Families celebrate La Festa dei Morti (the Death’s Celebration) with delicate confections, small gestures, and the belief that beloved ancestors still watch on us. It's a tender and intimate festive time filled with sweets, stories, and smiles.
Sicilian rituals take the shape of the famous Dolci dei Morti : a gentle trio of sweets carrying the island’s All Souls tale in sugar :
- hand-painted frutta martorana, almond-paste fruits said to have been “grown” by the nuns of Palermo’s Martorana Convent to impress visitors,
- crisp ossa dei morti, almond and spice-laced biscuits traditionally made for All Saints and Souls,
- and brightly coloured pupi di zucchero, sugar figurines for children, often tucked into the festive « cannistru » basket as a gentle sign that loved ones still watch over the family.
On the eve of All Saints’, homes become quiet : a candle near old photographs and a basket secretely prepared and hidden for morning. At first light on November 2nd, children “discover” the cannistru as if the beloved dead had slipped by in the night. Outside, bakeries glow with marzipan fruit and sugar figurines, while families wander past church steps and market stalls in an unhurried passeggiata. Continuing the day with an early evening stop at the cemetery with flowers before returning home, and a beautiful dinner remembering passed loved ones in family.
Don’t miss out on a special gift from the ADLER Spa Resort SICILIA : discover the recipe they created exclusively for our readers ! It marries autumn’s flavors with a whisper of the sea, never missing in Sicily.
Risotto with pumpkin cream, lemon gel, bottarga, and small mint leaves
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Ingredients:
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Preparation: Heat the rice in a saucepan, then add the broth and diced pumpkin. When the rice is almost cooked, add the pumpkin cream and the butter. Arrange the risotto on a plate, add a few dots of lemon gel, grate the bottarga on top, and garnish with small mint leaves. |
For next year, discover a full immersive experience on Agrigento coast, by enjoying these traditions at ADLER Spa Resort SICILIA, where the house cooking classes finish with a dessert tasting: almond biscuits, pistachio creams, and other local dolci. Admire Siculiana’s patisseries windows fill with signature Dolci dei Morti, and finish the celebration with a golden-hour cockatil at the Sunset Bar.