Andiamo! Citalia Magazine Autumn 2023

Food for Prosperity
Speaking of food, as you’d expect in Italy it plays a large role in New
Year customs!
A special New Year feast, known as Cenone di Capodanno is when
friends and families gather together for a multi-course meal. The
prepared dishes always depend on your geography.
In Italy’s northern regions such as Piedmont and Lombardy, risotto is
a favourite New Year’s dish, while in the south you’ll find several fish
courses being served.
It’s common to find recipes featuring lenticchie (lentils) across Italy as
these are believed to signify money. Grown in the region of Umbria,
their flat round shape looks like little coins, and it’s said that the more
you eat, the more likely you’ll attract wealth.
There’s also a sweet ritual in which you eat a single grape for every
ring of the midnight bell.
“We have an old rhyme that goes: Chi mangia l’uva per Capodanno,
maneggia i quattrini tutto l’anno - Whoever eats grapes on New Year,
will handle money all year,” explains Stefano Nirta, Citalia’s Regional
Destination Manager. “The meaning of this is that if you’ve been smart
enough to save your grapes from the autumn harvest then you’ll have
an abundant year.”
Pork is popular as it represents the richness of life, and
you’ll find slow-cooked cotechino, a large, spiced sausage
that’s served sliced, and zampone, a seasoned pig trotter
sausage that’s specially made in the town of Modena in
Northern Italy.
Traditional sweet cakes such as panettone and pandoro are frequently
served for dessert alongside dried fruits and nuts in Milan, while in
the south you’ll find Neapolitan delights such as struffoli (fried dough
balls dipped in honey), susamielli (spiced almond biscuits), raffioli (iced
sponge biscuits) and mostaccioli (chocolate-dipped sponge cake). In
Rome, you’ll find friends giving each other jars of dates and figs in
honey, alongside a bay branch, another symbol of good luck.
A Smashing Affair
Across southern Italy you may hear an almighty crash as the ritual of
il lancio dei cocci or buttare le cose vecchie occurs.
“This is a literal expression of out with the old, in with the new,” explains
Stefano. “People, particularly in Naples and Rome, will smash any old
crockery and glassware, and sometimes even furniture and cookware,
throwing them out of windows and balconies, clearing out the house
and making space for new things to come.”
The Year Ahead
If plates aren’t being thrown, then bacini - kisses - certainly will be, and
friends and family place them on both cheeks as is the custom.
It’s also believed that the first person you meet on the street after
midnight could predict what kind of year you’re going to have. If you
meet an elderly person then it’s likely your year is full of surprises,
however meeting a baby, doctor, or a priest could forecast an unlucky
year ahead.
Cotechino
Struffoli
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