More than Milan or Inter, more than Ferrari or Maserati, more than Carbonara or Amatriciana. The dilemma that (almost) always divides Italians at the table. We choose not to choose but we take you to discover the parallel origins of the two most famous Christmas cakes of Italy.
Two cakes originated in the courts of the Sforza in Milan and of the Scaligeri in Verona, but have never stopped evolving. Until the arrival of Mr. Motta and Mr. Melegatti.
In Italy, traditionally, the signs of the imminent arrival of Christmas were identified with the sale of caldarroste on street corners, chestnuts roasted on small portable stoves. With the zampognari (shepherd-bagpipers nowadays almost disappeared) who, coming down from the mountains, stopped to play the instruments (the Italian bagpipe zampogna) under the windows and to whom coins were tossed into their hats. These, like other almost extinct traditions, were accompanied by the appearance of traditional Christmas cakes and sweets in grocery stores.
The variety of cakes was very vast and differed according to the geographical areas. “Was”, because unfortunately products’ standardization and large scale production of some of them inexorably impoverished the scenario. Since the twentieth century, above all and among all, ever-present desserts throughout Italy are the Panettone, the Pandoro, and although completely different, the Torrone, now experiencing a period of slight decline.
There are many legends that tell when and by whom these cakes were made. The truth is that both Panettone and Pandoro have medieval origins just like many other similar cakes that were and still are widespread throughout Italy, particularly in the north.
Apart from legends, a ‘richer’ bread during Christmas and on the occasion of other festivities, was a very common custom in the Middle Ages. Since the thirteenth century, historical records report that the richest Milanese enjoyed a ”large loaf” enriched with various ingredients, while in Verona, for Christmas, people ate the “ancestor” of the Pandoro, the Nadalin, still prepared today.
Starting from 1395 the Milanese public bakeries were allowed, only for Christmas day, to prepare wheat bread, considered precious at the time. The Corporations of Milan had decided that the division between the bread of the poor (millet bread) and the bread of the rich and noble (white bread) should no longer exist on Christmas day when everyone had to eat the same bread as a symbol of sharing and equality. At the end of the 1400s, manuscripts of the time highlight the preparation and consumption of large loaves on December 24th, during the ”rite of the log”.
Between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, publications of the time officially report the ingredients contained in the Christmas panaton and necessary for the baker to prepare ”big bread” to be given to schoolchildren on Christmas day. In the first half of the 1800s, in the Milanese-Italian dictionary of Francesco Cherubini, the Panatton de Nadal is described in a very detailed way.
The panaton, the thick bread that is usually made on Christmas Day, was in any case an unleavened bread, and therefore low. The yeast was introduced later, and in 1853 it is mentioned among the ingredients while the following year candied fruit are included.
Finally, during the first half of 1900 Angelo Motta and Gioacchino Alemagna, began the production of Panettone on a large scale, further ”raising” the height of the cake. Nowadays the Panettone is known worldwide and since a few years, at Christmas time, it is preferred in the UK to the typical pudding.
It should be noted that preparing a classic Panettone is not a simple task and takes a long time. However, today there are many bakeries and pastry shops that make an artisan panettone on the occasion of Christmas. Panettone can be enjoyed by pairing it with a good wine. Among the various possible choices, the most popular is that of a white wine, sweet and sparkling, served chilled.
There are also testimonies of Pandoro that dates back to the 13th century, prepared to celebrate the first Christmas celebrated under the Lordship of the Scaligeri. The Pandoro ancestor is called Nadalin and is still prepared nowadays.
Unlike Panettone, Pandoro has a very specific date of birth: October 14, 1894, when Domenico Melegatti patented the name, shape and recipe of the Pandoro. Its iconic 8-pointed star shape, the mold in which the dough is baked, has also been immortalized on the facade of Palazzo Melegatti-Turco-Ronca at Porta Borsari 21 in Verona, the original location of the laboratory and patisserie. The Nadalin already had the shape of a star and is still found in Veronese pastry shops, although, like the ancient Panettone, it is lower and covered with icing. The name of ”Pandoro” was probably inspired by the Renaissance custom of covering the loaves of princely banquets with a gold leaf.
Many traditional Italian Christmas cakes may still be found in the various regions of Italy. But only the Panettone and the Pandoro have the privilege of always sharing the tables during Christmas all over Italy.