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EASTER

Italy’s delicious alternatives to Easter chocolate

Never mind chocolate eggs from the supermarket. In Italy, this is the time of year to sample all kinds of seasonal sweets and cakes, with countless variations across the country. Here are a few favourites.

Published: 17 April 2019 15:22 CEST
Updated: 21 March 2021 15:14 CET
Italy's delicious alternatives to Easter chocolate
Italian desserts at Easter go so much further than a chocolate egg.Photo: Valentina Locatelli

In many countries Easter means chocolate. Bags of pastel-coloured mini eggs, tin-foil-wrapped chocolate bunnies and the classic hollow egg, ready to be smashed to pieces.

READ ALSO: The essential guide to an Italian Easter

These cocoa-based confections are available in Italy – though not in the same aisle-filling quantity – but chocolate simply isn’t the go-to Easter treat it is in other parts of the world.

Not when these traditional, and often regional, dolci start to appear on the shelves of pasticcerie around the country.

Colomba

Supposedly shaped like a dove – though, in reality, with a more blob-like form – colomba is an enriched sweet bread very similar to panettone. 

Photo: DepositPhotos

In the 1930s, the Christmastime treat was already being produced industrially but was, of course, only sold for a short period of the year. In order to boost sales, the Milanese baking company Motta came up with a new product which used the same equipment and almost the same dough as panettone.

Traditionally, colomba was made with candied fruit and topped with whole almonds and icing whereas panettone had both dried and candied fruit but no icing. These days the two desserts are almost interchangeable and both come in a variety of flavours, such as pear and chocolate, cherry, and pistachio.

Pardulas

Pardulas are star-shaped tartlets filled with saffron-spiked ricotta. Hailing from Sardinia, they’re customarily made with sheep’s milk ricotta – there are more sheep on the island than there are people – but versions sold elsewhere in Italy may use more readily available cow’s milk ricotta. Other variations include citrus flavourings and the addition of raisins to the filling.


Photo: DepositPhotos

They’re now available all year round but pardulas are still the quintessential Easter treat for Sardinians and are often served drizzled with honey.

Pizza Dolce di Pasqua

Yes it’s pizza, but not as you know it. Think light and fluffy cake rather than a flat margherita-style pie. Eaten in central Italy, pizza dolce di pasqua (‘sweet Easter pizza’) can be enhanced with cinnamon, candied fruit, raisins, or even aniseed.

READ ALSO: 12 Italian Easter foods you have to try at least once

Traditionally, home cooks would make the dough on Good Friday, giving it enough time to rise before baking on Saturday evening. Eaten at breakfast on Easter Sunday, it’s often served with a spread of salami, boiled eggs and hot chocolate. A savoury form of pizza di pasqua, made with Parmigiano or Pecorino cheese, can also make an appearance at the table.


A cheesy torta di pasqua. Photo: Michela Simoncini/Flickr

Torta di Riso

Torta di riso is made with similar ingredients to a British rice pudding, but is baked in the oven until the mixture is thick enough to cut a hefty slice. Both Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna boast interpretations of this comforting dessert and serve it up on special occasions such as birthdays or religious holidays, as well as Easter.


Photo: fugzu/Flickr

Cassata Siciliana

Sicily is well known for its desserts – thanks, in part, to the invasion of the Arabs in the 9th and 10th centuries, who bought with them sugar cane and new sugar production techniques – but the Sicilian cassata is an especially elaborate cake, even for those with a sweet tooth.


Photo: DepositPhotos

Soft sponge is layered with a sweetened ricotta filling before being covered with marzipan and icing. A rainbow of candied fruit on top provides a final excessive flourish to the cake, which was traditionally only served once a year due to its expensive ingredients and labour-intensive recipe.

‘Mpanatigghi 

‘Mpanatigghi are half-moon shaped biscuits filled with a mixture of chocolate, nuts, cloves, cinnamon and… beef.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Trattoria Licchio’s (@licchios.sicilia) on Aug 3, 2018 at 7:19pm PDT

No, they weren’t inspired by Rachel from Friends’ infamous ‘meat trifle’ but were most likely introduced to Modica in Sicily by the Spanish in the 16th century. The minced meat is almost undetectable in the finished product and legend has it that nuns in the local monasteries would make the biscuits during Lent to secretly ensure church leaders had enough energy during fasting.

Ciaramicola

Pink, doughnut-shaped and topped with white icing and multicoloured sprinkles, the ciaramicola looks more American than Italian at first glance. In fact, this cheerful cake comes from Perugia, where it was customary for brides-to-be to give one to their future husbands at Easter time.


Photo: WikiO&L1026 – CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia

The colours come from a splash of red Alchermes liqueur in the batter and a white meringue topping, and are said to represent the Perugia coat of arms.

Pastiera Napoletana

It’s thought to have links back to ancient times when it was eaten during Pagan celebrations of springtime, but the pastiera as we know it today was perfected by nuns from the Church of San Gregorio Armeno in Naples’ historic centre.


Photo: DepositPhotos

Their recipe of a shortcrust pie with a filling of ricotta, cooked wheat, candied fruit and orange flower water is now an essential for pastry shops throughout Italy at any time of year.

Gubana

Originally cooked up for Christmas and Easter, the gubana is now eaten at any special occasion in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. However, the northern region is keeping the recipe to themselves as this sweet bread is rarely found further afield.


Photo: DepositPhotos

The characteristic spiral shape comes from rolling a brioche-like dough with a filling of walnuts, pine nuts, sugar and lemon zest. Sometimes grappa is also used to flavour this rich cake.

READ ALSO: Dancing devils and egg olympics: Nine of Italy’s most curious Easter festivals

Originally from the UK, Emma Law is a freelance writer and marketing consultant based in Rome. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.

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FOOD AND DRINK

What to do (and avoid) when paying a restaurant bill in Italy

If you have plans for dinner out in Italy, here's a look at the etiquette over the bill - from where and how to pay to the culture around tipping.

Published: 12 June 2024 12:11 CEST
What to do (and avoid) when paying a restaurant bill in Italy

If you go out to eat in Italy, then there are a few things you should know about paying the bill afterwards.

This sounds like it should be straightforward, but the etiquette may differ from your home country.

Uncertainty around how it all works in Italy leads some visitors to worry about causing offence, or to wonder if they’ve been overcharged (which is thankfully rare, although it does happen.)

But becoming familiar with a few local norms should make dining out in Italy a stress-free experience.

How to ask for the bill – When you’re ready, try to catch the waiter’s eye and ask for the bill (possiamo avere il conto?). You can always ask for the bill while they clear your plates.

Unless you’re in a very busy or touristy place the bill is not usually presented until you ask for it – this is deliberate, as Italian waiters normally don’t like to hurry their customers and once you’ve finished dinner it’s perfectly OK to linger and chat over the dregs of the wine.

If you’re in a place that runs two service periods at night (usually one at around 7.30pm and one at 9pm) then you may be asked to clear your table by a certain time, but this should be made clear to you when you book or when you arrive. 

If it’s getting late and the place is emptying out the waiter may bring over the bill and ask you to pay so they can close up the till – but they’re not necessarily saying that you have to leave. If they start stacking up chairs, however, then that’s your cue to go home.

What to expect on the bill – On top of the cost of your food and drink, in many places you can expect to see an extra fee for coperto, or a cover/table charge, on your Italian restaurant bill.

Coperto is a a fixed fee which is charged by restaurants in Italy on a per-person basis, in addition to the price of food and drinks, to cover expenses for washing or replacing cutlery, plates, napkins and tablecloths used by customers.

The coperto charge only applies to seated customers (both children and adults), meaning that you won’t have it tacked onto a takeaway order – and should definitely complain if you do.

READ ALSO: ‘A rip-off’: Should you really get mad about Italy’s table charge?

It’s usually around €2-€4 per person, but can rise as high as €10 or even €15 per person at major tourist sites such as Venice’s Piazza San Marco or right next to Milan’s Duomo cathedral.

Coperto has been banned by regional law throughout Lazio since 2006, so you shouldn’t see it listed on your bill in a Rome restaurant, though it may be snuck in in the form of an extra charge for bread (pane) or service (servizio).

There’s nothing illegal about charging these fees, and a restaurant could in theory add all three to your bill – but they must be clearly listed on the menu or price board, and you can refuse bread when it’s brought to your table so you don’t have to pay an extra charge for pane.

Where to pay the bill – One major difference between Italy and other countries is that many restaurants – usually more casual ones – will expect you to walk up to the cash register to pay the bill.

This means that once you feel ready to go you can just walk up and pay at the counter, rather than waiting for the bill.

You can always double check with the server by asking paghiamo qui o alla cassa? (do we pay here or at the counter?)

In many cases, the answer will be ‘either’ so it’s really up to you – but be prepared to wait a while for both your bill and your change if you want to pay at the table.

Tourists sit in the shade of umbrellas at an open-air restaurant on a street in central Rome, on July 19 2022. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP.

How to split the bill – If you dined with a friend or friends, then you may want to split the bill. Some Italian restaurants use smart tablets that allow servers to click each of the items you ordered and then inform you of exactly how much you owe individually, while others will expect you to do the maths yourself. 

The waiter will likely ask how you want to pay (come volete pagare?). In response, you and your friend can tell the waiter vogliamo dividere il conto (we want to split the bill) once they come out with the card reader.

READ ALSO: How to spot the Italian restaurants to avoid

If you want to split it, you can say possiamo dividerlo in three/cinque? (can we split it three ways/divide it by five?). If there’s two of you can also say paghiamo metà a testa.

If you don’t want to do an equal split – let’s say your friend had the bistecca alla fiorentina and was drinking wine while you had a salad and a water – you can just do the maths yourself and then tell the server exactly how much you want to put on each card when they come out with the card machine.

How to leave a tip – Italian wait staff aren’t reliant on tips to get by like they are in many parts of the US. As is the case elsewhere in Europe, they are paid a standard wage and tips are viewed as an added, and optional, extra.

Italians may tell you they rarely leave a tip, or only do so if service was exceptional.

While tipping is always appreciated, then, it’s entirely at the customer’s discretion (beyond ‘servizio’ charges on the bill).

READ ALSO: When and how much should I tip in Italy?

If you don’t see servizio listed on the bill, you might want to leave one or two extra euros per person, and if there’s a group of you paying the bill together, you’d want to round up to at least the nearest five.

If you’re paying by card, bear in mind that not many places will be able to add a tip to the card payment – so you might want to carry some change or small notes so you are able to leave something behind.

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