Founded in 1937 by Ruggero Bauli as a small artisanal bakeshop, the Bauli company today occupies roughly five million square feet, produces over one thousand products, and is Italy’s leading maker of Italy’s most popular holiday cake: panettone. 

Visiting Bauli’s headquarters in November I was able to observe the fascinating production process. Vast vats of dough and endless long rows of uncooked panettone progressing through cavernous ovens like an army of squat soldiers marching along a fiery orange landscape.