The beginning of the month of November is very special. In fact the month is open for two very important anniversaries: The Feast of All Saints and the Commemoration of the deceased. The Feast of All Saints, also known as All Saints, is a feast which celebrates all the glory and honor of all the saints, canonized or not. The Catholic party, whose original name is: Festum Omnium Sanctorum, falls on 1 November, followed by the November 2 All Souls' Day, and it is a holiday of obligation that included a vigil and an octave in the old pre-Conciliar calendar . This festivity has very old traditions, in fact, the commemorations of the martyrs, which are common to different churches, began to be celebrated in the fourth century and the first traces of a general celebration came to Antioch, with reference to Sunday after the Pentecost. The All Souls' Day (Commemoratio Omnium fidelium Defunctorum), also known as Day of the Dead is a celebration of the Catholic Church, preceded by a Novena and celebrated November 2 each year. In the liturgical calendar follows the feast of All Saints. Also this holiday has origins very far and was officially established by sant'Odilone of Cluny, which was established in November 2, with the Cluniac reform, the day of commemoration of the dead for his monks. Later this festival was extended to the whole Catholic Church. Today it is still customary, on this day, visit cemeteries and bring flowers on the graves of their loved ones. Customs oldest, still surviving especially in Sicily, involving the preparation of so-called "sweet of the Dead", set in the days preceding in a marvelous showcase. A Sicilian tradition states that during the night of the vigil, the family of the deceased leave gifts for children with Fruit Martorana, the Morticini and other sweets yet.

La frutta Martorana (Martorana Fruits)

Martorana Fruit is a typical Sicilian dessert famous in the world, vaguely similar to marzipan but more sweet and flavorful, made with almond flour and sugar and traditionally packaged in the form of fruit, traditionally prepared in celebration of the Feast of All Saint. Its creation is very long and detailed, because it provides a great skill and pastry arts from the masters who wish to achieve, which is why it is a true masterpiece that only a few manage to produce perfectly almost as a perfect imitation of nature. The cake is produced in many forms, all very beautiful and typical of Sicily, which reproduce dishes of a very rich meal. The more traditional forms evoke the image of various fruits such as the Indian fig, Mandarin, Peach, Apple (red or yellow), Pear, Plum, Bananas, a Medlar and Cherry. Of course there are sweets that reproduce other dishes, such as: braciolettine (rolls) on the spit, toast, sandwiches, caciotta, peppery cheese ... "be mouth-watering"!

The origins of Martorana Fruits

According to a tradition, the Martorana Fruit was born because the sisters of the convent of the Martorana, to replace the fruits harvested from the garden they created new almond and sugar, to adorn the convent for the visit of the pope of the time. Tradition has it that in the Norman period in Sicily, the nuns of the Martorana convent to enhance the look of their garden, now bare of fruit due to the collection, have created fruit, citrus fruit of Sicily, with almond and sugar then would have hung back to the trees in honor of an important visit: a high priest or even a king. From this event, perhaps, comes the name used for mixture, Pasta Reale, composed of sugar and chopped almonds, which over the centuries it has become today's marzipan.

Pasta garofano ( Carnation’s biscuits ) “Scardellini”

I Morticini, special biscuits are made on the occasion of the Commemoration of the deceased. It’s tradition in Europe and in Italy to prepare particular cakes in the days before November 2, which often recall in the name this event or in the form and texture: These sweet, in fact have the shape of a bone, a skull, an angel or the 'Christ Child'. Even today in some countries of Italy, the night between 1 and November 2, are sweet on the tables home, in memory of their dead. Scardellini contains ingredients such as flour, eggs, sugar and flavoring, and are often accompanied by martorana fruit in elegant packaging. In the section devoted to online sales, you can buy Martorana Fruit and Scardellini (Morticini) produced by us. Visit the pages dedicated to them that are rich in several other photos, you will better appreciate their beauty and goodness. Click on the images below to go directly to specific categories.