Milan's preferred holiday tradition. We think Fraccaro's panettone is the finest in its price range.

Panettone (literally “big bread”) is a classic holiday dessert originally from Milan - a delicious egg and butter yeast bread stuffed with raisins and lightly scented with vanilla. Now a holiday specialty throughout Italy, Panettone makes a delicious breakfast or dessert any time of the year.

The origins of Panettone date to the Middle Ages, when a large loaf of bread was crafted in every Milanese home and marked with a cross by the master of the house. In 15th century Milan, so the story goes, there lived a poor baker called Toni who had a beautiful daughter. When a young aristocrat fell in love with his daughter, he offered his services to the baker as an apprentice. Soon enough, the unlikely pair created a variation of the traditional cross-marked bread that included more butter, more eggs, as well as candied orange peel and raisins. Wealthy Milanese housewives flocked to the bakery to buy this new creation, known as Pan di Toni. The name was later corrupted to Panettone, the world’s most popular holiday cake!