Easter is a Christian holiday, celebrated all over the world with Sunday lunch, Holy Mass, Easter Monday and always something sweet and special to share with our loved ones.
The typical sweets of the Easter Italian tradition are the chocolate eggs, sometimes specially hand painted and the Easter Dove, a leavened typical cake originally from Milan, which is offered and shared on Easter days as a symbol of peace and love.
But as each region retains its origins and traditions, Lake Como too has its specific Easter sweet: La Resta di Como
La Resta di Como
This is a typical Como dessert, a sweet loaf with raisins and candied fruits. The peculiarity is represented by the olive branch that is contained within it and which has made it the typical dessert of Como for Easter.
It was born in the nineteenth century in one of the Como taverns, the Osteria del Pescatore, and guess what? It’s the result of a mistake!
It is told that the owner of the tavern used to offer a “pandolce” enriched with candied fruits and raisins at the end of the lunch. One day, by mistake, he put too much yeast in the dough which began to rise excessively. To prevent the dough from leaking out, the innkeeper took an olive stick to press on it. Then, to fix the mistake, he spread it out and smoothed it out with a knife, thus leaving cross marks with the blade.
Part of the olive stick remained inside the dough and when he saw the baked cake, the host exclaimed: “Par la resca d’un pèss!” = It looks like a fishbone!
Its name “Resta” come from the Latin word “arista” which means fishbone or ear of corn.
If you are visiting Lake Como during Easter you can’t miss the Easter Market in Como which runs from Holy Thursday to Easter Monday. Walk through the streets of Como to the sound of church bells ringing and watch as local families search for their festive fare. The Easter Market offers a variety of traditional cuisine, local crafts, and, of course, an impressive array of painted eggs.
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