Among the offerings of bread or sweets made to St. Joseph in Buscemi, it was customary to donate cruni i spini, known in Palazzolo as pagnuccati and in Canicattini as gnuocculi.

Named after their crown-like shape, Cruni i spini are made by mixing durum wheat flour with eggs. The dough is rolled out into a very thin sheet. Using a pasta cutter (which here is called gnòcculu), the sheet is cut into fettuccine about two centimetres long, which are then intertwined two by two, like strands of hair. The gnuocculi or cruni i spini are arranged in a ring and then immersed in boiling oil, quickly rising to the surface of the pan already crisp. They are placed on a tray or plate and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. They are then decorated with coloured tissue paper arranged around the tray, and with flowers, usually wallflowers and freesias.

 

This element has been included in the Register of Intangible Heritage of local interest of the Municipality of Buscemi, as part of Intervention 2 “Activation of the Observatory on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Territory through the application of the REIL methodology – Register of Intangible Heritage of Local Interest”, within the”Buscemi Borgo Immateriale” project, funded by the NRRP (National Recovery and Resilience Plan), Mission: Digitalisation, innovation, competitiveness, culture and tourism, Component: Tourism and culture 4.0, Investment 2.1 “Attractiveness of villages.” CUP: I84H22000050006.