Pasqua is upon us, one of those special times of year that Italian families all get together to celebrate.While you probably won't see the Easter bunny , this a popular holiday celebrated as only Italians do. The days leading up to Easter include solemn processions and mass, Pasqua is a joyous celebration marked with rituals and traditions. The Monday following Easter, La Pasquetta, is also a public holiday throughout Italy. Church is always full, you will definitely not find a seat, standing room only. Many churches have special statues of the Virgin Mary and Jesus which are paraded through their village or displayed in the piazza. Parade participants are often dressed in traditional costumes,  olive branches and palm fronds are carried during the processions and adorn the churches. At the end of the church service olive branches are given out to everyone to symbolise peace. These olive branches are kept in your house and exchanged the following easter for the new branch.

Easter Food in Italy

Easter symbolises the end of Lent, which requires sacrifice and reserve, food plays a big part in the celebrations. Traditional Easter foods across Italy may include some of these classic recipes - carciofi fritti (fried artichokes), a main course of either capretto o agnellino al forno (roasted goat or baby lamb) or capretto cacio e uova (kid stewed with cheese, peas, and eggs), and carciofi e patate soffritti, a delicious vegetable side dish of sautéed artichokes with baby potatoes. As most people are aware Italian cooking is very regional so dishes do vary. The centre of Italy - Le Marche, Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Umbria will no doubt have for the first course cappelletti with ragu’. Meaning “little hats”, made with fresh egg pasta and filled with 3 different types of mixed meats generally pork, veal & chicken, the pasta is then made into the shape of little hats and served with a mixed meat or wild boar ragu’.A holiday meal in Italy would not be complete without a traditional dessert, and during Easter there are several. Italian children finish their dinner with a rich bread shaped like a crown and studded with colored Easter egg candies. Another treat is the Colomba cake, a sweet, eggy, yeasted bread (like panettone plus candied orange peel, minus the raisins, and topped with sugared and sliced almonds) shaped in one of the most recognizable symbols of Easter, the dove. The Colomba cake takes on this form because la colomba in Italian means dove, the symbol of peace and an appropriate finish to Easter dinner.Uova di Pasqua 'Easter Eggs'Although Italians do not decorate hard–boiled eggs, the biggest Easter displays can be seen in all the bars, pastry shops and supermarkets. The chocolatiers sell  brightly wrapped uova di Pasqua—chocolate Easter eggs—in sizes ranging from 10 grams (1/3 ounce) to 8 kilos (nearly 18 pounds).Some producers distinguish between their chocolate eggs for children and expensive "adult" versions. All except the tiniest eggs contain a surprise. Grown–ups often find their eggs contain little silver picture frames or gold–dipped costume jewelry. The very best eggs are handmade by artisans of chocolate, who offer the service of inserting a surprise supplied by the purchaser.Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter.