Carlo Goldoni also wrote about frittelle, or “fritole” in Venetian. It was 1756 and the famous playwright had decided to dedicate one of his works, The campiello, at the Carnival. In the small square animated by many typically Venetian characters there is also Orsola, a “fritolera” who is looking for a wife for her son. Jokes, jokes, amusements and various humanity animate the intertwining of this work that is set right on a Carnival day. The comedy, one of the most famous of Goldoni, was staged for the first time at the Teatro di San Luca (which no longer exists) in 1756. The Serenissima Republic was now nearing its end but, despite this, the Carnival raged among streets, squares, theaters and sumptuous parties in private buildings. To the sound of masks ... and pancakes.

fritole with cream

Suffice it to say that on February 13, 1789, Doge Paolo Renier died in the middle of Carnival and that the news of his death was not announced before March 2 in order not to disturb the celebrations. Less than ten years later, in 1797, the Serenissima fell and the Carnival was also put to an end.

The first recipe of "fritole" in a document of the fourteenth century

The Carnival of modern times was reborn in 1979 and in a few years it achieved world fame. Until that of 2020, closed early due to the Coronavirus. For the same reason, 2021 will be a year without Carnival (apart from perhaps some streaming events) but certainly not without “fritole”. Archive research identifies the first traces of the Venetian "fritola" as early as the fourteenth century, among the oldest recipes reported in one of the first documents that write about gastronomy and which is still preserved in Rome at the Casanatense Library. With an update from the Renaissance period included in the kitchen notes - kept at the Correr Museum in Venice - of the chef Bartolomeo Scappi. The Carnival Queen was already preparing herself then, a worthy accompaniment to the craziest party of the year

fritole - painting, Ca 'Rezzonico - The seller of frittole - Pietro longhi 1755
Ca 'Rezzonico - The seller of frittole - Pietro longhi 1755

You have to arrive in the seventeenth century to hear about "Fritoleri", that is, those who prepared and sold pancakes. They worked on the street, distributed in different areas and formed into a real corporation that had seventy members. The fritoleri were a category of a certain weight, with the privilege of keeping the commercial activity in the family, passing it down from father to son. The "fritole" were sold on the street and were themselves great protagonists of the Carnival. This is testified by a painting by the Venetian painter Pietro Longhi (1702-1785) dedicated to La Venditrice di frittole. The work, dated 1755 (one year before the staging of Goldoni's comedy), is kept at the Museo del Settecento in Ca 'Rezzonico, in Venice. It represents a woman handing a skewer with four pancakes to a nobleman, taking it out of a basket. In this way, the dessert could be tasted on the street without getting your hands dirty.

A recipe with many variations for the great protagonist of the Carnival, the video recipe

We come to today and to the goodness of Venetian pancake of which there are now many variants that characterize not only Venice but also the entire Veneto and Friuli hinterland. The ancient recipe called for a simple dough based on brewer's yeast, milk or water, flour, granulated sugar, eggs, raisins, pine nuts. Over the centuries these pancakes have often been enriched with the addition of fruit, mainly apples that make them softer. During the Carnival period the Venetian pastry shops, in addition to the classic "fritola", often also offer pancakes stuffed with cream or zabaglione. These variations are also great and a must try.

The Venetian "fritole" between history and tradition last edit: 2021-02-14T17:00:00+01:00 da Cristina Campolonghi

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