Mattei products at the September Fair of 1932

Do you know what Bruci are?
Pasta Regina?
And Tortiglioni?

We're sharing a few curiosities from old production ledgers and notes.

First, though, a little context is needed:

In the early days of September, Prato has always been a time of great celebration.
Countless "visitors" would come to the city to celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary, marked on September 8th, and to witness the Ostensione of the Madonna's sacred girdle (housed in Prato's cathedral since around 1174). The tradition still continues today, though since the mid-20th century it has taken on a more secular than religious character. The whole city would fill with stalls and refreshment stands for visitors

In the 1930s, Piazza Mercatale would be fitted out with structures and stalls. Anyone could open their own stand there, and of course Biscottificio Mattei was among them. The two best-selling products were the Cantuccio all'Anice and the Biscotto di Prato with almonds, which was already becoming as famous as its predecessor. (The Cantuccio di Prato all'anice: a slice of bread flavored with anise.)

Going through Grandpa Ernesto's production ledgers, and the documents kept by our father (Paolo Pandolfini), I found several interesting details. One concerns exactly the production that would ramp up around Prato's September fair. In a small notebook with a faded cover, there are some handwritten notes by Grandpa Ernesto, which read:

Fair Production, from September 5th to September 9th, 1932: Amaretti, Brutti, Cantucci (anise), Mantovane, Stiacciate, Ramerini, Biscotti extra, Biscotti 1a, Tortiglioni, Grissini, Biscottoni

At the time, bread production was already quite limited, and pasta-making continued until the 1940s. Afterward, production shifted its focus entirely to sweets. This part you probably already knew.
But what you may not know is that among the varieties of sweets, there were also "Bruci" and crostate! As shown on another page just before this one, where it reads: Production from January 22nd

But the ones that caught my attention the most are the Bruci! (Their shape was elongated, hence the name Bruci: in the Prato dialect, "brucio" means caterpillar.)
Bruci were biscuits made with milk and butter. Sadly, like Pasta Regina and Tortiglioni, they've been out of production for years now — we only have the recipe left. I managed to find an elderly Prato resident who remembers eating them as a boy, but I still haven't been able to reconstruct the actual process.

Have any of you ever heard of BRUCI?
Do you have relatives you could ask?

If you have any information, please let me know: you can write to letizia@antoniomattei.it
Thank youuuuu :)))

Letizia Pandolfini