Rosa Maria Vittoria, a gold mom with hands in dough.

A golden mother among the Apennines of Molise: Maria Vittoria Rosa is pure passion, a woman who has made leavening and research on leavened products her life. Merirose, Pino, Giulietta, and Angelo, her four children, have followed her teachings, accumulating experience and just as much passion for breads, pastries, and baked delicacies that are conquering Italy.

Do you remember the old village shop where you could find everything? In Cercepiccola, it still exists and is owned by the Del Rosso family. The community uses this space to purchase all the wonders of leavening. At the counter, there is always her, Maria Vittoria, with her sweet and at the same time proud gaze. That of the women of the South: few grimaces, but plenty of substance.

Among the many products you can find in her shop, there is also a small space, in a corner, with a chair and a small table. This is the place where Merirose, the daughter, manages the administrative part. On the other side, another table for those who want to serve themselves and stop for a moment. It is there where people share stories about life in the small ancient village. And Maria Vittoria has a kind word for everyone and, in her pride, she always manages to dampen gossip and wish everyone a good day.

The culture of bread, in this corner of paradise in central Italy, is one with the very nature of man. The loaf stands firm against frozen bread, indeed: here they don’t even know what it is! “But what is that, a joke?” would say the old man just out of the shop, munching on the crust of a country bread. Here it would also be said by the so-called “millennials.” There is no compromise on bread, and even the new generations know this.

Maria Vittoria is a bit of a mother to Cercepiccola, and her production is of the highest quality. Behind the table of chats and welcome, there is a large quantity of cookbooks in disarray. Among these stand out the ones by Iginio Massari, the virtuoso pastry chef from Brescia, who has trained the greatest bakers and pastry chefs in Italy. “I love Iginio's creativity and interpretative skill, and I wanted to treat myself to a course with him in Brescia – Maria Vittoria declares – It was magnificent moments that I will never forget, and that taught me to perfect the techniques of dough and to use creativity in the lab.” Knowledge that she has then passed on to all four of her children, well-known and respected by everyone in the village. Pino, then, is called by everyone in Cercepiccola Pino Pane!

Everyone works at the bakery, but it is Pino who mainly makes the bread; Merirose and Giulietta help their mother in the pastry shop and in production; Maria Vittoria's husband and Angelo make the deliveries; she, on the other hand, welcomes customers to the shop with a smile. An extraordinary family business that thrives on simple and ancestral gestures, just like those who have their hands in the dough.

For Mother's Day, we have chosen the products of a great baker and pastry chef from Molise. The package Mamma Dolce is made with her own hands and is dedicated to all the mothers of Italy with love, imagination, and her beautiful smile!

Bernardo Pasquali