Veneto & Cuisine

The history of Veneto’s cuisine has very ancient roots, the first traces date back many centuries ago, when the local populations escaped the raids of the tribes from Northern Europe and the East, abandoning the mainland to take refuge "on the water", on the numerous islands of the Lagoon.

Water for the Venetians meant political power, commercial power and nurturing. But also labor force to turn the blades of the mills that ground corn and grains, up to the water to fill the pot that was used to cook the polenta that was for many years the main source of survival of the inhabitants of these areas.Although marked by poverty, Venetian cuisine is still one of the richest for a variety of places and recipes. It includes mountain, hill, plain, lake, river and marine recipes. Recipes prepared with fresh and fragrant vegetables, with water and backyard birds, with beans and legumes typical of the hills and mountains of the Belluno, and finally prepared with rice, a main food that has always lend itself to endless combinations. The common thread is always water and the different conformation of the territory.

Verona and it’s surrounding.

With the large body of water of Lake Garda, attenuates the winter cold and softens the summer heat, giving the territory of Veronese a microclimate that allows the production of a very fine and delicate oil by the Dop del Garda brand.

The cultivation of the vine - which gives fragrant and light wines such as Bardolino, Lugano, bianco di Custoza, Valpolicella, Soave, Recioto, but also one of the most famous reds in Italy such as Amarone - is also favored by this microclimate. Lake Garda also gives us a large amount of freshwater fish such as alborella, carp, agone, lavarello, carpio, perch, pike, tinca, eel, shrimp and more.

From the lake we pass to the Adige river that flows licking and surrounding the wonderful city of the Scaligeri: Verona. Already in the 1600s, milling plants for grain grown in the lower Veronese were installed along the banks of the Adige River. Rice cultivation still uses irrigation systems fed by river water. Rice is a predominant element in Verona cuisine because it is the basis of some dishes that characterize this rich and varied gastronomy.