What is the traditional Italian Christmas bread from Milan?

What is the traditional Italian Christmas bread from Milan? The answer is panettone.

Panettone is a tall, sweet, yeasted bread associated with Milan and traditionally eaten at Christmas and New Year. Its airy dough is usually studded with raisins and candied orange or citron, giving the loaf a rich texture and festive citrus flavor. Although it looks like bread, Italians generally treat it as a dessert.

The name likely derives from Milanese terms related to panetto, meaning a small loaf, with an augmentative ending that suggests a large loaf. Popular legends tell of a baker’s assistant named Toni, but these stories are folklore rather than established history. A reliable early record appears in a 1599 register from the Borromeo college in Pavia, listing ingredients for Christmas loaves.

Panettone is often confused with pandoro, another Italian Christmas cake. Pandoro comes from Verona, is usually plain and star-shaped, and is dusted with powdered sugar. Panettone’s defining clues are its Milanese association, tall shape, and characteristic dried and candied fruit.