The Fondaco dei Tedeschi is universally renowned as the most beautiful mall in Italy – the trendiest, the one carrying exclusive merchandise of the finest quality. Their food court is on par, as one expects, and the offer of the Easter season is the glutton’s paradise. Colombe (a sweet, glazed bread that may remind you of panettone) and Easter eggs populate the shops, especially Cova Montenapoleone, a Milan-based deli established in 1817 that peddles exquisite chocolate, cookies, pralines, gianduiotti, and of course colomba. The name means dove, as the bread is roughly shaped as one.

Olivieri offers it in four variations: classical, three chocolates, apricot and salted caramel, and sour cherry, lemon, and pistachio. Fiasconario, a celebrated Sicilian pastry shop, partner with Dolce & Gabbana for a line of colombas packaged in tin boxes decorated in Sicilian-inspired motifs. North-western Italy’s herald is chocolate maker Guido Gobino – Easter eggs, pralines, gianduiotti, and more. Baratti & Milano also hail from Turin, and have been making chocolate since 1875. Santomiele, from the beautiful Cilento region in central Italy, created a line of Easter eggs decorated with dried oranges. A final note for our beloved presidio at Fondaco: Amo, the cafeteria run by the amazing Alajmo brothers where you can also find their innovative takes on the colomba: candied orange and citron, chocolate and spices, Mediterranean with olive oil, lemons, capers, olives, and candied chilis, and lastly, candied apricot and www.dfs.com/it/venice caramel drops.