Origin place card
Sant'Angelo d'Alife
Verified history
The source documents a ritual bread tied to the feast of San Michele Arcangelo (29 Sept) at the local sanctuary and grotto; it is made only for the feast, not for ordinary sale. No first-attestation date is given.
Local hypothesis
The source relates the ring form, hedged ('probabilmente'), to apotropaic/auspicious rites.
Local legend / oral tradition
Source-framed custom: shepherds/farmers wore the 'biscotti' as bracelets to eat in the working days after the feast, and they were placed on children's necks/arms for protection.
Ingredients
Soft wheat flour, water, salt, mother yeast, wild fennel seeds.
Method
Ring 18-20 cm formed from a ~2 cm rope of dough; dipped 20-30s in very hot (not boiling) water until it floats; drained, rested on linen/cotton, baked briefly in a wood-fired bread oven; cooled on wicker.
Ritual / calendar
Feast of San Michele Arcangelo, 29 September, at the Sant'Angelo d'Alife sanctuary and grotto.
Why travel for it
This is one of the pages that can make TIFA sacred: a bread-ring you go to a cave sanctuary to understand.
Editorial warning
Do not call it just a tarallo. The official source explicitly says it is effectively a ritual bread. | Rich ritual documentation, but no dated first attestation; the apotropaic interpretation is hedged by the source.
Fieldwork questions
Film the feast-day distribution, document whether rings are still worn by children or pilgrims, and photograph the sanctuary route.