In my previous post, I had mentioned the film Spanglish and a marvelous sandwich (Spanglish sandwich) I discovered owing to that film. In this post I will mention about the film “Love & Gelato“, and the sweet taste appearing in that film. (Photo above: A scene from the film Love & Gelato, Netflix)

Love & Gelato is a sweet Italian film, a nice romantic comedy based on Jenna Evans Welch’s young adult novel (NY Times best seller) of the same title.

The film starts with an Italian saying which Lina’s mother she has just lost to cancer had told her: “You never forget your first love“. Then we see the funeral of Lina’s mother where being sad and wearing black were not allowed, everybody gathered around a pumpkin spice coffin dressed in pumpkin spice, the favorite color of her mother, and where we hear someone sing a nice song accompanied by guitar: all as Lina’s mother Hadley had wished, revealing her uncommon character.

Before her first year of university at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Lina should visit Italy to live out her mother’s last wish for her. A cautious character who is anxious about anything, she doesn’t want to go first, as it was also their plan to go to Rome together with her beloved mother as a graduation trip. With the encouragement of her best friend Addie, a social media phenomenon, Lina finally agrees to spend her summer in Rome – where she would discover herself and experience love besides the beauties of Italy: as her mother did years ago when she had come to Italy at Lina’s age.

Lina meets two Italian friends of her mother Hadley as soon as she arrives in Rome: Francesca (Fran), the best friend of her mother whom Hadley stayed with in Rome, and Fran’s cousin Howard – a school teacher who was at university the summer Hadley stayed with Fran. Howard immediately proposes to take Lina to her mother’s favorite place in Rome: Mercati di Traiano (Trajan’s Market) built between 100 and 110 AD and considered to be the world’s first shopping mall.

When Lina, Francesca and Howard go to Fran’s house where Lina would stay, Francesca gives Lina her mother’s diary that Hadley wanted Lina to read after she reached Italy.

At a beautiful Rome evening, Lina goes out to the terrace of Francesca’s house and starts to read her mother’s diary, accompanied by charming views of Rome. Hadley, who had wanted Lina to come to Italy by herself alone, had written the reason of her trip to Italy as “maybe to see who I am away from home, away from myself. Who am I when I’m by myself? …“.

Hadley had started her diary with a mesmerizing description of Rome. She had written as follows:

The sun has set, but Rome is still chattering like it’s alive. There are strange sirens in the air and squawking seagulls everywhere. There’s something about this city that I can’t explain. Maybe it’s … I don’t know, the permanence of it.

As Lina was reading these lines, she was witnessing the same – captivating views of Rome in sunset colors, as below, and hearing the sounds Hadley was talking about – like a magic…

I can say from my own experience that Rome is a magical city. It is the perfect blend and harmony of an indisputable historical wealth along with the modernity, vividness and joy of the Italian culture you feel while you are in the city. It captures you with its history, monuments and the lively atmosphere – that’s how I interpret the ‘permenance’ Hadley talks about.

To me, Italian cuisine is one of the most attractive components of Italian culture. In a scene of the film, Lina eats “Spaghetti alla Puttenesca” Fran has made for her with a glass of wine, while she reads in her mother’s diary that Fran’s mother once cooked the same dish while her mother was there, and that it was the best meal Hadley had ever eaten.

Lina, who had never gone to a date at school and who doesn’t even have a social media account, meets two Italian boys in Rome and finds herself in a love triangle between the two: Alessandro, an investment banker’s handsome son who had enrolled in Harvard University for next year, and Lorenzo, an aspiring chef preparing for culinary-school auditions.

Lina wanders Rome reading Hadley’s diary and explores the magical city following her mother’s footsteps. She reads about her mother’s moments of joy and sadness in Italy and her mistakes. Acting as a guide, the diary helps Lina overcome some of her disappointments. Although Hadley was not there physically, she was beside her daughter with everything she had written frankly and sincerely from the heart…

As Lina reads the diary, she discovers many things about her mother including the secrets in her past. She learns about Hadley’s interest in photography, the photography classes, and her love affair – Lina’s secret Italian father…

Lorenzo cooks for his family on a weekend before his culinary-school audition in Florence. Lina is also invited to Lorenzo’s family’s beautiful house in the countryside together with Howard and Francesca. There she meets Lorenzo’s ‘nonna’ (grandma) and tastes her legendary ‘pistachio gelato‘.

The second time Lina encounters with this delicious homemade gelato is when Lina and Lorenzo run into each other on the train to Florence. Lorenzo gives the gelato she brought for his culinary-school audition to Lina to cheer her up. They stroll in Florence before Lina searches for her dad.

Although the pistachio gelato looked very tempting in the film, it is not the sweet taste which drew me to write this post.

The night Lina and Lorenzo first met, Lorenzo offers Lina a ride to home. Lina first hesitates as she is afraid of getting on a scooter, which she calls a ‘death bike’, but later accepts the offer. After they stroll in the narrow streets Rome, Lorenzo stops at a dark weird place: A secret bakery…

Lorenzo explains to Lina as follows:
“I wanted you to try the best maritozzi in Italy… A lot of restaurants in Rome don’t make pastry. They get them from places that aren’t licensed to sell – the secret bakeries.“.

When Lina tries the mariotozi, she gets amazed by its taste which makes her extremely happy. Lorenzo explains further:
“Greta’s secret is cold hands. She keeps her fingers in ice buckets before working the dough.“

The gorgeous looking Maritozzi appear a couple of times throughout the film. One night Lina goes to the same secret bakery just after a quarrel with Alessandro in heartbreak and sadness and says to Greta: “I need a dose of your cakes“. As she finds solace in her maritozzo, she comes across Howard, who calls the moment ‘a pastry night‘.

You might have already guessed that the sweet taste in the film which inspired me to write this post is ‘Maritozzo‘ (plural: ‘Maritozzi‘). To my surprise, although I am a lover of Italian cuisine, I had never heard of it. While I was watching the maritozzi scenes in the film, my daughter came in and the pastry was also very attractive to her as well as to me.

Lina discovers many things in Italy. Driving a scooter, photography, her first love and her mother’s real love, an Italian family, Spaghetti alla Puttenesca, pistachio gelato, maritozzi, and above all, herself ….

The writer and director Brandon Camp reflects a heart-warming story and the jolly Italian culture in a comedic tone. The film enables you to stroll through the narrow streets of Rome and discover the delicacies of the Italian cuisine, and presents you the Italian wittiness with a lot of Italian accent you hear throughout film.

Towards the end of the film, as Lina enjoys a beautiful view of Rome with Hadley’s diary in hand, we hear her mother say:

“And to you, my daughter, I wish with all my heart that you’ll live your heart to the fullest and bravely, like a true Italian woman.“

More about Maritozzi…

I want to mention a few more things about Maritozzi – the tempting pastries in Love & Gelato which inspired me to write this post. Maritozzi are Italian sweet fluffy cream buns originated in Rome. A maritozzo (plural: maritozzi) is split in the middle and stuffed with fresh whipped cream and topped with powdered sugar.

As I searched about this Roman pastry, I came across interesting things. The story of Maritozzi goes back as far as Ancient Rome, where it used to be a loaf sweetened with raisins, honey and dried fruits, made by the ancient Roman women for their husbands working as day labourers. In the Middle Ages, it had become the sweet of the fasting period of Lent. (romecabs.com)

The name maritozzo comes from the word “marito” meaning ‘husband‘ in Italian. In the 19th century, as a tradition, men used to present this sweet bun with a ring or jewel hidden inside to their beloveds. Other version of the story is that the maritozzo was given by the women to their potential spouse. (washingtonpost.com)

There is even a day dedicated to this traditional Roman pastry. The Maritozzo Day takes place on the first Saturday of December, when a lot of participating artisans, pastry shops and bakeries offer maritozzo in classic and new versions, sweet and savory. You can check the official website of Maritozzi Day (Italian only) if you plan to attend it some day.

Today, in addition to the classic cream-filled maritozzi, there are places offering savory maritozzi, paired with different fillings. I would opt for the classic one though as it also appears in Love & Gelato – a classic sweet maritozzi as a perfect pairing with coffee. Traditionally, Romans are said to have maritozzo for breakfast with a cappuccino or eat one at a late-night bakery after a night out (as in the pastry nights of Lina in the film).

As unrivaled in pasta, Italian cuisine is also good at creating coffee pairings. Tiramisu is the first that comes to mind, but in one of my older posts about Sicily, I had mentioned a pastry reminiscent of the maritozzo which is: “cannoli“. For further details you may refer to my post titled “Sicily – Inspired by a Marvelous Coffee“.

You can find Maritozzo in bakeries, cafés and pastry shops throughout Rome. For the finest of maritozzi, local pastry shops are suggested. “Regoli” pastry shop, located in Piazza Vittorio is said to be one of the best, since 1916. “Il Maritozzaro” is also a historic place in Travestere suggested for traditional maritozzi. “Roscioli Caffè” is an artisan shop in the Campo de’ Fiori neighborhood suggested for its different varieties of maritozzi with the addition of milk, rum, vanilla and natural flavorings. “Il Maritozzo Rosso” in Travestere is known for its savory maritozzi. (washingtonpost.com)

Unfortunately, I was not aware of Maritozzi before, so I could not try it in my previous visits to Rome. It is my intention to have this traditional Roman pastry, the gift of the film Love & Gelato, at my next visit to Rome either for breakfast with cappuccino or at a pastry night.

There are many maritozzi recipes online. If you intend to make maritozzi at home, remember the tip from the film I have mentioned above: ‘cold hands’ to working the dough. However, I suggest that you shall rather visit the beautiful romantic city of Rome, as very well portrayed in Love & Gelato, to try these traditional Roman pastries. Who knows, if you are lucky enough, you would even discover a secret bakery to enjoy your maritozzo …