The Roman invasion of Milan passes, as known, also through food. After Carbonara, Cacio e pepe, pizza al taglio and supplì, now’s the turn of the maritozzo to seduce the craving of the Milanese. Even the emperor of pastry chefs, Iginio Massari, who a few weeks ago, during an event at Host, the Milan hospitality trade fair, declared: “At the moment, the dessert that is very popular everywhere is the Maritozzo from Lazio, which was born as a promise of marriage”.
Iginio Massari's ode to Roman Maritozzo
Massari was referring to the historical origins of this split open brioche bun filled with whipped cream, once given by fiancées to their bethrothed. And which stayed for many years confined to the Eternal City and its district. In Milan, it didn’t make the cut. Still in 2019, a ranking made by one site listed only four (“the only ones available”, as the editor pointed out). The maritozzo made you fat just by looking at it, in the city of style and fitness at all costs. Today, however, having forgotten the nutritionist's advice, it is a super hype product, filling even Milan pastry shops in different versions that are often a little too avant-garde and at prices that in any Roman bar would be considered a felony.
The best 9 addresses for maritozzo in Milan
Here are some of the best addresses, starting with the main mentor, Iginio Massari, who recently arrived in Milan from his nearby Brescia headquarters.
Galleria Iginio Massari Milano
Let's start with the maritozzo proposed by Iginio Massari himself in his shop in Piazza Diaz, a stone's throw from the Duomo, always crowded. Very good and aesthetically perfect, as is the Brescia guru's characteristic, but offered at the price of 7 euro and in a rather small size. But here, of course, you pay for the location, the vanilla cream that softens the pastry, the designer chocolate button, the rich dusting of icing sugar that would not make really happy some Romans (a bit would be just enough) and above all the whim of getting your moustache dirty with a TV star's sweet.
via G. Marconi - piazza A. Diaz, 4 - 02 4969 6962 - iginiomassari.it
Gelsomina
The confectioner's shop back when no one would’ve bet on maritozzo or built a solid and well-deserved reputation on it is Gelsomina, which in its two locations (the original in the Repubblica area and the one in the Risorgimento area), offers three versions as well as those in limited edition for certain occasions: the best-seller is the one with pistachio cream, at a price of 5 euro, but we find the classic one (€4.50) and the one with custard (€5.00) more delicious. Medium-large size, perfect smoothness of the filling that makes it irresistible to the eye.
via C. Tenca, 5 - 0266713696 - via G. Fiamma, 2 - 0249711957 – pasticceriagelsomina.it
Marlà
Other well-made maritozzi are those of Marlà, the pastry shop owned by Marco Battaglia and Lavinia Franco in Corso Lodi 15, which offers a balanced and mouth-watering version, with custard under the generous mass of cream: 4.50 euros for the classic version, 5 euros for the special ones: cream and pistachio or tiramisù with coffee, mascarpone cream and coffee-flavoured whipped cream.
corso Lodi, 15 - - 0236536410 – Marlà – marlapasticceria.it
Martesana
Pasticceria Martesana, with five locations throughout Milan, from the main branch in Via Cagliero to those in Porta Romana, Sarpi, Sant'Agostino and Mercato Centrale, is classic and delicious, though less aesthetic than the previous ones. The price, 4 euros, would be high in Rome but in Milan it is among the cheapest.
Clivati, Felicetta, Gattullo e Cucchi
They make good maritozzi in traditional versions and with a few twists (pistachio is a must) Clivati, in Viale Coni Zugna 57 (dough made with flour, egg, honey and alpine butter and filling with Chantilly cream, chocolate or pistachio); Felicetta, in Via Vincenzo Monti 56; Gattullo in Piazzale di Porta Lodovica 2; the San Gregorio pastry shop in Via San Gregorio 1, one of the first to offer it along the Navigli; the historic Cucchi pastry shop, which offers it with a dough lightened by olive oil used instead of butter and with sultanas and a whipped cream filling that’s perhaps too yellow and creamy for traditionalists.
Matì
A case in point is Matì, in Via Cesare Correnti 23. Due to the idea of a young Roman entrepreneur and chef, Matteo Casaroli, it offers sweet and savoury maritozzi in a gourmet version and in two versions: 30 grams and 15 grams. The classic one costs 3 and 2 euro respectively, then there are whipped cream and pistachio, chocolate and raspberry, tiramisu and sacher. The savoury ones revisit the Roman recipe tradition (picchiapò, chicken cacciatore, meatballs) but also range throughout Italy, from caponata to baccalà mantecato, from octopus salad to vitello tonnato.
via C. Correnti, 23 - 342 510 1206 - matigourmet.com
by Andrea Cuomo
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