In Italy, San Giorgio is remembered less for his dragon-slayer status and more for the cute-as-a-button mushroom named after him, il fungo di san giorgio (aka prugnoli), traditionally said to appear on his feast day, April 23.

George is also patron saint of numerous Italian cities and villages. He is protector and patron of the Sienese militia, associated with Siena’s victory in the historic Battle of Montaperti of 1260. In Ferrara, George’s cult status derives from a medieval folk belief that a dragon inhabited the Po River. The Ferraresi honor George with a dedicated palio, and in so doing invoke the saint’s protection from the dangers of the Po and other nearby waterways (namely floods).

Throughout Italy today, all kinds of soups, breads, and biscuits bearing the name giorgio will be prepared, a custom that largely speaks to the availability of certain ingredients around his feast day. For example, bakeries in Lombardy will typically offer pan di meino, a sweet millet bread flavored with elderberry flowers, usually ready for gathering on or near April 23.

As with many calendar customs, Saint George’s day was a traditional ‘marker’ in the agrarian cycle of labor, harvest, and rest and/or feasting: on this day, dairy farmers would sign their annual milk supply contracts, securing their salaries for the year to come. To symbolically seal the deal, the pan di meino was dipped in a cup of decadent fresh cream and enjoyed by the parties involved.