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THE FOODS
Venetian cooking has known exotic touches since the days when crusaders, merchants and adventurers such as Marco Polo opened trade routes to the east, providing Europe with coffee, tea and novel grains, herbs and spices. Still, though foods may be rich, varied and sometimes bizarre, Veneto boasts an enviably balanced diet from an eclectic range of sources.
The Adriatic abounds in fish. The plains of the Po, Adige and Piave rivers supply livestock, rice for risotto and corn for polenta. The hills that flank the Alps from Lake Garda to Cortina d'Ampezzo provide game, mushrooms, wine and a bit of olive oil, along with the climate for aging prosciutto, salame and cheeses. Gardens everywhere furnish fresh vegetables, notably the radicchio species of endive of Treviso and Verona.
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THE WINES
Venice's region has emerged in recent times as Italy's largest producer of wine
with a major share classified as DOC or DOCG (more than 300 million bottles a
year). Leading the flow is Verona's trio of Soave, Valpolicella and Bardolino.
But since DOC represents less than a third of the region's total, the Veneto also
figures as a major producer and exporter of IGT wines, often of moderate price.
The Veneto has three general areas of premium wine production: the western
province of Verona in the hills between Lake Garda and the town of Soave; the
central hills in the provinces of Vicenza, Padova and Treviso; the eastern plains
of the Piave and Tagliamento river basins along the Adriatic coast northeast of
Venice.
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