The product

The origins of Torrone, nougat, are enshrouded in mystery. Some say its beginnings lie all the way in China, and it is believed that the Arabs brought the product to the Mediterranean basin, in Sicily, Spain and Italy.

The city of Cremona lays claim to its invention in 1441, serving a similar crunchy confection made from honey and almonds in the form of Torrazzo (the city's bell tower after which the sweet would have been named) at the wedding celebration of Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza.

According to another version, however, the ancient Romans passed along the recipe of this delicacy, its name coming from the Latin torrere, meaning to toast. In any case, at the end of the 1800's, confectioners from Alba began using the local hazelnut (IGP Piedmont Hazelnut) as the chief ingredient in their version of nougat, creating a new and exclusive taste.