Legend has it there was a young apprentice. He was watching the first slice of patron Domenico Melegatti's new creation when a ray of sunlight lit it from above, and he exclaimed, in Veronese dialect: "l'è proprio un pan de oro!" — truly a bread of gold. True or not, that scene says it all: pandoro is a thing of light, of warmth, of something the people of Verona feel deeply as their own. And the queue at the factory outlet, still today, proves it.
Corso Porta Borsari 21: where it all began
If you stroll through the historic centre of Verona and reach number 21 on Corso Porta Borsari, look up. On the cornice of the late-nineteenth-century building, stone reproductions of pandori are still there — along with the old Melegatti sign, faded but present. There, in that pastry shop, Domenico Melegatti obtained on 14 October 1894 the Certificato di Privativa Industriale — an industrial patent — for having invented the name, the shape, and the recipe of pandoro. Not a refinement: a genuine invention, patented, complete with a mould designed by Veronese artist Angelo Dall'Oca Bianca.
The raw material of the cake came from an ancient tradition: on Christmas Eve night, the women of Verona would gather in the kitchens of the old courtyards to prepare the levà, a dough of flour, milk, and yeast left to wait until dawn. Melegatti took that tradition, removed the almonds and sugar granules he considered counterproductive to the leavening, and added generous amounts of butter and eggs. The result was a soft, golden eight-pointed star that looked like nothing anyone had seen before.
The pastry shop on Corso Porta Borsari no longer exists as a shop. But the building is still there, a short walk from Piazza Erbe, and it is one of the spots most overlooked by tourists and most cherished by Veronese who know its history. It is worth a five-minute stop, especially in the evening, when the lamplight gives those stone shapes exactly the right colour.
The sourdough starter and the queue that never ends
When Melegatti went bankrupt in 2018 — weighed down by debts that had strangled a company more than a hundred years old — two employees kept going into the factory every day, without pay, to feed the sourdough starter. Every single day, because a sourdough starter cannot be left alone. If it dies, something irreplaceable dies with it: Melegatti's starter has very likely existed since the founding year of 1894, perhaps even earlier. They saved it. And when the ovens were relit, a few months later, a queue formed spontaneously outside the factory outlet — before the shutters had even gone up.
That queue has never truly dissolved. Veronese locals know the factory outlet well: Via Monte Carega 23, San Giovanni Lupatoto, about ten kilometres from the city centre. Here you can buy freshly made pandori and panettoni, including second-choice pieces — perhaps slightly imperfect in shape, but identical in flavour. The saving compared to large-scale retail is real, especially during the Christmas season. Those in the know arrive early.
In 2025 Melegatti entered the orbit of Irish multinational Valeo Foods — a transition that sparked debate, as always when an iconic brand changes hands. But production remains at the two Veronese plants, in San Giovanni Lupatoto and San Martino Buon Albergo. The sourdough starter is still there. And the queue, every December, still forms.
Melegatti Factory Outlet — practical information
- Address: Via Monte Carega 23, San Giovanni Lupatoto (VR) — approximately 10 minutes by car from Verona city centre
- Approximate opening hours: Monday–Friday 10:00–18:00, Saturday 9:00–13:00 [⚠ VERIFY before visiting: hours vary seasonally, especially during the Christmas period]
- Tip: in December it is worth arriving right at opening time — the second-choice stock sells out within a few hours
- What you'll find: pandori, panettoni, colombe, unwrapped products at reduced prices
If you are in Verona without a car, the point of contact with the history is Corso Porta Borsari 21: five seconds to stop, a glance upward, and you understand where all of this came from.
For a stay within walking distance of the places that matter — Arena, Piazza Erbe, Corso Porta Borsari — the apartments of The Verona Stay are in Via Roma 21 and near the Teatro Ristori: the historic centre on foot, and pandoro within reach of its own history.