I dolci siciliani nella letteratura come elemento di identità culturale

[Machine translation] The importance of food in relation to national and cultural identity is an established fact that has been extensively analyzed by numerous scholars from various disciplines. The importance of sweets is even more evident if we consider their total lack of nutritional needs. For some cultures, sweets have a particularly thriving tradition. Sicilian culture is certainly one of these, as its confectionery tradition is rich in links with the history of the island itself, which over the centuries has been conquered by many different populations. Considering the significant role that dessert has always played in the lives of the peoples who inhabited Sicily in the past and that it continues to play for its contemporary inhabitants, it is not surprising that novels set in Sicily often refer to its pastry. After examining the presence of sweets on the island from a historical and cultural point of view, this article presented Pif's debut novel... that God forgives everyone (2018) as an exemplary case. The book, in fact, contains a very large number of references to Sicilian desserts, as its protagonist is obsessed with them. Although obviously the novel is not simply about sweets, but revolves around a plot that includes a sequence of events (which have not been revealed in this essay), it is a fact that the continuous references to sweets contribute greatly to the characterization of the protagonist, as they are an essential tool used to celebrate and confirm his identity as a Sicilian, and specifically as a Sicilian from Palermo.