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The Romans had been very able in making bread but their work was lost when the Barbarians invaded Rome; later in the Middle Ages only the convents had a bakery and rich people had their bread made at home. In that period millet flour was spread all over Europe to make "polenta"; this food was very poor but after the barbarian invasion the population was very poor, too.

With the discovery of America corn was known and imported in Europe by sailors; corn tasted good and immediately met with the Northern populaton approval; it was largely used and for this reason people living in Piedmont, Veneto and Lombardia were nicknamed "polentoni"; corn also become a way of distinguishing between lower classes who usually ate it and upper classes that ate richer food.. The old familiar oven built with bricks was the best way to cook bread; due to the special fire-bricks, bread smelt and tasted good for a lot of days.

As for the way of living of the "pistor", he started working at night, at two o' clock. Manipulating flour (previously put in a pot, called "mastela") , yeast ("levà") and water, he prepared bread, then he divided it into small loaves ("paneti, bine, ciope, corni, pinse, pagnoche, montasù") and put them on long wooden blades into the oven, the mouth of which was closed by a small iron door ("portela"). Now, the young workers who helped the baker had to keep the fire burning with "fassinele de tirèla o de sormenta", that is a kind of wood. Only when cooking was over the baker came and took the loaves of bread out of the oven.

On special occasions or holidays the baker could also make cakes adding butter, eggs and sugar; so at Christmas he made "nadalini", at Easter "fugasse", while on Sundays he prepared "ofele, biscotini e basini de mandorla " for children. During the week when the parents were at work small children went to the baker's with the shopping list which read as follows: " zinque schei de conserva, diese schei de butiero, vinti de sucaro, 'na sardela, un chilo de bigoli.." That is not only the item they had to buy, but also the amount of money they could spend ("schei"). Since families were generally poor they could only pay at the end of the month and so the shopkeeper wrote the amount of the bills in a book he kept for each family.

---Written by the senior students of the Institution Rezzara in Vicenza Italy under the coordination of Ms. Dr. Maria Vittoria Nodari