VENETO

From the Dolomite mountains to the Adriatic sea, Veneto can satisfy any tourist longing. Its mountains are a winter paradise for skiers with kilometres of cross-country and downhill ski sites. In summer this land seems to be made especially for excursions and hiking across dreamy landscapes. There are also lakes, hot springs, beach resorts and cities that hold incomparable treasures of art and history. Just consider Venice and the unrivalled charm of the "city of water." In Verona the atmosphere is rich and at the same time vivacious and joyful. Padova is a must to visit the Basilica del Santo and the frescoes by Giotto in the Scrovegni castle, as well as the famous Palladian villas. However, Venice also has extraordinary examples of rural tourism attractions. The natural and artistic resources in the region are supported by an excellent wine and food culture: the cuisine is rich with 17 DOP and IGP quality certified products and 15 Wine Roads that recount the territory and its excellence.

DON’T MISS THE FESTIVAL

Marciliana in Chioggia (VE)

The Marciliana festival is celebrated in Chioggia to recreate the ship - which was named Marciliana – built prevalently in the Chioggia shipyards and used by the sailors in this area: it sailed the Adriatic from the Medieval times to the 1800s with the flowering trade.

The memory recalled with this event is the initial defeat of Chioggia invaded by Genoa in 1379 and the later conquest of the city by its people, with the triumphal return of the doge in June 24, 1380. The city was disputed between Genoa and Venice (The Sea Republic at that time) due to the salt works in its lagoon that made it an emporium for the salt trade, as well as being an important trading point for both for the Mediterranean and the Veneto and Lombardy interiors, which are crossed by waterways.

THE PALIO. This event is incredibly rich and it included the participation of around 500 people with the contribution of the inhabitants in Chioggia. All of the details are carefully philologically and historically reconstructed: the costumes are the product of iconographic research and they are not copied from other palio events. The shows and the animation by the different neighbourhood groups involve large groups of people and the ancient statues of the city inspire them. The musicians play challenging medieval music and the fencers use aspects of fencing from the fourteen hundreds. In the Palio the ancient quarters face off (Sant’Andrea, San Giacomo, San Martino, San Michele Arcangelo and Montalbano), each with its own vessel and banner. Chioggia from the 1300s is relived with a hypothetical salt fair, with the taverns, the hospital, artisan shops, bottegas, the people, the laws, working in the fields, the musicians, the dances and more.

THE WINES IN VENETO

The fruits of the vine in Veneto are so abundant and high quality that they are without description. To explain this further we will begin with Veneto in the area of DOC wines, where they hold two national titles: 2 million hectolitres produced, 19 zones recognized, 4 wines classified among the top ten for production.

In the area of Verona, you can try the DOCG Recioto di Soave, a classic bubbly spumante with ancient roots, the DOC Valpolicella (Amarone, a classic red for meats and game and the Valpantena, which makes a great dinner wine).
When leaving Verona, head to Vicenza, which is marked by the masterpieces of Andrea Palladio. In the surrounding countryside, there are great wine bars (Enoteca della Valpolicella in Fumane, Enoteca Enotria in San Pietro in Cairano) offering the possibility to taste DOC Breganze and Gambellara, which is a white wine for light meals or desserts.

A little south of Vicenza, we meet the lands of Tocai, which is a DOC red that is a great dinner wine that is particularly well suited to salami and cheeses; it makes a great accompaniment for Vicenza-style codfish, baccalà alla vicentina.

In Padova and in the towns on the Colli Eugani hills try the amazing Moscati dessert wine and the reds, Merlot and Cabernet, which both make great dinner wines.

Continuing on towards Treviso, you will meet the homeland of Prosecco. Stop in and discover the medieval town of Asolo or the Cathedral in Congliano, but above all admire the soft hills of the Treviso border, decorated by precious vineyards of grapes for bubbly Prosecco. One especially well known label is Conegliano-Valdobbiadene, which is among the best Italian spumanti wines. At the top is the superb Cartizze Superiore.

THE FLAVOURS OF VENETO

Though it contains many other important cities, the Veneto region has deeply felt the influence of Venice. In cuisine, there has not been a homologation of regional cuisine with foods in the capital: next to the Venetian city specialities, there has always been an honoured place reserved for the recipes that carry names of the main zones in the Veneto region, which are connected to the products that distinguish them.

FIRST COURSES.  Those who think of first courses in Veneto cannot help but mention rice and there will be plenty of room dedicated to it in our review. We would like to begin with some of the lesser-known dishes, which are just as tied to local traditions. With the addition of a vegetable sopa coada is a meal all by itself. It is made from firm bread, squab broth, butter and parmesan that is cooked over a low heat in the oven for around five hours until almost all of the broth has evaporated. Among the types of fresh pasta available, bigoli are quite popular. These spaghetti are prepared by hand with or without egg and depending on the zones and the local traditions, they are then passed through a press that used to be a common item in all homes. They are then topped with duck sauce, chicken entrails ("rovinazzi"), with aole or fresh water sardelle. The cuisine in Veneto’s mountain areas offers canederli al formaggio, a close relative of the dumplings served in Trentino-Alto Adige, while in Belluno we find gnocchi di zucca, made from squash and topped with melted butter and smoked cheese. The unforgettable rice dishes include the famous risi e bisi (rice and peas) from Venetian tradition and in Verona you will find risotto con il tastasal, which takes its name from a fresh sausage used in the mixture together with other classic ingredients (broth, wine, butter, parmesan, pepper, cinnamon and cloves). An especially tasty combination is the combination of seafood and rice in risi e bisato (rice with eel) or the version made with sea bass risotto di branzino.

THE SECOND COURSES.  Continuing on with seafood for the second courses: eel called bisato is served in all possible manners. Try sardele in soar (soused sardines), crab and sepia alla veneziana with olive oil, garlic and onion, which was traditionally mixed with squid ink and a dab of tomato sauce. We cannot fail to mention the glorious bacalà ala visentina, dried cod boiled in milk and flavoured with anchovies, onions, grated cheese, garlic and parsley.

Meat dishes include the germano reale in sugo, mallard duck flavoured in butter, wine, celery, carrot, sage, rosemary and tomato sauce (or depending on the version, rennet or crab apples). In Verona the pastissada de cavalo (horse stew) is prepared with or without tomato sauce and to finish the list is fegato alla veneziana, which is liver with lots of finely sliced onions sautéed to a golden colour in butter and cooked over a low flame. They are measured in equal proportion to the weight of the liver, which is added after an hour and then cooked for five minutes at a high flame.

THE DESSERTS.  Among the desserts, the champion (it must be said), is the pandoro from Verona, which the dessert industry has transformed from being a traditional delicacy to a product that is famous nationally and beyond. A dessert that has remained more local is the bussolai, which are large cakes that have a base made from bread dough that is soaked, depending on the region, in grappa, anise or marsala. The individual towns have their own types of cookies, such as the baicoli in Venice made without egg and cooked twice so that they remain fresh for months. The more sumptuous forti di Bassano del Grappa, are enriched with almonds and cocoa and enhanced by cinnamon and cloves. The different types of fritole or fritters are without end including squash, apple, raisin and pine nut, which are either fried in oil or lard.