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A Hundred and Fifty years without feeling this age. All began in the confectioner's shop in Alba where Luigi Leone used to produce small and delicious candy originals which were as intensely fragrant as the flavours of Langhe territories. It was back in Year 1857, the year when the famous statesman Mr Camillo Benso Earl of Cavour was already anticipating the pleasure of the Unity of Italy relishing the fine aroma of his favourite sweets, Leone's violet-flavoured liquorice gummy delights, soon afterwards renamed "senateurs" (i.e. senators) in his honour. At that time Turin had the perfumed savours of renovation and of chocolate, being the noble and elegant salon of a Country who was striving towards independence. It was later going to become the first capital of unified Italy and meanwhile it had already deserved the title of capital of sweetness thanks to its cafés, its patisseries and distinguished confectioner's shops. Amongst them one was very special: it was Luigi Leone's, sparkling with delicious sweets and the famous Candy Originals' reign, a colourful rainbow of irresistible flavours. A scented and sugary shower of arquebuse, fernet and cinnamon started raining down on the town rooftops. At the beginning of last century Marca Leone was nonetheless not just the ornament decorating these sweets' colourful wrapping papers or their relief engraving. It was a real common saying, "Marca Leone!", meaning that something had been skillfully made, that it was endowed with absolute excellence and that it could boast indisputable quality. Excellence and quality: two values which in Italian language are singular and feminine, exactly like the businesswoman taking over the company in 1934, Giselda Balla Monero. Nicknamed Lioness because of her untamable temperament, she started investing in advertising and launching new packaging, decisively setting a unique and unmistakable Marca Leone style of taste. A style tasting of traditions but also scenting of novelty and future, precious heritage being nowadays proudly passed on by the Monero family with passion, competence and creativity. This is how, through new flavours, old recipes and fragrant ideas, history goes on in the sign of Sweetness. To once again enchant, after more than a hundred and fifty years, the gourmands of all ages. |
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Ancient knowledge depositary, thorough garrison defending Italian confectionary tradition, Pastiglie Leone looks after a sweet patrimony being without compare in the whole world. Their love for tradition and authentic deliciousness lets historical products such as Candy Originals, Senators, Droplets, Soft Confectionary Fondants and many other antique specialities release their original special flavour still today. A patrimony of recipes and artisan secrets being passed on by Pastiglie Leone through the careful selection of the best ingredients and the respect of artisan rhythms: in some cases production methods are the original ones as at the beginning of last century in order to preserve the secrets of a long and historical tradition. But passion for authentic excellence involves also the quest for continuously-new ways for expressing it. Constantly monitoring the evolution of taste and customers' requests, in the latest years Pastiglie Leone has broadened their production of deliciousness through the Wellbeing range, dedicated to consumers suffering from given food intolerances, as well as through The Chocolate Factory, devoted to real chocolate-lovers. In the new plant, recently inaugurated to welcome all these old and new delights, tradition and modernity live together harmoniously. Thanks to that deeply sweet union of tradition with innovation and of artisan expertise with entrepreneurial modernity successfully created, or better re-created by Pastiglie Leone, the atmosphere perceivable in this place is not so different from the one in the small 1857 artisan laboratory: scents of essences, sugar, aromas and flavours mingle with the rhythmic music of machineries at work while recipes' delicate colours blend with fruit jellies' softness and Candy Originals' friable consistency. Magic is all here, within the pastel-colour painted walls of this special place, unique in the whole of Italy, where the best ingredients are skillfully sourced, processed and mixed in order to pour life into an incredible product variety, a rainbow of specialities to delight the most gluttonous palates. A heaven for all senses where one can still unveil the authentic secret of Sweetness. |
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Reporting the quality of the ingredients selected by Pastiglie Leone for their products involves a world-wide journey through the best raw materials, through the authenticity of flavours and territorial excellences. In their native homeland, Pastiglie Leone has found the fundamental ingredients for some of their most-widely appreciated creations. Piedmont is namely rich in intense and unique savours and this is rightly where the special and renowned Langhe hazelnuts are grown. Elegant, aromatic, round in its shape as well as in its taste, Piedmont PGI hazelnut gives its best in the marriage with Venezuelan cocoa, giving birth to Marca Leone Giandujotto chocolates and to Giandujoso spread. Another product of Piedmontese excellence is Peppermint: the treasure released by its leaves is a precious essential oil, used to enrich hard candies, tablet originals, Candy Originals and a plentiful of other Leone specialities. Grown in the green Pancalieri plantations, few kilometers off from Turin, this special peppermint is unique in the whole world thanks to its extraordinarily sweet and persistent aroma and its superior taste delicacy.
In the lands bathed in sunshine of southern Italy, Pastiglie Leone has on the other hand selected a precious ingredient devoted to their gummy sweets and sukaj specialities,
the Calabrian Liquorice. A sweet-relishing and intensely-perfumed juice is derived from this prestigious variety of authentic liquorice. In those same places, tangerines, lemons are oranges
bloom and from such sun fruits, essences of extremely deep scents are extracted.
The essential oils of citrus fruits, directly purchased from Sicily, are used in the preparation of candies, fruit jellies and many further delicacies. The sourcing of the most valuable ingredients, has led Pastiglie Leone even far away: from Sudan they import the Kordofan Arabic gum, secret and special component for Candy Originals and gummy sweets. This nature's gift exuded from Acacia trees is an extraordinary emulsifying agent enabling the best binding of the various ingredients. Odourless and tasteless, it helps the deepest savouring and aromatic release of the flavours added throughout production.
From Central America the most valuable varieties of cocoa have been selected: Arriba from Ecuador, Trinidad from the island bearing the same name, Carupano, Caracas and Carenero from Venezuela, all together for the finest indulging pleasure of real chocolate-connoisseurs.
On the other hand, the best varieties of vanilla pods are sourced from Madagascar and Mexico. However requiring a time-involving and costly processing, they grant a deep aromatic bouquet far superior to their synthetic imitators.
Excellence is never in a hurry and Pastiglie Leone, to better serve their consumers, patiently waits as long as required to reap and offer, starting from raw materials, the apex of extreme delights. |
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