The origin of the Cantucci dates back to at least the 16th century. The name seems to derive from “Cantellus”, in Latin “piece or slice of bread”, a salted gallet that already the Roman soldiers consumed during the military countryside. Others derive the word from “singing”, corner, small part. Starting from the second half of the 16th century, we find these biscuits at the Medici court, even if they do not seem to still contain almonds.
The Accademia della Crusca at the end of the 17th century gives the first definition of “Cantuccio”: “sliced biscuit, flour of flour, with sugar and egg light”. Pride of Made in Italy already at the time, the Cantucci were brought to the Universal Exposition of Paris in 1867, enjoying great success. Starting from the 1900s, the Cantucci with almonds began to be produced throughout the region increasingly on a large scale. In 2011, the association of producers was born to obtain the recognition of protected geographical indication, PGI, which arrived in 2016 and includes the entire administrative territory of the Tuscany Region.
