Colomba di Pasqua
- At March 29, 2021
- By Zia Lucy
- In lifestyle in Positano, Positano
- 0
A Special Easter Pastry
Colomba di Pasqua, literally translated as Easter Dove, is a traditional Italian dessert we eat at Easter. We love to call it the Sister of Panettone as their recipes are similar. The classic recipe is filled with candied fruit, which on the Amalfi Coast is mostly candied orange zest, and studded with almonds and sugar pearls. During the centuries its recipe has changed a lot and many are the legends surrounding this sweet.
Origins
All the legends start in Northern Italy so we all agree that Colomba is a typical Northern Italian dessert.
People from southern Italy won’t complain as we are very competitive about pastries and we have invented the Easter Pastiera which is a must to have on our tables! But, let’s talk about the legends…
The Battle of Legnano: in 1176, during a battle between the Lombardy and the Holy Roman Empire, the leader of the Lombard League saw two doves flying and he interpreted it as a sign of victory. He later ordered the cooks to prepare a dove-shaped bread with Yeats, Flour and Eggs.
The Legend of King Alboino: during 572 BC, King Alboino of the Lombards finally entered in Pavia, after years of siege and this happened three days before Easter. A baker offered the King a dessert with a shape of dove. According to the legend, the King liked this pastry so much to promise the peace.
Queen Teodolina and the Irish Abbot: this legend talks about a group of pilgrims and the Irish Abbot “San Colombano” who arrived in Lombardy in 612 BC. The King and the Queen offered to pilgrims a delicious meal full of meat but San Colombano declined the invitation as it was time of Lent. In change, San Colombano turned the meal into a Dove shaped bread.
How Colomba became popular all over Italy
The Dessert we know nowadays is recent and its recipe is completely different from the original which is similar to bread or more simple in the ingredients.
Angelo Motta, a baker from Milan, in 1930’s had the great idea of making the Colomba the dessert that everybody should have eaten at Easter. As He was already popular for a Christmas dessert, called Panettone, He decided to use the same recipe but He changed its shape. So, Colomba was spread all over Italy by the most popular Italian Brand for Industrial Bakery.
Ingredients and preparation
I love eating Easter Desserts but I am terrible in cooking them. That’s the reason why I asked Giosuè from Bar Paradise in Positano to show me how He makes the Colomba, and I also made a video.
The ingredients are simple but its preparation is complex and it requires almost 2 days.
The base ingredient is sourdough which rises for 4 hours.
Later, the dough is mixed with ingredients such as sugar, butter and eggs and rests for 12-15 hours.
Then the dough is mixed with other ingredients and is left to rise for about 2 hours.
After this long time, the pastry chef creates the shape of a dove and leaves it to rise for another 5 hours, adds a glaze and bakes it. After baking, the Colomba cools upside down and finally it’s ready to eat!
There are different varieties of our Colomba di Pasqua. My favourite one is the one with white chocolate and pistachio glaze.
Look at my video:
Luxury Shopping in Naples
- At March 22, 2021
- By Zia Lucy
- In City life
- 0
Did I ever tell you I was a shopaholic?
I still have a sort of addiction to clothes and accessories but, growing up, I realized I didn’t need same bags everybody had just because they were from Louis Vuitton or Christian Dior. You can’t be unique if your neighbour wears same outift as yours!
Everybody talks about “luxury” meaning “a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense”. Is this true? Do we all live a life of luxury just because we spend tons of money? Does luxury mean feeling unique in a bar where 10 girls wear exactly like you? Can luxury be combined with unique?
After years of matching clothes with my personality, I understood that unique can be combined with luxury. I wanted to be unique, 100% unique, and it was not essential to spend lots of money. Luxury for me means “having things that you can use for a long time, create your own style, wear accessories that set you apart, show your personality throughout your clothes”.
Why to Shop In Napoli!
After years of living in Napoli, I discovered lots of amazing shops. Napoli has always had a great tradition of high quality tailored suits, handcrafted shoes and bags, great perfumers. Here you are able to find seamstress and tailors who transmit their knowledge from generation to generation since 1850s. It is no coincidence that future brides go to Via Duomo ( main road for wedding fashion studios) to choose the perfect dress for their “Special Day”. Neapolitan fashion style can be classic, romantic, metropolitan, vintage, radical chic or pin up. The perfect mix of all these styles creates a unique way of being yourself, of feeling great by walking through old streets or drinking an Aperitivo with your friends into a speak easy bar. In Napoli “You Can Dare”, and you can wear dresses and accessories for many years because they never go out of fashion!
Where I Shop..
I am not jealous of telling you places where I go for shopping. Fashion in Napoli is so unique that you can find your own style without having my style… and shop assistants are very kind to help you choosing the best for you! Even if I have Miu Miu, Dior and Chanel bags, I don’t like buying those popular brands because I believe their new collections are made for everybody and not only for you. I am always in search of Vintage bags or high quality dresses and accessories that don’t cost you an arm or a leg! Best Streets for shopping are Via Duomo (for brides), Via Chiaja, Via Calabritto and Via dei Mille (if you are looking for Luxury Famous Brands) . But there are some other small roads where you can find amazing shops. And it is not necessary to spend tons of money!
Here’s my list for you
1. To Perfume or not to perfume?
After discovering Bruno Acampora Profumi your drama will be solved by five drops of Musc per Day!
Since 1947, Bruno Acampora has created emotional and provocative fragances involving all your senses. Located in the heart of the Luxury shopping area, into the ground floor of and old Palace, the little elegant boutique is the place where you can stay forever. It is very hard to choose the fragrance you like the most and you would keep all of them. Like in a Candy Shop, all the small colored glass bottles are a strong temptation! Between extrait de perfume and eau de perfume I prefer the pure essence and the choice for “the one” was really hard. Even if Musc has been declared “so sexy to drop men’s pants”, I chose Musc Gold (a meticulous mix of Lavender, Rose, Jasmine, Neroly, Violet, Amber, Vanilla, Patchouly, Sandalwood, Musk and Flowery honey). In case you think this perfume is too sexy or too sweet, no worries… there are many other fragances for you! https://en.brunoacampora.com/
2. Extravagant Romance from Nenna Pop
Colored, fun, in a mood of festive atmosphere and with objects all over, Nenna Pop is the shop where you can have the best dress for your mood. Unique as the owner, Mariagrazia Greco, you can’t leave this place without buying a thing. No matter if you wear classic, romantic or ethnic, if you feel young or old or need to find a dress to use at work, here you will find the style which better suits you and, after a great help from the sail assistants, you will be ready for a great Aperitivo next door! Nenna Pop is located in Via Carlo Poerio, close to the “Baretti” Streets ( an area full of bars where lots of people use to have Aperitivo after 7.00 pm). Follow them on Instagram: @nenna.pop
3. Gently Vintage Look by Roberta Bacarelli
Her passion for Vintage creates romantic prêt-à-porter dresses focused on extraordinary textiles. The lifestyle of contemporary women is perfectly touched by the elegance of the past in Roberta Bacarelli’s dresses. In her showroom you will find outfits for every occasion, shoes, swimming suits and kids collections: https://www.robertabacarelli.it
4. What about men?
Since 1800, the best city for men suits was the chaotic and extravagant Napoli! The perfectly designed tailoring tradition continues nowadays with a selection of unique prêt-à-porter collections, and you will surprised by the greatest choice of accessories for men! Between all the tailors in the city ( It wasn’t easy to make a choice) point out:
Mariano Rubinacci, an elegant showroom where you can also find ready to wear clothes, sited in one of the most popular and eclectic palaces of Napoli: https://marianorubinacci.com
Ulturale, for your perfect tie: http://www.ulturale.com
Antica ditta Mario Talarico, the last hand made umbrella creator: http://www.mariotalarico.it
5. Bags, My Passion
I started collecting bags since I was 19. I believe you can have a few clothes but you need lots of bags because accessories make the difference! One of the places I love the most is Tramontano: https://tramontano.it
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