02 — Venice
Venetian sweets
Baicoli, zaleti, bussolai, Carnival frittelle and galani: the city’s sweet calendar. They are our oldest products, and the ones Venetians have been buying for generations.
- Baicoli
- Zaleti
- Bussolai
- Frittelle
- Galani
Artisan pastry shop
Rosa Salva The sweetest part
of Venice
Everything that leaves our workshop is made by hand, every day, with the recipes and experience of seven generations.
Rosa Salva is a historic pastry shop in Venice, in business since 1879 and carried on by seven generations of the same family. The workshop in Calle Fiubera, in San Marco, is where baicoli, zaleti, bussolai, frittelle and galani are made, along with the great leavened cakes raised with sourdough starter, the chocolate and the cakes made to order.
The workshop
We give our ingredients the right weight
and the right time
The weight is the real one: in pastry, half a gram makes a difference. The time is the time it takes: doughs rest as long as they must, not as long as would be convenient. Raw materials chosen one by one, no industrial shortcuts. The workshop works through the night so that the counters are full by morning.
01 — Tradition
Traditional
pastries
The recipes you recognise at the first bite. We make them as we did a hundred years ago, with the small adjustments that today’s taste calls for.
- Krapfen
- Bignè
- Cannoli
- Diplomatiche
- Millefoglie
03 — Research
Modern pastry
Individual portions, entremets, mignon: where contemporary technique meets our raw materials. Less sugar, more precision, the same hands.
- Individual portions
- Entremets
- Mignon
- Mousse
04 — Cocoa
Chocolate and pralines
Pralines made by hand with selected cocoa. It is the smallest department and the most demanding: here the margin of error is measured in degrees.
- Pralines
- Chocolates
- Bars
05 — Time
The great
leavened cakes
Panettone, colomba and focaccia veneziana: doughs that call for days, not hours. Sourdough starter refreshed every day, long proving, nothing forced.
- Panettone
- Colomba
- Focaccia veneziana
- Veneziane
- Brioche
06 — Cold
Artisan gelato
It is made at Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo, and it is the one thing we cannot ship to you. The speciality is the cestello di croccante, a nut-brittle basket.
- Gelato
- Cestello di croccante
- Semifreddi
07 — The oven
Biscuits and baked sweets
Tarts, ciambelline, biscuits: the sweets that keep, the ones to have at home. They are also the easiest to take away from Venice.
- Tarts
- Ciambelline
- Biscuits
- Baked sweets
08 — Savoury
Savoury pastries and kitchen
Tramezzini, savoury bites, finger food and ready-made dishes: the same care as the sweet side, applied to the savoury. It is also the base from which our catering grows.
- Tramezzini
- Savoury bites
- Finger food
- Savoury tarts
- Ready-made dishes
09 — Celebrations
Bespoke
cakes
Weddings, anniversaries, christenings, birthdays. We start from the occasion, not the catalogue: shape, flavour and size are decided together.
- Celebration cakes
- Personalised cakes
Frequently asked questions
What are the traditional Venetian sweets?
Traditional Venetian sweets include baicoli, zaleti, buranelli (ring-shaped bussolà or S-shaped esse), frittelle, galani and focaccia veneziana. Frittelle and galani are made only during Carnival, and focaccia veneziana at Easter.
What are baicoli?
Baicoli are thin, dry, twice-baked Venetian biscuits: they are made as a small sweet loaf, which is left to go stale, then cut into thin slices and put back in the oven. They were born to keep, which is why they have always been served with hot chocolate or a sweet wine, to be dipped in.
When can I find frittelle?
During Carnival, together with the galani. They are seasonal sweets and we make them only then: they are part of the city’s sweet calendar, like the bussolai or the focaccia veneziana at Easter. Out of season you will not find them, and that is intentional.
Do you make artisan panettone and colomba?
Yes: Rosa Salva makes panettone, colomba and focaccia veneziana in its own workshop, with sourdough starter refreshed every day and long proving. Panettone arrives in the weeks before Christmas and colomba before Easter; they can also be ordered through the shop, which ships them.
Do you make cakes to order?
Yes, in all our locations, with at least 48 hours’ notice. Orders are placed in person at the counter, where the day and time of collection are also arranged. For weddings and celebrations the lead time is longer, as there is usually a tasting first: it is best to plan well ahead.
Can your sweets be shipped?
Most of them, yes, through the shop: the great leavened cakes, biscuits and Venetian specialities travel well because they were born to keep. The one thing we cannot ship is the artisan gelato, which is made and eaten at Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.
A short glossary of Venetian sweets
Skip the glossary
- Zaleti
- Zaleti are rustic biscuits made with maize flour and raisins: the name comes from “zalo”, Venetian for yellow. Born as a humble sweet of the Veneto countryside, today they are served with coffee or a glass of sweet wine.
- Baicoli
- Baicoli are thin, dry Venetian biscuits, baked twice. The name recalls the shape of the small sea bass of the lagoon. Born for the long voyages of the Serenissima, they are enjoyed dipped in hot chocolate or a sweet wine.
- Frittelle
- Frittelle — fritole — are the Venetian Carnival sweet: fried leavened dough with raisins and pine nuts, under a veil of sugar. In the eighteenth century they were sold in the street by the fritoleri, who had their own guild; they were considered the national sweet of the Serenissima.
- Galani
- Galani are very thin sheets of pastry, fried and dusted with sugar: what are known elsewhere as chiacchiere or crostoli. Fragile and light, they accompany frittelle throughout Carnival, from the stalls in the calli to the pastry shops.
- Buranelli
- Buranelli are the biscuits of the island of Burano, rich in butter and egg yolks, shaped as a ring — the bussolà — or as an S, the esse. They were born in fishermen’s homes: a pastry that keeps for a long time, intended for those setting out to sea.
Better in person
A celebration cake is better decided in conversation than in writing: you look, you ask, you change your mind. Call in at whichever of our locations is most convenient for you.
Our story
1879 · Purveyors to the Royal House
In 1879 Antonio “Salva” became chef to the Royal House; in 1900 King Umberto I granted the family the royal coat of arms that still seals every one of our boxes.