Throughout my childhood, 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' left me with an indelible memory of a large fantasy-like room with crazy color schemes where flowers and mushrooms are edible delectable sweets. So, my first experience of a candy factory had a lot to live up to! Last fall, I took a tour of a Genoa institution: Romanengo Fu Stefano. While it was not as surreal as Wonka's factory, it was much more authentic - every activity steeped in tradition.

The machines and the utensils were all reminscent of the store's eighteenth-century origins. Since 1780, Romanengo Fu Stefano has been serving some of the world's most exquisite handmade candied fruits and chocolates to those with discerning palates. One of the highlights of the tour was the chocolate room where I saw their antique chocolate mill (mélangeur) that dates back to the 1800s mixing cocoa paste with granite stones. Delfina Romanengo, descendant of Antonio Maria Romanengo, the original owner, told me that granite brings out chocolate's delicious aroma.

I saw succulent fresh apricots, pears, and figs transform into candy and syrups. The most striking and honorable aspect of Romanengo is it's dedication to preserving its traditional age-old recipes even if they're more time consuming and labor intensive. The chocolate is "beaten" non-stop for three days and three nights in the mill. Industrial chocolate can take just a few hours. After the tour I stopped by their historic gorgeous antique mirror-covered store on Genoa's Via Soziglia. You can order Romanengo sweets online. Or, if you live in the Boston area, you can purchase them from Formaggio Kitchen. Check out the gallery below to see some of Romanego's sweets and antique machinery.