AIDA

The Sugar Grotto in the heart of Assoro: the song of hands from one story to another It was 1930 when Antonino Giangreco whispered his amber dreams to honey and painted his secret recipes with milk. Perched in the beautiful and historic village in the heart of Sicily, Assoro, he gave shape and sweetness to the almonds while the scent of freshly baked bread floated in the air between the mountains. The silence and the work became an immense Echo, amidst the laughter of the little ones of the house, who made their fairytale adventures along those paths. And between one mountain and another we exchanged the story of the sun and the wind, witnesses of that genuine feeling. It is still perceived. Today. If you stop to look at the ancient laboratory of the Giangreco family with romantic eyes, today wisely guided by Paolo and his family, you can scroll through the film of memory, warmth and sugar, shapes and hands inside the pastes and candied fruit. And this is how visiting these soft and caramelized places is a privilege. In 2015 the family fairy tale dressed in hard work and competence was given a name, AIDA, an acronym but also an assonance that smacks of tradition handed down from hand to hand, resembles a song, like the Greek Aoidós, the one who preserves and that it passes on. A song of hands, immortal over time. Walking on the steep floors to reach the ancient cave which was then transformed into a place of production and flavor, hearing the sounds of the ingredients that blend in your hands, in a dizzying mixture of pastel colors is almost surreal. Warm colors of Sicily, inside small variegated and tender creatures, full of meaning, care and meticulous attention. The care for the care of every detail, of each shape, of the wrapping and of the fabrics with their ribbons. Confectionary sculptures of extreme refinement. Small hearts of royal dough and wedges of puff pastry and shortcrust pastry. Savory drops of pure chocolate and hazelnuts. And so from ancient to modern, from history to today, the small creatures of almond and pistachio creams travel the world bringing the sublimation of every smell, wisdom and culture exuded by this triangular land, sometimes flint burin and sometimes sea cradle.