This Italian Town Is Home To One Of The Country's Most Iconic Candies

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Italy undoubtedly has a sweet tooth, one that leans toward high-quality, elegant, decorative candies. After all, the city of Perugia brought us the lovestruck foil-wrapped Baci kisses, a popular Valentine's Day gift, while Venchi chocolates arose from bubbling bronze cauldrons in Turin, and Ferrero Rocher hails from the small Italian village of Alba. But there's a different type of candy royalty tucked within the Abruzzo region, one that's arguably even more significant. 

The ancient town of Sulmona is the lively heartbeat of Italian confetti candy, both historically and practically, given its continual candy-making cred spanning centuries. Confetti candy is nothing like the colorful shredded paper thrown at weddings or New Year's parties. It's instead a gloriously sweet and crunchy treat: candy-coated almonds. The name confetti actually derives from the Latin word confectum, which means prepared or wrapped — aptly applied to this candy-making technique of "wrapping" each almond in layers of sugar. 

Though originally featuring honey, the 15th century brought sugar cane into the equation. Nuns at the Monastery of Santa Chiara in Sulmona, also known as the Monastery of St. Claire, elevated the art of confetti confections, reportedly creating floral arrangements, rosaries, and baskets with the sugared almonds. The candies became (and still remain) a core component of Italian weddings, as well as births, baptisms, graduations, and other important life events. It all started in Sulmona, where confectionery factories still spin the delicacies, and confetti shops line the plazas and shops of the Corso Ovidio historic center, offering brilliantly colored, artistic interpretations of centuries-old techniques.

Some original confetti candy makers have moved on from their roots in Sulmona, Italy, but a major supplier still runs its operations there. The Mario Pelino confectionery factory has been producing Sulmona sugared almonds since the late 1700s, and the associated Pelino Confetti Museum gives visitors a deep dive into how it all began. Original copper pots, now centuries old, stand as sentinels of the past, along with other relics and customized candy tools. 

As the sugary almond treats have spread across the globe, you may recognize a form of confetti candy known as Jordan Almonds. Some origin stories claim the name comes from almonds grown in the Jordan Valley, but most historians agree the sugar coating in its present form shares common roots in Sulmona. By the 1940s, the Italian Sconza family was selling Jordan Almonds in the United States, now made with Californian or other types of almonds, and readily available through Amazon and other retailers. 

Sugar-coated almonds have entered the mainstream under names like Jordan Almonds, but there's still some mystique surrounding the traditions born in Sulmona and other Italian communities. Their integral role in special occasions carries an entire system of colors and numbers associated with the celebrations, ones handed down for generations. For example, the Italian bomboniere party favors, presented at weddings in small boxes, bags, or other containers, typically hold exactly five confetti almonds, symbolizing five attributes: fertility, good health, wealth, happiness, and longevity of life. The inclusion of only three almonds represents a couple and a child.