Bisceglie Sospiro

A few kilometers from Bari, facing out over the Adriatic, the town of Bisceglie has a rich history. It is not rare to find dolmens in the surrounding countryside, a sign that the area has been inhabited since ancient times. Agriculture is the main activity, but in recent years tourism has also become important.
The town has a long-standing pastry tradition, which revolves around a symbolic sweet: the Bisceglie sospiro. According to local legend, when Lucrezia Borgia, the countess of Bisceglie, wed Alfonso of Aragon, the nuns of the San Luigi convent prepared these little cakes for the wedding celebrations. Other stories say that the sospiro was invented by a romantic confectioner who was inspired by the shape of his lover’s breasts.
The sweets do in fact have a breast-like shape, and are made from a light sponge cake prepared with free-range eggs and Puglian flour flavored with rind from local lemons. The inside is filled with a vanilla-infused cream, and the exterior covered with a thin sugar glaze.

Season

The Bisceglie sospiro is produced throughout the year