According to a legend it was created by the talent of a chef employed by the Tourmarches Euphemius of Messina around the IX century AD, astride the Byzantine and the Arab domination. Euphemius, Sicilian-Byzantine, allied with the Saracens as anti-Byzantine, landed at Mazara del Vallo leading the Arab fleet and there the anonymous native cook would feed the troops, exhausted by the journey, with what the earth offered, sardines and wild fennel with Arab saffron. Apart from the veracity of the story, several historical knowledge acquired allow to consider the pasta with sardines an Arab-Sicilian dish, where the typical local ingredients mixed with tastes and knowledge of others, from the use of long pasta, introduced in Sicily by the Arabs. There is indeed evidence of the existence of a pasta factory in Trabia that produced spaghetti, the triyah, in the early X century AD. Even the Corinth raisins (in dialect passolina), the pine nuts and the saffron became ingredients of the Sicilian cuisine after the Saracen conquest of the island. Eventually, it was the Arabs to practicing and promoting a more complex cuisine, based upon striking a balance between flavors well represented by the sauce of the pasta with sardines: a harmony between the fresh aroma of wild fennel and the strong one of sardines, between the spicy note of saffron and the sweet one of raisins and pine nuts. Common ingredients are enhanced by the technique of preparation and the presence of precious elements, of all saffron, the red gold. In this sense, it is also possible to give a celebratory character to the pasta with sardines: the exaltation of the wealth and splendour of Palermo, capital of the Emirate of Sicily. Over time, the recipe reached its present form, with the addition of anchovy or salted sardinas in the fried onion (the Normans introduced, especially in inland Sicily, the use of fish preserved by salting) and the mollica atturrata (toasted breadcrumbs), the cheese of the poor. It represents the peculiarity of Sicilian cuisine, that manages to be at the same time both popular and aristocratic. Bucatini and maccheroncelli are today the pasta shapes that give to the dish the necessary relevance, while maintaining the tradition of the long pasta shape. Present on the Sicilian tables from March to September, period in which there were both sardines and, above all, the fresh wild fennel, is one of the traditional dishes consumed for Father’s Day, on Saint Joseph’s Day, March 19. In Palermo is also very popular the baked version, available in cafeterias, cafe or bakeries, in the classic aluminum foil tray. There are many variations, as in the case of popular dishes. Some of them, over time, have reached a relative autonomy with respect to the original recipe, becoming new appreciated preparations: e.g. pasta con l’anciova (pasta with anchovies or sea sardines or a’ milanisi), palina and – news that will surprise a lot of people of Palermo – the famous pasta with broccoli arriminati.