Every February in Catania, an ancient Sicilian city in the shadow of Mount Etna, the breast reigns supreme. During the first week of the month, crowds fill the streets in tribute to Saint Agatha. Local guilds carry massive, golden candle holders, or candelore, featuring sculptures that depict the martyred maiden and her gruesomely amputated breasts. Amid these brutal images of the saint, commemorated every February 5, Catania’s bakeries contribute a curious local specialty: small, breast-shaped cakes topped with a single cherry “nipple.” While large events are cancelled this year due…
