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Martorana fruit is a typical Sicilian dessert (originating in Palermo and Trapani), famous throughout the world because it’s offered as the perfect imitation or reproduction of fruits, vegetables, and even fish.

Internally, it is similar to marzipan but significantly sweeter and tastier. The basis of this recipe is exclusively almond flour and sugar. It is a product included in the list of traditional Italian “agri-food products” (P.A.T) of the Ministry of Agriculture (Food and Forestry Policies), and it is recognized as a traditional Sicilian food product.

It was traditionally prepared to celebrate the Day of the Dead. It owes its name to the Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio or “della Martorana”, built in 1143 by Giorgio d’Antiochia, the admiral of the Norman king Roger II. The church was erected near the Benedictine monastery, founded by the noblewoman Eloisa Martorana in 1194. Nearby, there was also the monastery of Santa Caterina, in the historic centre of Palermo, where the nuns used to make and sell these sweets until the mid-1900s. According to a popular tradition, those very nuns created those delicious and fruit-shaped treats, to replace the real fruit picked from the trees and decorate their monastery before the official visit of the Pope.

This post is also available in: Italiano (Italian)