The passion for this delicious food, which arrived in the 17th century from the Americas, has seen in recent years the birth and development of a real "district" known as "Chocolate Valley", which includes the provinces of Pisa, Pistoia and Prato. Here are concentrated good artisans and master chocolatiers with their shops and companies. From this triangle come products of excellent quality, an international reference point. 
Chocolate has numerous properties and health benefits: it helps fight insomnia and cardiovascular disease. 
Dark chocolate, that is chocolate made up of at least 45% cocoa mass, is able to prevent a series of ailments: from hypertension to depression, from cardiovascular diseases to insomnia. Furthermore, dark chocolate can protect the body from so-called cardiometabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and narrowing of the arteries, which can cause heart attacks. 
Thanks to the substances contained in cocoa, dark chocolate has beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system, heart, arteries, and mood; it also has aphrodisiac and stimulating properties and contains antioxidants that reduce the effects of oxidative stress. To benefit from the properties of dark chocolate, you should preferably consume a product that contains at least 70% cocoa mass. 
Thanks to some substances contained in cocoa, such as flavonoids and polyphenols, dark chocolate has cardioprotective properties; these substances, in fact, help the arteries to remain flexible and healthy, having an anti-hypertensive effect. Furthermore, thanks to the presence of theobromine, dark chocolate acts on the heart muscles with cardiac stimulating effects that help prevent heart attacks. 
Dark chocolate contains tryptophan, a substance that stimulates the production of serotonin, also known as the hormone of good mood and happiness. The presence of this substance, together with that of anandamide, makes dark chocolate an excellent anti-depressant food. This feel-good effect, although transient, can also help improve sleep if you don't overdo it. In fact, cocoa also contains a minimal amount of caffeine which can cause excitement and euphoria. 
Chocolate lovers, also known as "food of the Gods", can savor the authentic aromas and the most ancient flavors by following this itinerary of taste in the Lands of Pisa. 
First stop in Pontedera, more precisely in the hamlet of La Rotta, where is based the historic Amedei, an internationally renowned chocolate industry, winner of numerous awards including the Oscar of chocolate (Golden Bean Award). The handmade pralines are the top as well as the vintage chocolate. You can also visit the company to discover the secrets of chocolate production. In the heart of Pontedera, the city of the Piaggio Museum and the Vespa, we find the store of the Angiolini chocolate shop which has created its own chocolate starting from the "cabosse", the fruit of cocoa, giving life to an original and excellent product, to the point of calling it "the sublime". Moving to the foot of Monte Pisano, in the nearby Cascina di Buti, we find the Trinci roasting company, which in addition to single-origin coffee with a unique aroma, produces a bar of excellent artisan chocolate recognizable by the perfect roasting of the cocoa beans (present in pieces) or by the use of products from the Pisan territory such as honey from the beach of San Rossore. Third stop: Cascina, with the La Via del Cioccolato artisan factory where patient processing and the use of high-quality raw materials obtain a bar of chocolate with an intense and very fine aroma and flavor, for true connoisseurs. In Ghezzano, on the outskirts of Pisa, the Cioccolato Argento ice cream parlor and laboratory begin processing by grinding the precious Venezuelan cocoa beans, controlling the entire production cycle, using a granite grinder to enhance the characteristics of the chocolate. The result is that of a product with a shiny and uniform surface. The chocolate is then combined with other local flavors such as pine nuts from the San Rossore Park.

Credits to visittuscany.it