While hoards of travelers flock to the timeless, beloved city of Venice for its romantic canals and bridges, the adjoining areas of this enchanting northeastern region are equally enchanting. From magical Verona, immortalized as the setting of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, to architect Andrea Palladio’s stately Vicenza, Veneto’s cities reflect the Venetian aristocracy that has inhabited the land for centuries, while in smaller towns, the traditions of country living are still handed down from generation to generation. Ornate palaces and countryside villas, ancient castles and Gothic cathedrals co-exist with family wineries, olive groves and intimate country taverns – with the majesty of the snow-capped Alps completing the captivating picture of this scenic region.

The main difference between the cuisines of Venice and other parts of Veneto is that the former prominently features seafood while the latter favors heavier meat-based dishes.  In general, Venetian cuisine is based on four basics: polenta, rice, beans, and vegetables.  These foods often are complemented by the presence of cinnamon, cloves, or other spices – a remnant of the 14th century spice trades in Venice, which was an important center of European commerce.  Simple yet delicious dishes, such as pasta e fagioli (the classic pasta-and-bean soup), can be found in trattorie and on family dinner tables across the region. Whatever the meal, eating is one of the joys of life for the Venetians, who relish the flavors of their fertile countryside and abundant sea.

Specialty Foods of Veneto

Risi, or rice, is a mainstay on the Venetian menu, but it’s generally served differently than in most other areas of Italy.  Rice is never eaten by itself, but always cooked and served with other ingredients, such as lamb, sausages, chicken livers, tripe, beans, and raisins, as well as with fish and shellfish. The most famous Venetian rice dishes are risi e bisi (rice and fresh peas) and risi e figadini (rice with chicken livers), which have the consistency of a thick soup. Risotto – made with fish, beans, chicken, veal, or vegetables such as fennel or zucchini – is also popular in the Veneto.

Baccalà , dried, salted cod fish, is one food that the people of Venice and the larger region of Veneto agree on.  It is widely served throughout the area, at gala dinners or on everyday tables, often mixed with polenta into a delicate, delicious “cream” that is eaten as an appetizer with cocktails or as a first course.  Baccala’ alla Visentina, which is a version of baccalà that hails from the city of Vicenza, is a slow-cooking dish with many variations, and which ingredients should or should not be included (milk, celery, potatoes) is often the subject of heated but friendly debate among Venetian food lovers.

Polenta, a modest dish made from cornmeal, is a staple food of much of Northern Italy, but nowhere is it more popular than in the Veneto region. It was (and still is) traditionally prepared by stirring cornmeal, water, and salt over heat constantly for 40 to 45 minutes with a wooden stirring stick called a mescola.  (To ease the burden, families would often take “shifts” as stirrers.) The resulting “mush” is then poured onto a wooden board to cool, and cut with kitchen string while still hot (a knife can be used once the polenta is set).  Today, automatic stirring machines make the job easier, but they do not supply the togetherness of sitting around the kitchen and stirring the fragrant polenta as it cooks.

Veneto’s contribution to Italy’s pasta culture is a style of fresh pasta called bigoli, which gets its name from the traditional kitchen implement that’s used to make it, called a bigolaro, a four-inch-wide bronze tube. Bigoli, a long, spaghetti-style pasta with a hole in its middle, is made on a hand-operated press by forcing pasta dough through the bigolaro, then cutting the strands to the desired length. A typical Venetian preparation is bigoli in salsa, which tosses the bigoli with a delicious sauce of anchovies, olive oil, and cooked onions.

Food Festivals of Veneto

Radicchio Festival
Asigliano (December)
This tiny town, located near Vicenza, celebrates its most famous product, displaying radicchio in a wide variety of recipes, from risotto to stuffing for crepes and as an ingredient in pasta.

Asparagus Festival
Bassano (April)
The tender white asparagus that is grown almost exclusively around Bassano del Grappo on the River Brenta gets its color (or lack of it) by covering it with dark plastic during the growing process. For this annual festival, restaurants present their latest asparagus creations and patrons vote for the most imaginative, delicious dishes.

Pumpkin Festivals
Various towns (August to December)
Throughout the Veneto, there are many festivals that celebrate the thousands of different ways to use pumpkins, including Melara (August); Pastrengo and Cittadella (September); Iove di Sacco, Vigonza, and Salzano (October and November).