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Buona Pasqua

Traditional Easter cake
Happy Easter!
On Easter Sunday in Bergamo, the restaurants will be busy at lunchtime as families go out to celebrate la Pasqua (Easter) together.Many restaurants will put on a special menu for Easter Sunday and tables can be hard to find, so it is worth booking a couple of days in advance if you want to have lunch at your particular favourite on Easter Sunday.
A traditional Easter meal for Italian families, whether they are eating at home or in a restaurant, is likely to centre round agnello (lamb) as the main course, either roasted or braised.
For dessert there will usually be la Colomba, the dove-shaped cake that is traditional at Easter, in the same way that il Panettone is traditional at Christmas.
La colomba (the dove) is known as the bird of peace and there is a legend that says a cake in the shape of a dove was offered to try to end a siege in the Italian town of Pavia.
But there is also the school of thought that believes the cake was created in the 1930s by a firm in Milan who wanted to provide a cake for Easter that was the equivalent to il Panettone.
La Colomba is now sold all over Italy but is also made in the home. The traditional version has an almond and sugar
topping, but these days the shops sell them with all kinds of fillings, icings and toppings. They are all delicious.
Buon appetito e Buona Pasqua!





La Colomba -- Italian Easter treat



2 comments:

  1. How lovely! Easter is such a joy in Italy. Everyone should visit at this time.

    This is very interesting and current content - thank you Editor!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for that. I will continue to try to provide information about food and wine in Bergamo that is relevant and up to date.

    ReplyDelete