And now, let us begin! You will find this month's recipe near the end of our celebration of

The Feast of the Epiphany

We last left you with a small overview of the many ways that Christmas is celebrated in Italy and Tuscany, and a taste of some of the foods that make the holidays so special to us. One of the most exciting things about a visit to Tuscany, and indeed, all of Italy, is that there are so many reasons and occasions for us to celebrate. In our next issue, we will once again begin to explore the various regions and towns of Tuscany, but before we do, we would like to offer you just one more look at another celebration that is unique to us.

Perhaps you will recall that in the issue before last, we visited the Maremma, and discussed the unique cattle of that wild region of Tuscany. In the Maremma, the Feast of the Epiphany is still sometimes celebrated in a remarkable way. After dark on the evening of January 5th, carolers costumed as the Christmas Witch, La Befana, honor the Epiphany by traveling from house to house and farm to farm to sing both traditional and modern songs of this holiday. The caroling ushers in the celebration which takes place on the 6th of January, when La Befana herself comes in the evening to bring presents to the children.

The traditional legend behind this custom tells us that in times long past in Tuscany, a man would dress himself as a witch and surround himself with befanotti; these were shrewd and desperate low-life characters who wore false beards, inside-out jackets, and smeared their faces with grease. This group of men are said to have begged, and perhaps given their accumulated offerings to the poor, much like the English legend of Robin Hood. It is also said that they kept their booty for themselves!

In places throughout Tuscany, and especially in the Maremma as we mentioned above, on the night between the 5th and the 6th of January, groups of men go from farm to farm and through the villages singing, among other tunes, a begging song. Like the befanotti of old, they are dressed in old clothes and they smear their faces with soot.

The begging song describes the befana, who promises gifts for everyone; the song then ends with a request for offerings. The offerings collected are usually food, which is eaten in a meal shared among the befanotti.

Italy Mag - Attention Italophiles! Get your fix of all things Italian in the UK's only premium glossy magazine dedicated to 'il bel paese'. Edited in Italy, published in the UK and available by subscription worldwide, whatever your interest - food, wine, homes, fashion, sport, travel - this stunning magazine has something for you. The website also offers a free Italian course, a forum and sample articles from the magazine. Buon divertimento!

La Befana

Where does the concept or even the word "Befana" come from? It is a variation on the word Epiphania, which in turn comes from the Greek Epifaneia, generally meant "an event," but later taking on a Christian significance: both the Greek and Italian words came to represent the deeply significant religious moment when the Three Kings beheld the Infant Jesus Christ in human form.

This then became a religious holiday known as Twelfth Night in some cultures, and as the Epiphania in Italy. The Medici in Florence had a hand in the transformation of the Epiphania from a serious religious holiday to a time of mirth, ushering in the Carnivale season before Lent.

In Florence, in the very early 17th Century, festive gift-giving came at the end of the Christmas season at Epiphany. Caterina de Medici was given an array of ostentatiously expensive gifts by her husband, Cosimo II, Duke of Mantua. The mirthful and jocular connotations of the Feast of the Epiphany come to us from this extravagant gift-giving. Cosimo himself enjoyed being teased for the sumptuous nature of his gifts to his wife, and the idea of a fanciful holiday, complete with gifts, became popular.

That there were men at court who dressed in costume seems to be the origin of the befanotti, who have somehow become transfigured into La Befana, an old witch who brings presents to children at the Epiphany! One explanation traces this transformation through the young men who wore costumes in the medieval religious plays, and then to the revelers who marched through the streets of Florence in the Carnivale parades.

Since Christian tradition has it that the Magi brought their gifts to the Christ Child on the Twelfth Night after his birth, it makes perfect sense that Italian children were given gifts on this night. The bearer of the gifts came to be the witch, La Befana, who rewarded good children with treats in their stockings, and punished the naughty children with coal. Those traditions resonate with Christmas gift giving lore throughout Christianity today.


Cenci

One popular way of celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany and the arrival of La Befana is to make and serve the first batch of Cenci, the traditional pastry that is associated both with Epiphania and Carnivale. This pastry goes by a variety of names throughout Italy, but in Florence and the surrounding area, it is always Cenci.

The name Cenci means tatters, "stuff" or scraps of fabric used for dusting or cleaning, or rags, and it doesn't take much imagination to associate these rags with those worn on the night before Epiphania by the befanotti. We hope that you will make your own batch in the coming nights. Here is our recipe for this delicious treat:

2 1/4 Cups (225 grams) all-purpose white flour, sifted
2 Tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup (35 grams) granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon Vin Santo; brandy, sherry or rum can be substituted; more for moistening the dough if necessary
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

Vegetable oil and a deep kettle for frying

Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Just as if you were making dough for pasta, make a mound of the flour with a deep well in the center. Into the well place the butter, sugar, eggs, tablespoon of the Vin Santo, vanilla and salt. Again, as if you were making pasta, gently work this into a dough, taking flour into the well from its edge until the ingredients are just mixed. If the dough begins to get stiff, moisten with just a little of the liquor, as the dough should remain very pliable.

Knead the dough well, and then cover with a cloth and leave in a cool place to rest for one hour. Roll the dough quite thin with a rolling pin, and cut into the traditional shape of a strip, about 8 inches or 20 cm long, and 1/2 an inch or 3 cm wide, tied in a loose knot.

Deep fry the Cenci in hot oil, just a few at time, until they turn golden brown and puff up. Drain them on paper towels, and then sift powdered sugar over them while warm. Eat these delicious treats warm or cold, and think of La Befana on her rounds!


Write to us
We were happy to receive such terrific feedback and so many wishes for a Merry Christmas from our readers! Several of you mentioned that you were trying some of our recipes for your own holiday dinners, and we are anxious to know how you enjoyed them. Please keep your letters, questions and kind comments concerning the newsletter coming to us at :

TuscanLifeEdit@netscape.net