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PERUGIA'S CHOCOLATE
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During the last nine days of October, the air in Perugia is infused
with a sweet, warm smell as the medieval Unbrian hilltop town hosts
Europe's largest chocolate festival, "Eurochocolate". The festival,
founded in 1994 by Eugenio Guarducci, currently attracts more than
450,000 people and includes courses in the art of making chocolate
and psychology lectures for chocolate addicts. Chocolate sculptors
can be found in Perugia's piazzas carving images from huge blocks
of chocolate. Surrounding the sculptors are hovering onlookers with
plastic bags to collect bits and pieces as they melt in the autumn
sunshine. Perugia is the birthplace of the much-loved Italian
chocolate brand, now owned by the world's largest food group Nestlé.
The distinctive Italian "Baci", or kisses, are hazelnut truffles
covered in chocolate. In fact, Italians consume 350 million Baci a
year.
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