Baci Chocolates: Italy's Most Romantic Candy, Reviewed

If you've ever eaten a Baci chocolate without reading the little love note tucked inside the foil, you've missed the best part. Baci — the word means "kisses" in Italian — are individual hazelnut chocolates from Perugina, the Italian confectionery company founded in Perugia, Umbria, in 1907. Each one comes wrapped in silver and blue foil and contains a tiny slip of paper with a romantic quote printed in multiple languages. The candy itself is excellent. The whole experience is charming in a way that few chocolates manage.

What Makes Baci Different

The Baci formula is deceptively simple: a whole hazlenut sits at the center, surrounded by dark chocolate mixed with chopped hazelnuts, topped with another whole hazelnut, and coated in dark chocolate. There's no caramel, no cream filling, no gimmick. The complexity comes entirely from the quality of the ingredients and the balance between the bitter chocolate and the nutty, slightly sweet hazelnut.

Perugina was founded in 1907 and acquired by Nestlé in 1988, though it continues to operate from its original Umbrian base. Baci were first introduced in 1922 and were reformulated several times over the following decades, but the core recipe has remained essentially unchanged for over a century. That kind of longevity is rare in confectionery — it's a sign that the formula was right from the start.

The Note Inside

What sets Baci apart from almost every other chocolate on the market is the love note tradition. Each individual chocolate contains a small slip of paper with a romantic quote or poem, typically attributed to writers, poets, or historical figures. The quotes are printed in four languages: Italian, English, French, and German. The tradition started as a marketing idea in the 1920s and became so central to Baci's identity that it's now inseparable from the product itself.

Giving a box of Baci to someone is a layered gesture: you're giving them chocolate, and you're also giving them a small collection of romantic messages to read. It's the kind of gift that works for Valentine's Day, anniversaries, or honestly any occasion where you want to communicate something without having to say it yourself.

At Sweet Palace

Baci Chocolates are available at Sweet Palace at $29.99 for a box — a premium price point that reflects the quality of the product and the imported nature of the candy. These are not chocolates you'll find at a gas station. They're the kind of thing you bring out for a dinner party or give to someone you want to genuinely impress. Come in and pick up a box — and don't skip reading the notes.