he eight regions of what is loosely defined as northern Italy boast the nation's highest standard of living and its richest diet, in terms of both abundance and variety. The plains that extend along the Po and lesser rivers from Piedmont to the northern rim of the Adriatic proliferate with grain, corn, rice, fruit, livestock and dairy products. Vineyards on slopes along the great arc formed by the Alps and Apennines are Italy's prime sources of premium wine.
Restaurateurs and recipe collectors abroad acclaim the common heritage of what they call "northern Italian cuisine." But menus that mix Bologna's tagliatelle and ragout, for example, with Genoa's trenette noodles and pesto, Milan's risotto and braised veal shanks, Venice's black rice and soft shell crabs, Trieste's goulash and sauerkraut or Turin's cheese fondue and white truffles mock historical realities. Even today, despite standardization of tastes and the invasion of fast food, no other section of Italy maintains such diversity in regional cooking.
Roots of local cultures can be traced to early peoples: the Liguri of the Riviera, the Salassi and Taurani of Piedmont, the Rhaetians of the Alpine rim from Lombardy to Friuli, the Veneti of the northern Adriatic basin and the Etruscans who crossed the Apennines to control the Padana valley before the conquests of Cisalpine Gauls and Romans. The unity constructed under the Roman empire collapsed in the Middle Ages. The northern states, domineered by foreign forces, continued to switch loyalties, leaders and borders with dizzying frequency through the Renaissance and on up to the Risorgimento.
The assortment of local dialects, or in some cases full-fledged languages (French in Valle d'Aosta, German in Alto Adige), attests to the historical heterogeneity of Italy's north. French influences remain in recipes of Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy and Emilia to the northwest, just as Austro-Hungarian tangs linger in foods of the Tre Venezie (Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Trentino-Alto Adige) to the northeast. But local tastes rule in this vast territory where culinary customs vary delectably from province to province and town to town.
Still, some generalizations might be made about northern cooking. Meat has prevailed over seafood in most places where butter and lard are the traditional fats. Exceptions must be made for Liguria, with its exemplary Mediterranean diet, and the Adriatic strip where seafood and olive oil prevail. In most inland areas, diets have relied on a wholesome mix of grains, legumes, cheeses, preserved fish and seasonal varieties of vegetables, mushrooms and herbs. A tendency to substitute olive oil for animal fats has revitalized the balance.
Pasta, rice, polenta and gnocchi figure in one form or another in each region's diet, though local preferences present a study in contrasts. Fresh pasta, usually made with eggs, prevails south of the Po in Piedmont, Liguria and, most gloriously, in Emilia-Romagna. Rice dominates in the flatlands of Lombardy and Piedmont, where it is usually braised and stirred as risotto, and in the Veneto, where it is often simmered in broth in dishes that range tastily between risottos and thick soups.
Polenta, made from corn or also from buckwheat or chestnut flour, was the sustenance of northern country people for ages, eaten as a mush or porridge with cheese or sauces or sliced and fried or grilled to go with meat dishes. Today's polenta strongholds are the Tre Venezie and the Alpine flanks of Lombardy and Piedmont. Gnocchi are often based on potatoes, though dumplings are also made from semolino or ricotta and greens. In Trentino-Alto Adige, round bread dumplings are called Knödeln or canederli.
Perhaps the most popular category of primi, though not only a first course, are soups, which may include pasta, rice, polenta, gnocchi, bread, vegetables, beans, meats or seafood. Prominent examples of northern minestre are the noodle and bean pasta e fagioli of the Veneto and Friuli, the fish chowders of Liguria and the Adriatic coast, Milan's tripe-based busecca and Emilia-Romagna's delicate pasta in brodo (afloat in broth).
A meat dish eaten nearly everywhere in the north is bollito misto. But the mix varies between beef, veal, pork sausages and poultry, while sauces range from parsley-based salsa verde to Piedmont's tomato red bagnet ross, Verona's beef marrow and pepper pearà and Cremona's candied fruit and mustard mostarda. Fritto misto is also eaten in most regions, though compositions of fried meats, cheeses, vegetables, fruits and pastries are never the same from one place to another.
Pork plays a prime role in salt-cured meats, whose hallmark is Prosciutto from Parma and San Daniele, the salt-cured ham described as dolce due to the ripe flavor and soft texture that develop over a year or more of maturing. But the delights of salumi range beyond pork to beef for the bresaola of Lombardy's Valtellina, as well as goat, goose and chamois for salame and sausages.
Northern Italy is a paradise for cheese lovers. They may begin with Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano, which account for a major share of national production, and nibble their way through blue-veined Gorgonzola, buttery Fontina, tangy Asiago and a vast array of mild, creamy, ripe and sharp cheeses, mainly from cows but also from sheep and goats.
The eight northern regions produce about a third of Italian wine, though they account for more than half of the DOC/DOCG total. The leading region for volume of classified wines is Veneto, where Verona's Soave and Valpolicella head production. Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia have sterling reputations for white wines, though they are increasingly admired for reds. Lombardy is noted for aged reds from the Alpine Valtellina and classical sparkling wines from the hills of Franciacorta and Oltrepò Pavese. The north's most vaunted reds are Barolo and Barbaresco of Piedmont, a region that also makes Gattinara, Barbera, Dolcetto and sparkling sweet Asti.
A byproduct of wine is grappa, which was long considered a common sort of spirit. But class has been upgraded dramatically in recent times by distillers in Friuli, Veneto, Trentino and Piedmont, whose grappa often comes from select grape varieties and specific vineyards.
