# Confetti di Sulmona: the sugared almond town

> Poor Clare nuns in Sulmona made confetti bouquets in the 15th century, and by 1846 the town had about twelve factories. The color code and what to buy.

URL: https://myitalia.it/food/confetti-di-sulmona
Last updated: 2026-09-11

Sulmona, in Abruzzo, has made confetti, sugar-coated almonds, since the Middle Ages: the Poor Clares of Santa Chiara were tying the first confetto bouquets in the 15th century, and by 1846 the town had about twelve factories.

## From a convent to twelve factories

In the 15th century the Poor Clare nuns of the Santa Chiara monastery made the first mazzolini, small bouquets of flowers built from confetti. Production was older still: in the Middle Ages it went by the name confettura.

The modern form arrived in the 17th century, when sugar was imported and a confetto was a luxury. By 1846 Sulmona counted about twelve factories.

All of this comes from Abruzzo's regional tourism body, which cites no primary source for the 1846 figure. Read it as a tradition the region records, not a number pulled from an archive.

## What the Sulmona method claims

The local specialty, by the same account, is a patented way of working that fixes the sugar to the almond with no starch and no flour. That's the detail to look for on a label, because a sugared almond made elsewhere can look identical in the box.

The variety the source singles out is the Cannellino di Sulmona, known locally as the "di Leopardi". The anecdote behind the nickname is, again, the tourism body's, and it comes without a source.

## The color code

The traditional code has three entries, and the color carries the occasion:

| Occasion | Color |
|---|---|
| Birth | light blue or pink |
| Graduation | red |
| Wedding anniversaries | silver and gold |

If you're bringing confetti to a family event in Italy, the color is the part people will notice first.

## Sulmona and the emigrants

Sulmona's confetti became known abroad in the 20th century through Abruzzese emigrants in the United States, Canada and Australia, according to the regional tourism body.

For families with roots in Abruzzo, that turns a box of confetti from a souvenir into something closer to a family habit. If that's your reason for the trip, see [roots travel](/themes/roots-travel) and [Abruzzo](/regions/abruzzo).

## Saffron is the region's registered flagship

The agriculture ministry's register gives Abruzzo's flagship slot to a different product: Zafferano dell'Aquila DOP, saffron from the Navelli plateau, registered in the EU on February 5, 2005.

Sulmona is in the province of L'Aquila, the city whose name the saffron carries. Opening hours for confetti makers and any confetti museum in Sulmona are not in our sources: check with the producer before you plan a visit around one.

For more on the region's table, see [food in Abruzzo](/food/in-abruzzo).

## FAQ

### What are confetti di Sulmona?

Sugar-coated almonds from Sulmona, in the province of L'Aquila, made there since the Middle Ages. Abruzzo's tourism body says the local method fixes the sugar to the almond without starch or flour, and that the town had about twelve factories in 1846.

### What color confetti do you give for a graduation in Italy?

Red. In the traditional code recorded by Abruzzo's tourism body, light blue or pink marks a birth, red a graduation, and silver or gold a wedding anniversary. Sulmona has made confetti its trade since at least the 15th century.

### What is Abruzzo's flagship protected food?

Saffron, not confetti. The agriculture ministry names Zafferano dell'Aquila DOP, grown on the Navelli plateau and registered in the EU on February 5, 2005, as the region's flagship product. Sulmona's confetti are a craft tradition documented by the regional tourism body.

### Why do Italian American families know Sulmona confetti?

Because Abruzzese emigrants took them abroad. The regional tourism body credits communities in the United States, Canada and Australia with building the confetti's international name during the 20th century, and the source states the link with emigration explicitly.

## Sources

| Fact | Source | Confidence | Valid until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sulmona e' la citta' dei confetti: gia' nel XV secolo le Clarisse del monastero di Santa Chiara confezionavano i primi mazzolini di fiori di confetto e nel 1846 la citta' contava circa dodici fabbriche; la fama internazionale del prodotto e' stata costruita nel Novecento dagli emigranti abruzzesi in Stati Uniti, Canada e Australia. | [Regione Abruzzo - Dipartimento Turismo](https://www.abruzzoturismo.it/it/magazine/sulmona-la-splendida-citta-dei-confetti) | medium | 2029-12-31 |
| Lo Zafferano dell'Aquila DOP, coltivato sull'altopiano di Navelli, e registrato nel registro UE dal 5 febbraio 2005. | [MASAF - Elenco DOP e IGP prodotti agricoli (PDF, agg. 11/06/2026)](https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeAttachment.php/L/IT/D/1%252Fa%252F2%252FD.e7bdb4ebe6d458c7925a/P/BLOB%3AID%3D15453/E/pdf?mode=download); [Commissione europea - DG AGRI, registro eAmbrosia](https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/eambrosia/geographical-indications-register/) | high | 2099-12-31 |

## Image

https://media.myitalia.it/media/food.confetti-di-sulmona.1600.jpg
Author: Superchilum. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Museo_di_Pelino_02.jpg

## Other languages

- it: https://myitalia.it/it/cibo/confetti-di-sulmona.md
- es: https://myitalia.it/es/gastronomia/confetti-di-sulmona.md
- fr: https://myitalia.it/fr/gastronomie/confetti-di-sulmona.md
- de: https://myitalia.it/de/kulinarik/confetti-di-sulmona.md