Walking through the streets of the center on Agatha days you can smell the scent of typical sweets everywhere. In the stalls set up in the key points of the city, an unrivaled selection of sweets is displayed: nougat, cotton candy, caramelised apples, brittle, candies, "calia and simenza" tickle the gastronomic desires of citizens and tourists.
A typical dessert of Catania pastry making is the "cassatelle di Sant'Agata" called "minnuzzi di Sant'Aita" in memory of the martyrdom suffered by Agatha. In fact it is a small rounded cassata, with a sponge cake base, topped with a heart of ricotta with chocolate chips, covered with white icing and garnished on top with a candied cherry.
The story of one of the characteristic desserts of the festival is unique: the olivette di Sant'Agata, small olives made of almond paste colored green, covered in sugar or black chocolate. According to legend, while Agatha was fleeing from the Roman soldiers of the proconsul Quinziano she stopped to tie her shoe. Precisely at that point an olive tree grew which, in addition to hiding the young woman from the sight of her executioners, gave her shelter and refreshment.
Related topic:
- Agata, noble and holy
- Catania and the veneration of Sant'Agata
- Sant'Agata, the origins of the festival.
- The relics of the Saint
- The Vara
- The candlesticks
- The habit
- The sack
- The offering of wax
- Agata's treasure
- The sweets
