Colomba, the rich Italian bread your Easter table needs

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Colomba, the rich Italian bread your Easter table needs

13 April 2017

The taste of Italy's traditional Easter bread means springtime is truly at your doorstep.

Ever since I was a little girl, there has been one special sweet that meant “Easter” to me and my family: colomba, a sweet risen bread. Colomba has always been a sign that Eastertime was approaching. My family would start buying colomba as soon as it hit the shops, usually just after Carnival, and every day I’d eat a slice at breakfast or as merenda, afternoon snack. Easter has always been my favorite holiday, and spring my favorite season; the yearly appointment with my first slice of colomba meant that winter was well and truly over, and the year was turning sunny and warm again.

Why colomba is eaten at Easter

The word colomba means dove in Italian, referring to the shape of the cake, which vaguely resembles a flying dove. It’s a raised, spongy sweet bread (kind of like the Christmas panettone, but more on this later…) with candied orange peel and an amaretto-like sugary glaze studded with almonds. Naturally, as a child, the almonds were my favorite bit, and I picked them off one by one. The white dove has long been a symbol not only of Easter and peace, but also of rebirth—a value celebrated in the Pagan spring festivals that predate Christianity by millennia. Nowadays, colomba is served at the end of Easter lunch alongside chocolate eggs. It’s perfect paired with a glass of sweet, sparkling, low-alcohol Moscato d’Asti; or a late-harvest wine, made from grapes that have been left on the vine for an additional month, thus concentrating their sugars and producing a delicately sweet wine that is not at all cloying. Colomba is also enjoyed at breakfast with coffee or tea; and for a truly scrumptious treat, try it with mascarpone or hazelnut spread! This homebaked colomba shows the form of a dove - by Liliana Fuchs This homebaked colomba shows the form of a dove - by Liliana Fuchs

Three tales of Easter doves

The origins of colomba point to several tales, from relatively recent to over a thousand years old. The oldest legend goes back to the 6th century AD, when the Lombard King Alboino laid siege to Pavia. When the siege broke, he ordered the inhabitants of the city to bring him gifts: gold, jewels, and young maidens. A chef baked delicate, white dove-shaped cakes to offer the Lombard king as a sign of peace, and the king liked them so much that he declared colomba to be worthy of his respect. But the real kicker of the story is when he asked the young maidens their names: one by one, they replied, “Colomba.” Alboino was aware he had been played, but he held to his word that “Colomba” was worthy of his respect—and so set all the young maidens free. The second version of the tale relates colomba to Saint Columbanus, an Irish monk who travelled to Italy between the 6th and 7th centuries AD and founded several monasteries; a town not far from Milan is named after him. Queen Theodolinda of the Lombards invited the saint and his monks to a banquet where she planned to serve a great variety of roasted meat. However, Columbanus and the monks had to refuse the invitation, because they were doing penance. So as not to offend the great queen, Columbanus said he would bless the meal first; no sooner did he raise his hand to do so than the rich dishes of meat transformed into sweet white bread. Eremo of Saint Columbanus, a monastery founded by the saint - imagea Eremo of Saint Columbanus, a monastery founded by the saint - imagea

Finally, one last story explains the origins of colomba with an episode that happened during the Battle of Legnano, fought in 1176 between the Lombard League and Holy Roman Empire. A Lombard general noticed two doves resting over Lombard banners, and ordered cooks to bake dove-shaped breads to give courage to the troops, who ended up defeating the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

Repurposing panettone

Colomba - by Francesca Longo Traditional colomba - by Francesca Longo

As varied as these legends are, they all have common elements: spring, doves, and white cake or bread. Today, the colomba we all know and love is not plain and white, but a rich mixture of eggs, sugar, candied oranges, and a sugary almond glaze. In fact, the modern version of colomba was created less than a hundred years ago in 1930, by the Milanese confectioner Motta. The reason is somewhat less intriguing than the legends behind the Easter treat: Motta was already renowned for its delicious panettone, and the company’s warehouses were full of panettone-making equipment. Motta made an Easter cake using the same sweet bread mix, forming it into the dove shape in reference to Easter. Panettone and colomba are nearly identical, with two slight differences: panettone contains raisins and mixed candied fruit, colomba only candied orange peel; and panettone is dome-shaped and doesn’t (traditionally) have the same sugary almond topping as colomba. Was Mr. Motta aware of the Lombard dove-shaped cake legends? Possibly…or maybe it was just a clever marketing idea.

Where to find Italy's best colomba

You’ll find colomba on Easter tables all over Italy, from Trentino to Sicily. The southernmost Italian region has another dove-shaped Easter cake called cuddura or panareddu, a sweet bread decorated with sugar sprinkles with unpeeled, hardboiled eggs set in the dough. Usually, cuddura has the shape of a ring, but it can be found as a dove, heart, doll, or even a bell tower to symbolize bells tolling in celebration of Jesus’s resurrection. Just like the Christmastime panettone, colomba comes in several marketing-friendly variants nowadays: with candied pineapple, sour cherries, chocolate drops, pistachio cream, and even extravagantly decorated for lovers of cake design. Two popular variations and pastry chefs are peach and yogurt from Cova in Milan, and the pear and chocolate from Roscioli in Rome. Hazelnut colomba made in Piedmont - by Amélien Bayle Hazelnut colomba made in Piedmont - by Amélien Bayle

On the search for a top-quality colomba that’s in another league than the supermarket varieties? Every April, the Regina Colomba event in the Valle d’Aosta town of Saint Vincent is held to award the best traditional colomba in Italy. The top three chosen in 2017 were by Pasticceria Mazzali from Governolo (Mantova), Tenerità from Caserta, and Pasticceria Ascolese from San Valentino Torio (Salerno).

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