Cassatedde are traditional sweets from Ustica and they are prepared for Christmas. The dough of the cassatedde is prepared with lard, flour, and sugar. These ingredients are mixed with water scented with mandarin peel. Then they are filled. Two kinds of filling are used: one with almonds, candied pumpkin (zuccata), cinnamon, and citrus peel, the other with raisins and chocolate.

These sweets were once baked in ovens provided by wealthier families and used by the whole community. This created a convivial moment for both children and adults to prepare a traditional sweet. During the Christmas novena, when the town’s band would go door to door playing music, cassatedde were offered as gifts.

 

This element has been included in the Register of Intangible Heritage of local interest of the Municipality of Ustica, 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”Ustum Cultural Programme” 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: E24H22000130006.