The traditional 'dove-shaped' Colomba di Pasqua or Colomba pasquale has been a firm fixture on the Easter calendar in Italy for almost a century. Its origins date back to the 1930s to Motta, a company in Milan already famous for its Panettone and Pandoro, two classic sweet breads associated with the Christmas season in Italy.

The Colomba was dreamed up as a way of using the same baking equipment and many of the same ingredients to cash in on the Easter market. The plan worked. The Colomba was commercialised by the Milanese baker and businessman Angelo Motta and marketed successfully by his advertising director Dino Villani.