The grandparents tell us that “On a cold and rainy day in November, Martin went out on horseback covered with his cloak, along the road he saw a poor, half-naked and staggering from the cold.” Martino, having no money with himself, took pity and cut in half his mantle donating a part to the poor, shortly after it stopped raining and the sun came out, heating up the air as if it were summer, hence the summer name of San Martino, where the beautiful sunny days of November are still remembered. night Martin dreamed of Jesus with his cloak in his hand thanking him for the gesture of compassion. ”
The summer of San Martino falls, in fact, during these days of November, when the weather is always mild, as if it were a last farewell of the summer that goes away. This year the forecasts from 11 to 17 November are exceptional with sun and temperatures that will exceed 20 degrees.
In Venice the tradition of San Martino is remembered above all by the kids on November 11th, walking through the streets of the city with a wreath of paper on their heads, and making a big noise with pots and bells, counting on the generosity of the people to get some money.
Although now this tradition is almost disappearing (replaced by other parties like Halloween), it is still possible to meet children with mothers following the streets of Venice.
The typical dessert of this festival is a sweet pastry with the shape of San Martino on horseback with sugar candies, chocolates, and colored glaze, sometimes it is covered with chocolate glaze.
RECIPE
For the pastry
500 gr. flour 00
200 gr Sugar
200 gr Butter
3 eggs
Half a sachet of baking powder Grated rind of a natural lemon
For decoration
250 g Dark chocolate
Colorful sprinkles, chocolates, candies to taste
Mix the pastry in a bowl, adding the flour, the sugar, the butter cut into pieces, the eggs, the baking powder and the grated lemon rind. Make a ball and leave in the fridge for about half an hour. Then roll out the dough, cut it into the shape of San Martino and bake in preheated (static) oven at 180 degrees for 30 minutes. After having baked it, let it cool and in the meantime melt the dark chocolate in a bain-marie. When the cake has cooled, you can start the decoration using the melted chocolate to “glue” the sweets, candies, chocolates.