Mandurlin dal pont
Mandurlin dal Pont are small sweets that originated in Pontelagoscuro, a town a few kilometres from Ferrara on the banks of the Po. Completely razed to the ground by bombing during World War II, Pontelagoscuro was the crossroads and commercial heart of Ferrara. The hundreds of cargoes of goods that travelled up the Po from all parts of the known world, docked here and the products were then sold in the lower Po Valley.
These irregular-looking sweets - made from almonds, egg whites, sugar and flour - have uncertain origins.
Some claim that they were invented in 1857 on the occasion of Pope Pius IX's visit. Apparently, the Pope tasted them at the Apollo pastry shop, located under the Via Coperta, a long arcade where the commercial life of the town already pulsated in the 18th century.
Others, maintain the theory that mandurlin dal pont were invented in the early 1900s by a local shop assistant, to use the egg whites left over from the preparation of ice cream.
We do not know is right but one thing is certain though, you will only find mandurlin dal pont in Ferrara!
