Sometimes, strolling through the streets of a city, you hear the sounds mingling with the aromas, and you're drawn to the historic courtyards. But the surprise that makes your eyes widen like children is finding a chocolate and nougat factory in the city—a real factory, right in the center of Asti. This is the Barbero company, a facility steeped in history. Once past the courtyard, crowded with employees and couriers, the owner, Davide Maddaleno, leads us through this unique corner of Asti. On the ground floor, the small chocolate museum tells the family's entrepreneurial story, which began in 1883. Davide points out the water level on the wall during the 1994 flood and tells us about the work unraveled in just a few hours and the effort it took to get everything back in order to start over and fulfill the orders that Christmas. On the stairs leading to the upper floors, we greet the portrait of our grandfather, Giovanni Gerbi, the cyclist nicknamed Red Devil, who had a splendid career on his bike in the early 1900s. In the bowls that mix honey and egg whites, almonds and hazelnuts, a pearly, fragrant mass comes to life. Barbero's treasure awaits us on the second floor, in the nougat laboratory. It's a place where, despite the repetitive noise of the machines, one is happy to linger. Perhaps it's the light. It's very bright and overlooks the courtyard and the terraces of the neighboring houses; it's this combination that makes it unique and familiar. The atmosphere in the laboratory is quiet and industrious, a feeling of concentration and speed. The machines have their voices, but the human presence, manifested in gestures, is almost invisible. The production workers have expert, strong, and delicate hands, because working the dough requires physical strength, but also kindness. In an instant, the onlooker is satiated by inhaling the aromas of toasted dried fruit and admiring the iridescence of the dough.
