When thinking of Sicily, it's easy to imagine white sandy beaches, timeless architecture and a host of delicacies like arancini, caponata and cannoli. But panettone would not be among the first things to come to mind.

The popular Christmas cake is traditionally baked in the north of Italy, particularly in the city of Milan, where it was invented. That's almost 1,000 miles — the length of the whole country — from Palermo, Sicily's main city. But not far from Palermo, Nicola Fiasconaro is upending panettone tradition — and exporting his upstart creation all over the world.