Tasty traditions 

Milan is not only a metropolis, but a cradle of traditions that embrace the saints of the past. 3 February, as we know, is the feast day of St Blaise, whom the church has designated protector of the throat and nose.

But what links this much-loved figure to the city of Milan and the tradition of the leftover panettone cake to be eaten just when the name day falls? Well, it all stems from a peasant legend: a housewife brought a friar a panettone cake before Christmas for him to bless. Since he was very busy, the friar - whose name was Desiderio and who had a huge sweet tooth - told her to leave it with him and come back the next few days to pick it up. The woman, however, forgot about it and Friar Desiderio, after blessing it, began to chop it up until he realised he had finished it. The woman then came back to ask for her blessed panettone on 3 February, St Blaise's Day: the friar was ready to hand her the empty wrapper and apologise, but when he handed it over, he realised that a panettone twice the size of the original one had appeared in the wrapper. The miracle was attributed to St Blaise, who started the tradition of taking a leftover panettone to be blessed every 3 February and then eating it at breakfast with the family to protect against throat ailments.