Veal Milanese

History

In Milan, a dish called lumbolos cum panitio was served in 1134. It is mentioned at a banquet for the canons of the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan. It is not known if the meat was covered in breadcrumbs or if it was served with bread as a side dish. Further evidence dates to around the 1st century BC indicating that the Romans enjoyed dishes of thin sliced meat, which was breaded and fried. The dish resembles the Austrian dish Wiener schnitzel, which originated in Austria around the 19th century; according to some, the two dishes might be related—Milan was part of the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, in the Austrian Empire, until 1859—although the history of neither is clear.
Various breaded meat dishes prepared in South America, particularly in Argentina, were inspired by the cotoletta alla milanese brought by Italian immigrants and are known as milanesa. A local variation of milanesa is called milanesa a la napolitana and is made similar to veal Milanese with a preparation of cheese and tomato.