olivette

In Sicily, in honour of St Agatha, patron of Catania, they make olivette di Sant'Agata out of almond paste dyed green (in the old days they used spinach for this; today it's usually food colouring) and usually a drop of rum or other liqueur and shape them into olives and sprinkled with sugar.

In Pesaro, in Le Marche, they make olivette di vitello alla pesarese (slices of veal wrapped around chopped prosciutto, anchovies and capers, breaded and fried; similar to involtini). It was a favourite dish the composer Rossini, Pesaro's favourite son and legendary gourmand.