What is "barretina"

A barretina (, ; plural: barretines, diminutive of barret "cap") is a traditional hat that was frequently worn by men in parts of the Christian cultures of the Mediterranean sea such as Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Provence, Corsica, Sicily, Sardinia, part of Naples, part of the Balkans and parts of Portugal.

In Catalonia and Eivissa, men wore barretina until the 19th century, especially in rural areas. It took the form of a bag, made of wool, usually red, or sometimes purple.

Today, the barretina is no longer commonly worn in everyday life, but is still used in traditional dances, or as a symbol of Catalan identity. Painter Salvador Dalí sometimes wore the barretina in the 20th century. Some Catalan folkloric characters also wear a barretina, as: the Catalan Christmas figurine caganer, the Christmas log or tió, as well as the fictional characters Patufet, first drawn on the En Patufet magazine by Antoni Muntanyola, and "The Catalan" drawn by Gaietà Cornet i Palau.