I Segreti del Chiostro
The Cut· research-verified, not yet visited
A working pastry kitchen inside the cloister of the Santa Caterina convent, running the historical recipes of cloistered Sicilian nuns since the kitchen reopened in 2017.
The Santa Caterina convent housed cloistered nuns from 1311 to 2014, and they baked the elaborate sweets you'll see imitated everywhere on the island. When the last nun left, a group of professional pastry chefs took over the cloister kitchen and revived the recipes. The cassate (ricotta cakes with candied citron and pistachio marzipan) and pasta di mandorla are flawless; the cannoli shells are fried that morning and filled the moment you order. Come right at opening (10 a.m.) before the queue starts. Inside the cloister itself, the architecture is half the visit.
- Price — €€
- Order — cassata · cannoli filled to order
- walk in
- takeaway available
- Palermo · Piazza Bellini 1
- Inside the cloister
- Open 10–7
From the HALA guide, reviewed August 2026.
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