sweet nothings...

"I think it is maybe meant to be nibbled in small pieces with an espresso, instead of big slices with mugs of tea" I like how you put that! insightful.

Actually this is a traditional poor recipe made with a few leftovers that are available all year long. It was meant for small pieces because back then nobody had big slices of anything. Dry stuff is also easier to preserve and to bring around in your pocket. Espresso is a modern invention, about 1900, before coffee was prepared simply boiling powder. Coffee was not a popular beverage. People usually had wine instead, even children. I guess that kind of cake is much older than both modern coffee and tea.

Traditional cakes are usually made with local ingredients like flour, nuts and berries. Sometimes fruits. Sugar is a relatively modern invention since till about 1800 it was a rare and expensive spice, those recipes don't have any sugar at all or use honey instead. This of course means no jam. There were dried fruits instead.

Looks like an enjoyable snack...but I hate dry bread or cake. I don't enjoy dipping anything unless it's a cookie...

Originally sugar was produced from sugarcane juice.
Sugarcane comes from the tropical area of Asia and it was known by the ancient Greeks and the Romans through the trades with chinese empires and the far east.
So it was an extremely expensive imported spice. Back then they used honey and fruit juice to sweeten food. Fruits with an high percentage of sugar were dried and/or used to produce alcohol. Think for example of grape, it was used for eating, making wine (condensed juice is extremely sweet) and dried for cakes. The italian word for "jam" is "marmellata" and it comes from the greek word for "apple".

During the middle ages sugar came from the Arab side of the world and then again it was difficult to have.
On a side note, the european explorations of the ocean were due to the Arabs blocking the ancient trade routes to the far east. So the european powers tried to find new routes that worked around the Arabs.

After the discovery of America the europeans colonists started to farm the sugarcane in the tropics there and then sugar became cheaper and more common than before but still it had to be imported from a distant continent so it was a luxury item.
Finally around 1800 they invented industrial methods to produce sugar from beetroot and then sugar became cheap enough to become part of everyday cooking.

Polenta is like porridge, it is common across the whole Europe, especially places influenced by the roman empire. It is made boiling different kind of "cheap" cereal flours. Before the discovery of America maize was unknown in Europe so polenta was made with different cereals, then the "yellow" version (made with maize flour) became the most common.
The point is in ancient recipes you can probably change a cereal with another or even mix different cereals. Keep in mind in ancient times the flour wasn't "refined". Ancient recipes look a little "raw" and poor to our spoiled eyes but keep in mind they come from a survival economy that tried to make the most out of very few things.
For sure traditional cooking is healthier than industrial food. The only caution is in northern countries they had to use lots of meat and animal fat because cold weather did not allow much farming.

Farmer Joe writes:

It's not Beetroot actually Lorenzo as that is red but Sugar Beet which is white: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beet_sugar

Maybe, translation is a problem when it comes to technicalities like the different kinds of beet
The EU had to make a law to enforce italian producers to translate "marmellata" as "jam" instead of "marmelade".
Plus there must be a reason why you are "Farmer Joe" and I am just Lorenzo

I agree, honey and fruit is a healthier alternative.

Sugar is not bad, it is about the quantity. Honey that comes from bees that live near a nuclear waste could be worse.

Edit: I mean, the problem with industrial food is not sugar, it is all the chemicals they add like fats, preservatives, artificial flavors, etc.