Giovanni Galli

For me there’s always a been a direct, and exponentially inverse correlation between the declining temperature and my desire for marrons glacé – candied chestnuts.

Call it ‘comfort food’, call it dutifully eating seasonal produce, call it whatever you want – what matters is this spasmodic desire, which, in Milan, there is only one way to satisfy – by going to Giovanni Galli, the historical company founded in 1911.

Galli’s elegant atmosphere hearkens back to the turn of the century, and is the perfect setting for candied chestnuts in the city (and probably the universe). The chestnuts are all made by hand, using secret techniques from the past.

Served alongside candied violets and roses inside beautiful glass and wood display cases, you can also find Boers, chocolate pralines with almond paste.

Nothing is left to chance in this place – every detail is perfectly executed. The staff are kind and competent and will always help you choose something that will appease the glutton in you. They even have a calendar that tells you which saint you can celebrate.

There is a reminder in the shop window that you can only find Giovanni Galli products in their stores – one in Porta Romana (which survived the bombings of World War II and still has its original bar) and the other in via Victor Hugo, another historical workshop.