Yesterday I spent the day in Catania with the magnificent Alessandro Marchese. Alessandro is an artist who specializes in making Frutta Martorana, or the marzipan (almond paste) sweets, shaped and designed to resemble fruit and vegetables. He sculpts each and every one by hand, and then he decorates them with the craftsmanship and skill of a painter. His specialty is Frutta Martorana that is not as traditionally sweet, and he supplies his work to the best pastry shops in the area.

I’m in awe!

Read more about Catania in last week’s The New York Times – Travel section: The Sights and Smells of Sicily’s Second City https://nyti.ms/2IaqldT