Colomba di Pasqua (pronounced pah-squaw) means "dove of Easter" in Italian. My mother used to make this on holidays when I was little.

Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water (about 110')
1/2 c. soft butter
1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp grated lemon peel
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 whole eggs
3 egg yolks
1/2 c. warm milk (about 110')
5 - 5 1/2 c. all-purpose flour, unsifted
4-5 Tbsp almond paste
~26 whole blanched almonds
1 egg white, slightly beaten
Sugar

Preheat oven to 350'. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, lemon peel, vanilla, and salt until fluffy. Beat in eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time. Mix in one egg as much as possible before adding the next one. Mix in milk and dissolved yeast; then gradually beat in 4 1/2 cups of flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a floured board; knead until smooth and satiny (10 to 20 minutes), adding flour as needed to prevent sticking. Turn dough over in a greased bowl; cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 1/2 hours).

Punch dough down; knead briefly on lightly floured board to release air. Divide in half and shape each half into a smooth ball. In center of a greased 14 by 17-in baking sheet, flatten 1 dough ball and roll out across narrow dimension of pan to make an oval about 11 inches long and 6 inches wide. On a floured board, roll out other ball of dough to make a softly outlined triangle about 16 inches tall and 8 inches across base. Lay triangle across the oval as shown:

          /\
   ______/  \______
 /      /    \      \
.      /      \      .
'     /        \     '
 \ __/          \__ /
    /            \
   /______________\

Fold over narrow end to make head; pinch firmly to form beak. Fold wide end in the opposite direction to make tail; gently pull tail into fan shape and cut into 5 strips to simulate feathers.

          ___
         /    >
    ____;   ,'____
  / o o |  / | o o \
 . o o o| / /|o o o .
 ' o o o|/ / |o o o '
  \ o_o_| /  |_o_o /
        .'   .
       /      \
       \/\/\/\/

Pinch off 26 pieces of almond paste and press an almond into each; then press into wings (o's on figure above.) Let rise in a warm place until puffy (about 25 minutes.) Brush gently with beaten egg white and sprinkle wings generously with sugar. Bake for about 40 minutes or until bread is richly browned - cover with foil the last 15 minutes. Cool on rack.