700 million euros. This is the total turnover of Carnival sweets, which have been produced from the first week of January. A constantly expanding market that has risen by more than 25% in three years. What are the most popular Carnival sweets? Given that fried food dominate the scene, there are no competitors in the chiacchiere in its numerous forms, in Lombardy, Piedmont, Campania, Sicily, and almost the entire South. Frappe in Rome and Lazio. Cenci in Tuscany. Bugie in Liguria. Ciarline in Emilia. Fiocchetti in Romagna. Crostoli in Friuli Venezia Giulia. Traditional fried, baked, or "gluten-free" products, possibly soaked in chocolate or other creams, account for far more than half of the market. In summary, they've become Carnival's national dessert, similar to panettone or pandoro at Christmas and the dove bread at Easter. Next to the sweet icon of Carnival, practically like the "thousand bell towers", each region of our country shows off and eats "its" Carnival dessert. Castagnole (classic, cream, ricotta, chocolate, zabaglione) are the only varieties, together with the chiacchiere, that exhibit supraregional diffusion. Tortelli, ravioli, sweet noodles, and rice cakes (in the northern regions); fritole, galani, and rufioli in Veneto; the Friulian bujarnik; the chifelini of Trieste; berlingozzo, fried friars, and schiacciata in Tuscany; the Limoncini from the Marche region; the Crescionda of Spoleto; the Neapolitan migliaccio; strufoli or struffoli practically throughout the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, with variants such as cicerchiata in the central regions and pignolata in Sicily; the taralli al naspro lucani; frati fritti and zeppole in Sardinia.
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