Saturday, April 07, 2012

Pope given whopper Easter egg

A pleased-looking Pope Benedict XVI was presented with a colourful, two-metre high Easter egg weighing 250 kilograms on Wednesday, as Catholics and other Christians prepare to celebrate Easter.

The egg, made by Italian chocolate maker Tosca, was unveiled in a Vatican courtyard. 

The brilliant yellow and blue wrapper was decorated with the pope's coat of arms, wreathes of flowers and doves - the symbol of peace.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church, who will be 85 later this month, will not be cracking open the egg himself, but will give it to young offenders in Rome's Casal del Marmo institute, which he visited in 2007, according to the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano.

Tosca, based in the northern town of Cremona, is known for its oversized delicacies.

The company gave its hometown a 1,000 kilogram (2,200 pound) "panettone" - a traditional Italian Christmas cake - on New Year's Eve in 1999, to celebrate the start of a new Millennium.