PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 14, 2022 | BY GISELLA ISIDORI | 10 MINUTES READ

*This story appears on September-October 2022 Terre & Culture magazine issue, in the section Ameritalia.

 

 

Veneto is a region in the north-east of Italy that extends from the Dolomites to the Adriatic Sea. Venice, the capital, is famous for its canals, Gothic architecture and the world-famous Carnival! For more than a millennium, between the seventh and eighteenth centuries, the Veneto was part of the powerful republic of Venice.

History The settlement of man in the Veneto can be considered to date back to antiquity, but until the pre-Roman era, man had a rather modest role in the territorial organization that began to develop in the second century BC. when the Romans provided for the colonization according to the centuriatio system, i.e. in the division of the fertile land into many square-shaped plots, called centurie, because they consist of 100 parcels of two iùgeri (1 iùgero = 2400 square meters) entrusted in ownership to the families of the settlers. The Romans intensified the crops, created and strengthened the urban network (Verona, Vicenza and Padua) and strengthened the communication routes due to the strategic importance of this territory extending towards the East.

In the early Middle Ages, following the chaos caused by the decline of the Roman Empire and the barbarian invasions, the reorganization of the territory slowed down. During those centuries, the mass flight of populations towards the coasts gave rise to new and important episodes of settlement in the more sheltered lagoon islands. Among other things, the origin of Venice is linked to this phenomenon, destined to become the most important city in the region since the 9th century and also a great political, seafaring and commercial power.

In the late Middle Ages, however, various reclamation interventions were carried out on the plain by the religious congregations interested in the recovery of their possessions; among these it is certainly worth mentioning the Benedictine monks of S. Giustina of Padua active in the marshy areas of the "Bassa", between the Adige and the Bacchiglione, starting from the 12th century. Later, especially in the Renaissance, man made further interventions both in the plains and on the coasts. Since the thirteenth century, in many provinces, especially in the Treviso area, the breeding of silkworms (imported from China) and the cultivation of mulberry began.

Now at the peak of its power, in the fifteenth century Venice provided for grandiose works to refurbish its lagoon. To prevent the debris dragged by the rivers from burying it, transforming it into a gigantic swamp, a diversion of those watercourses was started and has continued to this day.

Civilized for three thousand years, made unified in the image and in the spirit by the centuries of the Serenissima Republic of Venice, but still today enriched by lively venues, Veneto is a region steeped in artistic suggestions with cultural and landscape heritage declared a World Heritage Site, where the fame of Lorenzo Lotto hovers, one of the most singular figures of Venetian Renaissance painting.

Tourism Thanks to its naturalistic, cultural, artistic and architectural heritage, it is, with over 60 million tourists a year, the most visited region in Italy and one of the best known and most sought-after tourist destinations in the world thanks to the offer of a complete tourism from the sea, the mountains, the lakes, its cultural heritage, its landscape and the variety of environments and ecosystems and the cities of art, first of all the beautiful Venice. The Veneto Region plans and coordinates tourism initiatives, implements interventions of regional interest, encourages activities of tourist interest by public and private entities, promotes Veneto tourism in Italy and abroad with the slogan: "Veneto, one region, a thousand faces ".

Near Lake Garda, which bathes the Alps, stands Verona, the medieval city where Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet. The Venetian mountains and the Belluno Dolomites offer unspoiled nature, extensive areas for the practice of active tourism that is attentive to the environment, while the foothills hilly area offers softer landscapes, splendid villages and famous Venetian Villas as testimony to the love that the nobles of they once had for this area to relax and enjoy the country life.

Agri-food and body care It is an area rich in flavors with many local products, 28 DOC, 14 DOCG productions and nine Wine Routes along which you can taste world famous DOC wines, from Amarone to Prosecco. In Veneto the taste of life passes through the joy of good food and drink, but also through the care of the body thanks to the interesting thermal offer of the Euganean Baths, Bibione Thermae, the Caldiero and Recoaro Thermal Baths.

The craftsmanship The territory is also proud of the presence of over three hundred crafts of which it is worth mentioning the one for which the Veneto region is known and renowned in the world: the processing of Murano glass, the lace of Burano, the beautiful ceramics of Bassano del Grappa and the various schools where typical Venetian craftsmanship is taught for those expressions of high quality such as the art of glass, ceramics, gold and silverware, art furniture, textiles and knitwear, lace, of marble and stone.

The cuisine There are many typical dishes found in the various provinces. Traditional dishes such as pasta e fasioi, risi e bisi are famous in the lower Veneto plain, while sardines in saor are famous in the lagoon and along the coast, and the famous Bigoli, a hand-made pasta such as a large spaghetti and topped with an anchovy or sardine sauce, a typical Venetian dish. The Venetian liver is excellent and, as always happens, the excellence of the recipes comes from the variety and quality of the ingredients used to make them. So the beans, in Veneto, are the special ones from Lamon or those from Staol, a locality of Alpago, called "mame", used in the patora soup, a specialty of Belluno. Red radicchio, another great gift from the Veneto region that has conquered the entire peninsula, thrives in the Treviso area but, in the different varieties, also in Chioggia and Verona, while the artichoke, dear to Venetian cuisine, grows in the gardens of the Serenissima together with other very tasty vegetables. From the sea come sardines, eels and cod, another undisputed protagonist of Venetian cuisine: in Vicenza, softened with a long cooking, it is served on a bed of white polenta; in Venice, whipped, it becomes a cold cream to spread on toasted polenta, while in the Treviso area it is cooked in the Montelliana style, in a mushroom sauce.

Among the cheeses we must mention Asiago, Montrasio and Grana Padano which, born in the homonymous plain, is boundless in the nearby Veneto. Even among the desserts there is no shortage of famous recipes: tiramisu, whose paternity is disputed between Venice and Treviso, the pandoro of Verona and the carrot cake that many think was born from the imagination of some dietician rather than from ancient peasant wisdom.

The recipe Rice and peas It was born as a thick but not thick soup and, over time, it has become a risotto to be served as the most intransigent Venetians love it. Once this dish was requested every year by the Doge of Venice for April 25, the feast of San Marco, patron saint of the city. Tradition would have it that the peas were in the majority or at least not inferior to the amount of rice.

Ingredients for four people

800 gr. of peas, 300 gr of rice, 50 gr. of lean bacon or raw ham, 40 gr. of grated Grana Padano, 1/2 onion, parsley, oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Method Shell the peas and set them aside. Wash the pods, boil them in abundant salted water and pass them in the mill or blend them, it must be a rather fluid mixture. In a pan heat two tablespoons of oil, brown the bacon and the onion well chopped, after 5 minutes add the rice, mix well and wet it with the hot broth of the pods, mix carefully and after 5 minutes add the peas, stir and cook the rice by pouring a ladle of broth at a time. In the end it must be a rather soft compound. Adjust salt and pepper, add the chopped parsley and serve with grated Grana Padano separately.

Tiramisu with nougat innovative recipe! Some argue that the classic Tiramisù was born in Treviso. Others reply that it was born in Venice, but Tiramisu cannot be part of the Venetian culinary tradition, because its cuisine was born to be brought on board ships, where in the past there were no refrigerators or the possibility of storing creams and foods. perishable. This explains why in Venice you can enjoy infinite qualities of biscuits, from "pevarini" to "baicoli" to "bussolai". Furthermore, there is no original recipe for Ttiramisù: those who use Savoyard biscuits and those who use sponge cake, those who whip egg whites with sugar, those who use cream, those who mascarpone, who use ricotta ... But, in any case , the coffee remains the only liquid in which to dip The original tiramisu!

Ingredients for 8 people: 4 tablespoons of instant coffee 1/4 of warm water, 250 gr. of biscuits (such as ladyfingers or pavesini), 100 grams of nougat, 3 egg yolks, 100 gr. of sugar, 500 gr. of mascarpone, 10 tablespoons of orange liqueur, 3 tablespoons of cocoa to decorate.

Preparation of the cream: in a bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar for about 5 minutes or until they turn pale yellow, add the mascarpone and continue to beat until you get a frothy cream. Add the orange liqueur. Place a metal circle (18cm diameter x 6cm high) on the serving dish. Dissolve the coffee in warm water. Quickly dip the biscuits gradually and place a layer inside the circle, add 1/4 of the previously crumbled nougat and cover with about 1/4 of the mascarpone cream, lay another layer of biscuits on top, then 1/4 more of the nougat and 1/4 of cream and so on, forming 4 layers of biscuits, nougat and cream. In practice, it starts with a layer of biscuits and ends with a layer of cream. Put the cake in the freezer for 2 hours.

Remove it, sprinkle it with cocoa, remove the circle by detaching it with a metal spatula and always serve it very cold.