for 6 people
100 g flour, 120 g kernels of walnuts,
300 g sugar, 180 g almonds, 25 g
candied orange, 25 g candied cedar,
250 g black candied melon, a pinch of
cinnamon, a pinch of vanilla powder,
a pinch of coriander, a pinch of
cloves, flour for baking tin, cinnamon
for baking tin, hosts

10. PREPARATION
Blanch the walnuts and the almonds in boiling water,
then plunge them in cold water and peel. Toast the fruits
in a hot oven for 5 minutes, then chop them up. Place the
mixture on the pastry board, add the chopped candied
fruit, cinnamon, vanilla powder, coriander, cloves and
flour and knead it.
Heat sugar in a saucepan until it forms lumps, then add
it to the mixture and mix until you obtain a consistent
mixture. Put the mixture into a baking tin covered with
hosts, level it so that it is quite thick, then sprinkle the
surface with a mixture of flour and cinnamon. Cook the
cake in the oven at 140 degrees for half an hour, then
allow it to cool on a grill. If you don’t eat it by the end of
the day, wrap it in a tin foil: the cake will be delicious
even after a month.

11. Rules and explanation of the game
Perhaps not everyone knows this, but with a panforte you can also play.
It is a popular game very common in Siena and in Maremma too,
handed down by traditions to brighten up the cold winter nights.
The "game of panforte" needs a few accessories: a panforte wrapped in
the old fashioned way (it’s not good the type packed in cardboard boxes),
a quite long table and a referee with a stiff meter (or, as an alternative, a
long wooden spoon). The players, divided into teams, take turns rolling
the panforte on the table trying to get as close as possible to the opposite
edge, the referee measures the length obtained by each player until the
end of the turn.
The referee awards the point to the player who, in the round, gets closer
to the edge. If the panforte goes out and falls on the floor the throw is not
valid. If it exceeds the edge, while still remaining on the table, then it is a
"hut" which becomes the new measurement to overcome.

12. SUPER

15. Water and fire
Where to play: outdoors or indoors
What you need: an object of your choice
Rules and explanation of the game
Hide an object somewhere in the house or garden, without
being seen by one participant who need to keep his eyes
closed! Then when you say: “ Go!” he runs to find the
hidden object: all the other partecipants say "water" if their
friend is too far away from the object, "shotfirer" if he is a
little closer and "fire" if he is coming to see it. You cannot lie:
if you cheat you are out from the game for a turn!

16. object
A child hides an another child has
object to find the object
The object is
hidden