One day in the mid 1990s when Alison and I were creating the first edition of “The Irreverent Guide to Amsterdam” (later hijacked and handed to someone else, but that’s another story), we wandered into the fine arts museum in Haarlem (the original Haarlem, now a suburb of Amsterdam). Lo and behold, in a Seicento painting—a beautiful still life—there was a sea biscuit. It looked exactly like the ones still being made in San Rocco di Camogli. We asked to see the museum director, and pointed out this curious fact to him. He was thrilled—he had no idea those sea biscuits were still being baked.
When we got back to San Rocco from Amsterdam, we mailed a bag of gallette to the museum director, and he wrote back with eternal thanks. An art historical mystery had been solved: until then, no one was sure what that strange biscuit was.
Be First to Comment