Sweet Valentine

Newsweek, February, 2008

Love, Italian Style

There’s no time like Valentine’s Day for a full-immersion chocolate experience. And for couples in love, there’s no better place to indulge than Perugia, the Italian city seeking to earn the mantle of chocolate capital of the world. It’s impossible to go more than a few blocks without encountering the look, smell, taste or feel of the good stuff.

Perugina’s Chocolate Museum recounts the manufacture of chocolate from cocoa fruit to packaging, and includes a factory tour where visitors can watch the production of handcrafted Baci chocolates, first introduced on Valentine’s Day, 1922. The Chocolate School, tucked inside, offers courses on filling truffles with ...