### Ancient Origins of Fried Dough in Italy
Fried dough pastries have ancient roots in the Mediterranean, with precursors traceable to Roman times. During festivals like the Liberalia (celebrated on March 17 in honor of Bacchus and agricultural rites), Romans prepared **frictilia** — simple wheat dough fritters fried in hot lard or oil and drizzled with honey or sprinkled with sugar. These early treats are considered distant ancestors of modern zeppole. Some sources suggest influences from Arabic **zalābiyya** (fried dough soaked in syrup), introduced during Arab rule in Sicily and southern Italy between the 9th and 11th centuries, which may have shaped regional fritters.

The name "zeppole" (singular: zeppola) likely derives from Latin terms:
- **zippulae** (a type of sweet fritter)
- **cippus** (meaning "wedge" or "stump," possibly referencing the pastry's shape or evoking St. Joseph's carpenter tools).

### Medieval and Renaissance Developments
By the Middle Ages and Renaissance, fried or baked dough treats were common in southern Italy, especially Naples, with its deep-rooted frying tradition (seen today in dishes like pizza fritta). Some accounts credit nuns in Neapolitan convents — such as Santa Patrizia, San Gregorio Armeno, Croce di Lucca, or Splendore — with early versions of baked zeppole as far back as the 16th century. These may have used emerging **pâte à choux** (choux pastry), invented in the 1500s by Italian chefs in France and later brought back to Italy.

Records from the 15th century note zeppole-like pastries as favorites of Neapolitan nobility, including Viceroy Juan II de Ribagorza.

### 18th–19th Century: Street Food and the Birth of the Modern Zeppole di San Giuseppe
In the 18th century, zeppole became popular street food in Naples, fried fresh and sold hot by vendors known as "zeppolari." German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe described them during his visits to Naples in the late 1700s, describing piles of freshly fried dough.

The modern **Zeppole di San Giuseppe** — the cream-filled version tied to St. Joseph's Day (March 19) — emerged in the 19th century in Naples. A popular legend links it to St. Joseph: during the Holy Family's flight to Egypt, Joseph sold fritters (or "pancakes") to support Mary and Jesus, earning him the nickname "the "fritter seller" (san Giuseppe frittellaro). This explains why zeppole are the traditional treat for his feast day, which coincides with Italian Father's Day and ancient spring purification rites involving bonfires and fried foods.

The first documented recipe appeared in 1837 in Ippolito Cavalcanti's Neapolitan cookbook *Cucina Teorico-Pratica*, describing a choux-based dough fried and topped with sugar or honey.

In the mid-1800s, Neapolitan pastry chef Pasquale Pintauro (famous for perfecting the sfogliatella) is credited with refining the recipe: he piped choux dough into rings, double-fried it (first in oil, then lard for crispiness), filled it with custard or ricotta cream, and topped it with amarena (sour black) cherries in syrup. This version became the standard for Zeppole di San Giuseppe and spread rapidly.

### Regional Variations Across Italy
Zeppole vary widely by region and occasion:
- **Campania (Naples)** — The fried, cream-filled Zeppole di San Giuseppe (now often baked for a lighter texture).
- **Puglia, Calabria, and Sicily** — Sometimes filled with ricotta or chocolate, or made for Carnival or St. Joseph.
- **Rome** — Known as bignè di San Giuseppe, smaller cream puffs.
- **Sardinia** — Tzipulas or zippole, spiral-shaped and made with a funnel for Carnival.
- Other areas — Savory versions exist (e.g., with anchovy-stuffed in Malta via Italian influence) or honey-drizzled.

Simple unfilled zeppole are also tied to Carnival season across southern Italy.

### 20th Century to Present: Immigration and Global Spread
With mass Italian emigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, zeppole traveled to the United States, where Italian-American communities (especially in New York, New Jersey, and New England) adapted them as fair food: small, plain fried dough balls dusted with powdered sugar, sold by the bag at street festivals and feasts (often called "pizza fritte" or just "zeppoli"). The filled San Giuseppe version remains a bakery staple every March, with lines forming outside Italian pastry shops.

Today, zeppole symbolize spring, family, and heritage in Italy and the diaspora. While the St. Joseph's version is strictly seasonal (March 19), simple zeppole are enjoyed year-round at festivals. Variations now include oven-baked for health reasons, alternative fillings like Nutella or fruit, but the classic Neapolitan recipe endures as a protected culinary tradition.### Ancient Roots (Roman Era and Earlier Influences)
The story of zeppole begins with fried dough itself, one of humanity's oldest treats. In ancient Rome, during festivals like the **Liberalia** (March 17), Romans fried simple wheat dough in lard and drizzled it with honey—these were called **frictilia** and are widely considered the direct ancestors of zeppole. The timing is notable: Liberalia celebrated fertility and the arrival of spring, themes that later merged with Christian traditions around St. Joseph's Day (March 19).

Some historians trace possible influences from Arabic **zalābiyya** (fried dough soaked in syrup), brought to southern Italy during the 9th–11th century Muslim rule in Sicily. The name "zeppola" itself may derive from the Latin **zippulae** (a sweet fritter) or **cippus** (wedge/stump—perhaps referencing St. Joseph's carpenter tools or the pastry's shape).

### Medieval and Renaissance Period
By the Middle Ages, fried pastries were common street food across southern Italy, especially in Naples, which has an ancient and obsessive frying culture (think pizza fritta, arancini, etc.). Nuns in Neapolitan convents (Santa Patrizia, San Gregorio Armeno, Croce di Lucca, or Santa Maria dello Splendore) are often credited with early refined versions, possibly baked rather than fried, as far back as the 16th century. These used the newly invented **pâte à choux** (choux pastry), created in the 1540s by Panterelli, an Italian chef in the French court of Catherine de' Medici.

### 18th–Early 19th Century: Street Food Era
By the 1700s, zeppole were classic Neapolitan street food. Vendors called **zeppolari** fried them fresh in huge cauldrons in the streets, especially during Carnival and March festivals. Goethe, visiting Naples in 1787, wrote enthusiastically about eating hot zeppole straight from the fryers.

### 1837: The first written recipe appears in Ippolito Cavalcanti's seminal Neapolitan cookbook **Cucina Teorico-Pratica**. This is considered the official birth of the documented zeppola di San Giuseppe.

### Mid-19th Century: The Modern Zeppola di San Giuseppe is Born
The version we know today—choux pastry ring, fried, filled with custard or ricotta cream, topped with amarena cherry—was perfected in the 1840s–1850s by **Pasquale Pintauro**, a famous Neapolitan pastry chef who also invented the modern sfogliatella riccia. Pintauro transformed the simple street fritter into an elegant pastry: piped into circles, double-fried (first in oil, then in strutto/lard for maximum crispness), split, filled with crema pasticcera, and crowned with sour cherry.

### The Legend of St. Joseph the Fritter Seller
The strongest cultural link is to St. Joseph. Tradition holds that during the flight into Egypt, Joseph had to sell fritters ("le frittelle") in the streets to feed Mary and Jesus. Thus he became known in southern Italy as "San Giuseppe frittellaro." After a severe famine in Sicily was said to have ended thanks to his intercession, people began making zeppole on his feast day (March 19) as a votive offering. The pastries are still placed on St. Joseph's altars (tavolate di San Giuseppe) in many southern towns.

### Regional Variations in Italy
- **Campania (Naples)** → The classic fried (or increasingly baked) cream-filled version for March 19.
- **Puglia & Basilicata** → Often larger, sometimes filled with custard + ricotta or just honey, baked or fried.
- **Calabria & Sicily** → Frequently ricotta-filled, sometimes with chocolate or cinnamon; called sfinge or sfinci di San Giuseppe.
- **Rome & Central Italy** → Smaller cream puffs called bignè di San Giuseppe.
- **Sardinia** → Tzipulas or zippole—long spirals made by pouring batter through a funnel into hot oil, usually for Carnival.
- **Northern Italy** → Rarely made; they use different names (fritole, frittelle).

### 20th Century & Italian-American Evolution
With mass emigration (1880–1920), southern Italians brought zeppole to America. In the U.S., two distinct versions developed:

1. **Fair-style zeppole/zeppole** — the simple fried dough balls coated in powdered sugar sold by the dozen at Italian feasts (especially the San Gennaro festival in NYC). This is what most Americans think of as "zeppole."
2. **St. Joseph's zeppole** — the filled pastry cream version, available only around March 19 in Italian-American bakeries (often lines out the door).

Today, both versions thrive. In Italy, the filled zeppola di San Giuseppe remains strictly tied to March 19 and Father's Day. The simple fried version is year-round street food. Modern twists include oven-baked "light" versions, Nutella filling, or even savory variations (anchovy zeppole in some coastal areas).

So while zeppole have ancient Roman/Arab roots, the specific pastry we celebrate today—the choux ring filled with cream and topped with amarena cherry—is a 19th-century Neapolitan invention that became indelibly linked to St. Joseph, spring, and the enduring southern Italian love of frying absolutely everything.