Martorana fruit

Dessert

Dedda71 - CC3.0

Martorana fruit is a typical Sicilian dessert, which is consumed mainly during the period of the dead. It is a very faithful reproduction of fruits or vegetables made with a mixture based on almonds. In Italian it is called marzipan and the recipe, dating back to the 13th - 14th century, is of Arab origin. In Palermo, the oldest and most famous preparation made with this pasta is Martorana fruit which was packaged by the nuns in the convent attached to the church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio which overlooks Piazza Bellini erected in 1143 by Giorgio d’Antiochia king of Sicily. Later in 1193 it was the noblewoman Eloisia Martorana who had a Benedictine monastery built next to the church and convent. Since then, the whole building complex took the name "della Martorana" in her honor, and the sweets prepared by the nuns were also called in the same way. Tradition has it that the convent garden and the vegetable garden were among the most beautiful in the city, where fruit trees and vegetables grew that made the nuns who look after them proud. Their pride, however, came to the ear of the bishop of that time, who, intrigued, wanted to personally go and see. The visit, however, was made in the middle of autumn, for the feast of All Saints, when the trees were already devoid of any fruit. The nuns then decided to create fruits with almond paste to decorate the trees and thus embellish the garden. Today the Martorana, recognized as a traditional Sicilian food product, adorns the windows of all Sicilian pastry shops, especially Palermo, where you can admire real small works of art.