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A BRIEF HISTORY OF PIADINA ROMAGNOLA

It is truly amazing that a food so basic and simple such as piadina can have such an interesting, rich history and culture behind it. Piadina is a very delicious regional, traditional specialty with ancient Roman origins.

Although Romagna, the region that has made it famous is small, the name of piadina has various derivatives depending on the city. It can be referred to as "piè, pijda, pieda, pida".

The first known documentation of piadina comes from a description of Romagna compiled by Cardinal Angelico in 1371, referring to the duties owed by the city of Modigliana to the "Camera Apostolica" were two "piade".

In 1900 Giovanni Pascoli, the Italian poet and classical scholar, born in San Mauro di Romagna (later named after him, San Mauro Pascoli), gave piadina its cultural place as a low-cost food eaten by the poor. In his various poems he wrote about the "bread of Enea" and the "rough bread of Rome", linking the origin of piadina to the Latin "mensa" which is found in the seventh canto of Eneide.

In his short poem "La Piada", published in "Vita Internazionale" he wrote:
Piada, pieda, pida, piè,
si chiama dai romagnoli la spianata di grano o di granoturco o mista,
che e` il cibo della povera gente,
e si intride senza lievito;
e si cuoce in una teglia d'argilla,
che si chiama testo,
sopra il focolare,
che si chama aròla
(The poem describes how piadina is made and its popularity with the people).

The Roman 'ancestry' of piadina became part of the cultural tradition when it was written about in the journal "La Piè", started in 1920 by Aldo Spallici. Piadina has become a symbol of Romagna, synonymous with the home and the good earth.

The world famous Italian movie/film director, Federico Fellini, born in Rimini (Romagna), was another great lover of the Piadina Romagnola which today can also be purchased and enjoyed here in the United States, specifically in Michigan!