LOMBARDY

This intensely urbanized territory has been moulded by humanity. The region seems to converge towards its large capital Milan: that is the initial impact when approaching Lombardy. Despite this, Lombardy has been able to maintain its unique physiognomy in tact in several areas and the great diversity of environments is one of its treasures: in the alpine and pre-alpine mountain tops and the great valley cut by rivers and a thick network of canals, it is still possible to find the antique rural aspects of the region. The large lakes have a wonderful microclimate and splendid villas, the hills offer the great wines of Lombardy. Thanks to all this, Lombardy has an exceptional tourism to offer, with great quality, made not only of natural and environmental beauty, but also cities of art, wine and food, sports and entertainment.

The agritourism offering is highly characterized by the abundance of interesting architecture, which distinguishes a large part of agritourism establishments in Lombardy: the “cascina”, a quadrilateral construction that delimits the traditional “courtyard,” was the area where the production activities and social life took place on the farms.

DON’T MISS THE FESTIVAL

 “Pasquali” in Bormio (SO)

The Pasquali is a tradition where five white lambs are blessed and then taken to Collegiata, the collegiate church in Bormio, which is decorated in a competition between the five neighbourhoods (or divisions) that this town in Valtellina was divided into. This tradition seems to date back to the sixteen hundreds when each of the five districts would bring a live lamb to the Collegiata to be blessed, and afterwards given to the poorest families in the district. Today the lambs are purchased by each neighbourhood with contributions or donations. The lambs are then blessed and later roasted in the oven and distributed gratuitously.

THE FESTIVAL TODAY. On Easter Sunday in front of the Collegiate church of Saints Gervasio and Protasio, there are no longer five, but twenty lambs or more, which are each accompanied by colourful groups of people. Transporting the lambs to the Collegiata takes place in panniers or on carts decorated and accompanied by men, women and children dressed in traditional costumes called “the pasquali”: dark pants with spats over the top, which were used by farmers and woodsmen in times past to protect their feet from the snow, a white shirt with a red scarf tied at the waist and a black cape; on their heads is a black broad hat that has a small red stripe.

The preparations for the Pasquali take place all winter long, by groups of neighbourhood young people guided by a group leader. The lamb is still its favourite theme, but there are frequently other more current Easter themes presented. A jury evaluates the work on the basis of the effort, the cultural and religious significance, and chooses the winner for the year. Jealously hidden, the Pasquali are created, designed, completed and blessed. All of the preparations are part of the festival, and provide an emotional tension that pervades the streets and squares of this alpine centre, that will explode on the anniversary of the day of Christ’s resurrection.

THE WINES IN LOMBARDY

 From the great reds in Valtellina to the bubbly spumanti in Franciacorta and Oltrepò, Lombardy presents an extremely varied choice of wines.

Heading north from the south, the first large production area is represented by Valtellina. Here in the province of Sondrio, they produce DOCG red Valtellina Superiore with the label Inferno which has a light base of hazelnut, and Sassella, which has been appreciated since antiquity. In the area you can visit Ponte Valtellina, a little town with a great atmosphere where you will find the remains of a medieval city next to buildings from Renaissance and baroque times and Teglio, with Palazzo Besta, an enchanting building from the fifteen hundreds.

Heading south, to the centre of the region, there are three wine producing areas: the hills of Bergamo, Franciacorta and the province of Brescia.

After having stopped in splendid upper Bergamo, admire Brescia, which is unjustly remembered only for its metal industry, but it has a historic centre filled with sites. Then head to Garda Lake which is surrounded by welcoming facilities and a great deal of hospitality. Visit Desenzano, Salò, Sirmione and Riva del Garda and if you want to dive into history and legend, don't miss the Grotte di Catullo and the remains of a grandiose Roman villa, which according to tradition was home to the great poet Catullus. In this area you can taste the bubbly spumanti DOCG wines Franciacorta, Garda classico and Lugana, one of the best wines on the Brescia riviera in Benaco.

Still further south there are two wine producing areas: Oltrepò Pavese and Bassa Padana. Here the tour is certainly dedicated to the three most beautiful cities you will encounter: Pavia, Cremona and Mantova. In Pavia, it goes without mentioning that you should visit the grandiose Certosa, one of the benchmarks of Italian art between Medieval and Renaissance times. Cremona will enchant you with its famous bell tower measuring 111 metres: the Torrazzo. In Mantova, do stop in at Piazza Sordello, where you can admire the Ducal Palace, which is like a city within a city and the Cathedral. Some of the wines to try in Oltrepò include the reds Bonarda, Sangue di Giuda, Buttafuoco and the white Riesling, a classic wine for seafood. In the Bassa Padana area, there are two DOC dinner wines, the San Colombano and the Lambrusco Mantovano.

THE FLAVOURS IN LOMBARDY

The large region at the centre of the Padana valley, the heart of Italian economic life, is no different than many other regions, being paradoxically made up of a wide variety of types of traditional cuisine. As usual, several elements combine to create this distinctive trait: the completely diverse physical traits of the Alps, the lake regions and the broad Padana plains; and the history, with long battles between the local lords before falling to foreign domination. Even the fog, which is a truly isolating factor, created separation between the individual areas for a large part of the year.

FIRST COURSES  The ideal menu begins with traditional appetizers nervetti in insalata, which is beef cartilage that has been boiled until tender with carrots and celery and garnished with finely chopped onions, vinegar or lemon and parsley.  There is a wide array of rice dishes and we will begin with the famous risotto alla Milanese, which has a golden colour from saffron. According to a famous legend, this ingredient was added as a joke to a rice dish for the first time in 1574 during the course of a wedding banquet, by one of the assistants of the glass smith from the cathedral who was getting married, the glass smith had the habit of 'brightening' the colours of the windows with a pinch of saffron. Another more ancient dish dates back to medieval times, "casonei" is a pasta that was originally made with a sweet filling, but in the modern version in Bergamo it is filled with meat, egg, grated cheese and a mashed pear. Another filled pasta is a traditional Christmas Eve dish (but it is great any time) in Mantova: tortelli di zucca are rectangles of dough filled with a base of squash, crushed amaretto cookies, spicy fruit chutney, eggs, parmesan and nutmeg topped with butter and parmesan. One stop in Valtellina allows us to add a dish to complete our list and that is the traditional pizzoccheri, which are fettuccine made from barley dough cooked with potatoes, Savoy cabbage, butter, sage and cheese from Valtellina.

SECOND COURSES  To begin the list of second courses we mention the cassoeula, a popular meal made from pork chops, rind and the more “humble" parts of the pig (such as the feet, jowls, chin and more) and white savoy all served with carrots, celery and onion. It may be accompanied with a simple dish of rice, as can the braised veal shank, ossobuco, (which is generally served with risotto alla Milanese). Another classic dish in Lombardy, the costolette alla Milanese, are cutlets that are generally cut thick to include the bone that sustains the meat like “a flagpole.” They are lightly flattened with a mallet and dipped in a beaten egg and then breaded and fried in butter and served with slices of lemon. The preparation seems easy, but its secrets are the high quality ingredients which come from the great veal in Brianza, and the perfect cooking time.

SIDE DISHES  When choosing side dishes, do remember the mostarda di frutta, which are fruit pickles that accompany many meat dishes. In Mantova, it is exclusively made with apples and it constitutes a fundamental ingredient for tortelli di zucca.

THE DESSERTS  Industry in Lombardy has diffused one regional Christmas specialty throughout the world. Panettone needs no introductions. We would like to note the more strictly regional specialties such as the busecchina made from dried boiled chestnuts accompanied by milk or cream, or the torta sbrisolona from Mantova made from white and yellow flour, sugar, butter, lard, eggs and almonds, and flavoured with vanilla and lemon zest.