Frutta martorana

Frutta martorana are traditional marzipan sweets shaped to resemble fruits or vegetables. These treats can be found throughout Palermo and Messina in Sicily. It is said that frutta martorana originated in Palermo, in the Martorana monastery, where the nuns made them with a combination of almonds and sugar, shaped them like fruits, and decorated the empty, barren trees in their courtyard in order to impress a visiting archbishop. Eventually, the treats were sold to parishioners and became a great source of income for the church. The tradition is still alive in Palermo, especially on All Saints' Day, when frutta martorana can be found at most pastry shops in the city, with new varieties of the sweets, some of them even shaped like pane ca' meusa sandwich, a traditional street food item from Palermo.