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The product
What soft chocolate nougat is
The soft, dark nougat born in L’Aquila.
Soft chocolate nougat is a speciality of L’Aquila: a soft, dark paste of cocoa, toasted hazelnuts, honey, sugar and egg white, between two sheets of wafer. It does not snap like white nougat: it is sliced.
It was born in the pastry shop of the Nurzia family, which still makes it in its historic shop in piazza Duomo. Today other L’Aquila pastry shops make their own version.
Territory
Where it comes from
L’Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, is a city of art at the foot of the Gran Sasso. Chocolate nougat is part of its history: the Nurzia shop in piazza Duomo is one of the best-loved places in the centre, reopened after the 2009 earthquake.
From field to table
How it is made
- Honey and sugar are cooked for a long time, stirring, until thick.
- Whisked egg whites are added, making the paste light and soft.
- Cocoa and chocolate are worked in, then the toasted hazelnuts.
- The still-warm paste is spread between two sheets of wafer and pressed in rectangular moulds.
- Once cool, the nougat is cut into bars and wrapped by hand.
In the kitchen
How to use it
It is eaten as it is, in thin slices, but also goes into many desserts.
- After a meal, in small pieces, with coffee
- At Christmas, as a sweet and as a gift
- Chopped into semifreddi and ice cream
- With a small glass of ratafià or a dessert wine
Tips
How to choose and store it
- Fresh nougat is soft and glossy: if it is hard and dull it is old.
- Keep it wrapped, in a cool, dry place away from heat.
- To cut it neatly use a long knife, slightly warmed.
- Read the label: good nougat has a high share of hazelnuts and cocoa.
Note: in L’Aquila there are several branches of the Nurzia family and several pastry shops making chocolate nougat: here we list only contacts verified on the official website.
Ordering
Where to buy it and whom to contact
Contacts checked on the official websites in October 2026: check availability and prices before ordering.
Antica Pasticceria Fratelli Nurzia
The Nurzia family’s historic pastry shop, founded in 1835, with its shop in piazza Duomo in L’Aquila: it makes soft chocolate nougat and also sells it online.
- Address: Piazza Duomo, 74-75 – 67100 L’Aquila
- Phone: 0862 21002
- Email: ordini@torronenurzia.it
- Order online: torronenurzia.it/shop
Gallery
Photos
Tap a photo to enlarge it.
Photo 1: soft chocolate nougat, typical of the L’Aquila area; photo 2: soft chocolate nougat in pieces. Credits: Lasacrasillaba (CC BY-SA 3.0); Lasacrasillaba (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons, resized; the menu icon is also made from photo 1.
Tradition
History and trivia
Until the 19th century nougat was only white and hard, made of honey, egg white and almonds. In the first half of the century the Nurzia family of pastry makers in L’Aquila invented a new version: soft, with chocolate and hazelnuts. The Fratelli Nurzia website dates the pastry shop to 1835.
The nougat became the city’s symbol sweet and the Christmas gift of the people of L’Aquila. After the 2009 earthquake production resumed, and the shop in piazza Duomo is once again a meeting place in the centre.
Did you know? in L’Aquila tradition the women who wrapped the nougat by hand were called «torronaie».