Patriotism in a place: it was here that the 1844 Cosenza uprising against the Bourbons was hatched, and here that the gendarmi allowed Attilio and Emilio Bandiera to stop for food. It was from here that sweets and sorbets were sent to the city prisons to alleviate the deprivations of the two brothers and the other patriots who were shot dead in the Vallone di Rovito. And it was here, in September 1860, that the Garibaldians celebrated so hard that they damaged the establishment. A meeting place of illustrious memories and in the same family for seven generations, it is now a venue for cultural events.
Out of more than 230 historical places, almost 100 have been run by the same family for more than two generations, and some for as many as five. These include the Ristorante Osteria di Rubbiara, in Nonantola, Modena, the Hotel Royal Victoria in Pisa, Ristorante Checchino in Rome, and Hotel Croce Bianca in Canazei, Trento. Some have been run for six generations: Hotel Alla Posta in Caprile-Alleghe, Belluno, Pasticceria Pansa in Amalfi, Salerno, and Antica Trattoria Suban in Trieste; others even for seven, like the Grapperia Nardini on the famous bridge at Bassano del Grappa, Confetteria Romanengo in Genoa, the Gran Caffè Renzelli in Cosenza, and Ristorante Erasmo in Ponte a Moriano, Lucca.
The Varchiglia was created back in 1300 by the Discalceate Carmelites, who were great sweet-makers and who then had their convent in Cosenza. Varchiglia originally consisted of a soft inner paste made using simple, natural ingredients such as almonds and sugar, wrapped in a soft casing of short pastry and covered in a light film of glacé icing. At the beginning of the XIX century, when chocolate became popular in Europe, the recipe evolved towards a paste made with finely ground almonds and delicious chocolate, which blended into a velvety harmony of flavours that can be described only by enjoying it. The name, “Varchiglia” comes from the Spanish “barquilla” (originally a boat-shaped pod or tablet), which recalls its characteristic oval shape. It was the novices, from the well-to-do families of Cosenza, who took over the nuns’ recipe and introduced it to the salons of high society. It has been handed down by generations, with the Gran Caffè Renzelli of Cosenza as its sole, jealous keeper.
At the Caffè Renzelli in Cosenza, then the “Caffè Gallicchio”, the patriots Domenico Frugiuele and Gianfelice Petrassi decided on 9 March 1844 that the city was ready to rise up against the Bourbons and to proclaim a constitutional government. The revolt was unleashed and led to the ill-starred affair of the Bandiera brothers.
