Confetti Shops

Sulmona's signature sugar-coated almonds, sold from windows of extraordinary sculpted flowers

Strolling Corso Ovidio you cannot miss the windows of the confetti shops, packed with elaborate sculpted flowers — roses, daisies, bouquets, even animals — made entirely from sugar-coated almonds tied with ribbon and wire. This is Sulmona's most famous export, made here for centuries.

The traditional pieces are intended as wedding and christening favours, but small boxes of plain confetti are also sold by weight and travel well. Pelino is the historic name; Mario Pelino's confetti museum on the eastern edge of town is worth visiting if you have time. Several other shops along the Corso compete in elaborateness of their window displays.

shopping sight
A story
Sulmona has made confetti — sugar-coated almonds, not paper — since at least the 15th century. The Pelino family has been at it since 1783; their headquarters on Via Stazione Introdacqua includes a small museum tracing the craft. The signature is the confetti-flower: bunches of artificial blooms made entirely from the sweets, intended as wedding or christening favours, sold in arrangements that can be a metre across.