The name Morettino was coined by the population of Poggioreale. It is a traditional product of the area’s food and wine culture and is made exclusively in Poggioreale. Originally, they were called li cosi nivuri (literally “the black things”) due to their very dark brown colour.

Inside, they contain a soft almond filling. The aroma is cinnamon.

According to collected data, the recipe has existed for at least a century — perhaps even longer. As the story goes, the sweet was born from a mistake: a woman accidentally left almonds in the oven too long while toasting them, burning them black. To avoid wasting the “burnt” almonds, she repurposed them — and from that, this new sweet with a soft almond filling and a distinct cinnamon aroma was created.

 

This element has been included in the Register of Intangible Heritage of local interest of the Municipality of Poggioreale, as part of Intervention 4: “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 “Progetto di rigenerazione Poggioreale, vecchio e nuovo centro” 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: E44H22000040006.