''Piadina romagnola'' () or simply ''piadina'', traditionally ''piada'' (; ), is a thin Italian

flatbread A flatbread is bread made usually with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are Unleavened bread, unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pita bread. A Se ...

, typically prepared in the

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

historical region (provinces of Forlì-Cesena,

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, and

Rimini Rimini ( , ; or ; ) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Sprawling along the Adriatic Sea, Rimini is situated at a strategically-important north-south passage along the coast at the southern tip of the Po Valley. It is ...

). It is usually made with white flour, lard or

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

, salt, and water. The dough was traditionally cooked on a terracotta dish (locally called ''teggia'' or ''testo''), although nowadays flat pans or electric griddles are commonly used. ''Piadina'' has been added to the list of the '' prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali'' (PAT) of the

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

region, and to the protected geographical indication of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in 2014.

Origin

Since

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

flatbreads like this were used, the first mention of the ''piadina'' was in 1317, in the Descriptio provinciæ Romandiolæ, when papal legate Angel de Grimoard describes its recipe: "It's made with grain wheat mixed with water and seasoned with salt. It can also be made with milk and seasoned with a bit of lard."

Etymology

The etymology of the word ''piadina'' is uncertain; many think the term ''piada'' (''piê'', ''pièda'', ''pìda'') was borrowed from the Greek word for ' focaccia'. Others think the term was borrowed from other languages because of the large use of similar foods throughout the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

. The term ''piada'' was officialised by Giovanni Pascoli, who adapted the Romagnol word ''piè'' into its more Italian form.

Modern era

''Piadine'' are usually sold immediately after preparation in specialised

kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Iran, Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist ...

s (called ''piadinerie''), filled with a variety of cheeses, ''

salumi (: , ) are Italian cuisine, Italian meat products typical of an antipasto, predominantly made from pork and Curing (food preservation), cured. They also include bresaola, which is made from beef, and some cooked products, such as mortadell ...

'', and vegetables, but also with sweet fillings, including

Nutella Nutella ( , , ; stylized in all lowercase) is a brand of brown, sweetened hazelnut cocoa spread. Nutella is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero and was introduced in 1964, although its first iteration dates to 1963. History Pietro ...

or jam. There may be small differences depending on the zone of production. ''Piadine'' produced around Ravenna and Forlì are generally thicker, while those produced around Rimini and the

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

region are thinner and the diameter is greater. ''Piadina'' has even found its way to space, eaten by a Russian astronaut as part of a

Mediterranean diet The Mediterranean diet is a concept first proposed in 1975 by the American biologist Ancel Keys and chemist Margaret Keys. The diet took inspiration from the eating habits and traditional food typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and s ...

experiment on the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

. According to Giovanni Pascoli,

References

External links

PiadinaOnLine

Tracce di storia della piada
{{Flatbreads Cuisine of Emilia-Romagna Italian breads Flatbreads Fast food

Origin

Etymology

Modern era

See also

References

External links