Culture of Italy Verona, whilst panettone is milanese), however, they have also become popular desserts in other parts of Italy and abroad. The Colomba Pasquale is eaten all over the country on Easter day, and is a more traditional alternative to chocolate easter eggs. Tiramisu is a very popular and iconic Italian dessert from Veneto which has become famous worldwide. Other Italian cakes and sweets include cannoli, the cassata siciliana, fruit-shaped marzipans and panna cotta. Coffee, and more specifically espresso, has become highly important to the cuisine of Italy. Cappuccino is also a famous Italian coffee drink, which is usually sweeter and less
Lombard cuisine a soup form) and dressed with a meat sauce (ragu'). Zuppa alla Pavese was supposedly invented on the spot to feed the captive king Francis I of France after his defeat at the Battle of Pavia on February 24, 1525. "Torta del Paradiso" is a cake from Pavia, which is also noted for the "Colomba Pasquale" a cake in the shape of a dove which is traditionally eaten at Easter. Voghera is noted for "Mostarda di Voghera", a pickled fruit accompaniment for boiled meats, and the "Zuppa di Voghera" a torte with coffee and cream and the "Stracchino di Voghera"