L'Italo-Americano

T he Poor Clare s i s t e r s o f t h e Monastery of Turi – beautiful, with its cloister and annexed Saint Clare Church – have considered p r a y e r a n d w o r k a h o l y blessing, living in full har- mony with Saint Clare rule and Saint Benedict's Ora et Labora, for the past three centuries. While living in a clois- tered community had strict rules, the nuns found auton- o m y e n o u g h , b e t w e e n a prayer and a chant, to man- age all the convent's activi- ties. Great part of their time was spent in the kitchen, as they were keen on the arts of cooking and baking: the fire in their stoves and ovens kindled with coal and wood, they'd use old cauldrons and baking trays, stone pestles, molds, pans, wood and cop- per ladles to make ancient, secret recipes rooted in tra- dition. The monastery's kitchen and bakery were character- ized by a strong sense of community and represented an essential element, also a r c h i t e c t u r a l l y , a r o u n d which all other spaces and activities developed. Among the many tradi- tional recipes prepared with almonds and sugar, there was one made with marzi- pan cooked with egg yolks and filled with cherry jam or in syrup: the faldacchea di Turi, or "la faldacchèje," in local dialect. A sweet tradition born in the convent that, in time, became an icon of Turi's culinary heritage. After a centuries-long his- tory, with the Unification of Italy the Poor Clare sisters' monastery was victim of the leggi eversive, promulgated on the 7 th of July 1866, that were eventually to lead to the suppression of all reli- gious institutions and the seizing of all properties. In 1892, the monastery was acquired by Turi city council and, around the end of the 19 th century, all nuns were f o r c e d t o l e a v e t h e monastery for good. Among t h e m , M o t h e r A b b e s s A n g e l i n a P e r f i d o , c h o i r m e m b e r V i n c e n z a D e Robertis, then Clementina Aceto, Maria Cherubina and Vita Domenica Iacovazzi, Rosa and Clementina Tateo, Maria Vittoria Dell'Aera, Marianna D'Aprile, Maria Consiglia Lopinto, Rosalba Melosci, Rosa Lefemmine, M a r i a n g e l a D ' A d d a b b o , Anna Lucia Casavola and a young collaborator of theirs from Turi, Anna Antonia Martinelli. T u r i , 1 8 8 7 : A n n a A n t o n i a M a r t i n e l l i brings the secret recipe of faldacchea out of the convent The first name to know when it comes to the origins of Turi's faldacchea is cer- t a i n l y A n n a A n t o n i a Martinella, born in 1870 and known in town as "la mon- ecacèdde" (the tiny nun), because of her willowy figure a n d c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e nuns of the convent. In spite of spending regu- lar time there, Anna Antonia Martinelli never became a nun. Her presence in the convent is confirmed by a m a n u s c r i p t k e p t i n t h e archives of the Conversano Diocese, which attests that, i n 1 8 8 7 , e c c l e s i a s t i c a l a u t h o r i t i e s a l l o w e d M a r t i n e l l i , t h e n 1 6 , t o become part of the convent's community with the duty to care for two cloistered nuns, Maria Vittoria Dell'Aera, 80, and her niece, choir member Marianna D'Aprile. From then until the end of the 1800s, Anna Antonia Martinelli never left Turi and would spend time in the con- vent daily. T h i s i s w h e n y o u n g Antonia learned the ancient culinary secrets jealously kept by the nuns. Among them, sister Vincenza de Robertis (1837- 1910), a cloistered nun from Turi, who was passionate about cooking and, in particular, about making marzipan- based sweet treats. Thanks to Martinelli's foresight, the faldacchea -- and other recipes -- left the cloister and slowly became popular among the young women of Turi. In 1892, Anna Antonia M a r t i n e l l i m a r r i e d Giovanni Zita and created a small home bakery in her house, near the Turi Town Hall. Here, she kept experi- menting with all she had learned during her years at the convent: bread, fresh pastas, taralli, nougats and, more importantly, she spe- cialized in the production of traditional almond desserts, including the extraordinary faldacchea. In time, this tiny home bakery, always filled w i t h t h e s c e n t o f s p i c e s , became a sort of professional school for local young girls, eager to learn about patis- serie. LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE Vincenza Carenza (left) and other women preparing faldacchea in Turi (Photo: Pietro Carenza) THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano The faldacchea of Turi STEFANO DE CAROLIS Continued to page 32

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