In the local dialect, the pettole are also nicknamed the “cuscini del bambiniello” (the little kid’s pillows) due to the typical softness of the fried bread covered in powdered sugar or filled with savory ingredients.
These delicacies that inaugurate the Christmas celebrations were born out of the mistake by a housewife who, after having kneaded the bread dough, was distracted by the music played by the band that fills the streets of Taranto still today on the night of the feast of Saint Cecilia (November 22nd).
When the woman came back home after the procession, she threw the dough which could no longer be used for the bread in the boiling oil: her children went crazy for the fritters, which she called pettole, as they were similar to small pitte, the local word for flat bread.
The procession and marching band follow the statue of Saint Cecilia normally kept in the Taranto Cathedral, but especially the smell of the pettole di Santa Cecilia.
Read more
