Techniques for preserving and processing pork in the Veneto Region were known and widespread as far back as Pre-Roman times. In fact, pork carcasses dating back to that period have been found without the hind legs, a clear sign they were put to use.

Prosciutto, the Italian word for ham, comes from the Latin ""perexuctus"" which means drained, a reference to the processing method. Several very old recipes in cook books and agricultural texts from the sixteenth century onwards list ham as a popular ingredient in the type of dishes that would be served in country gentlemen's manor houses. In the seventeenth century, there are various mentions of a ham called ""di Padova"" (from Padua).

Poorer farming families used to breed pigs and sell the hind legs to shopkeepers. They would keep the other parts for their own use to make sausages, cotechino (a fresh sausage meant to be cooked), salami, sopressa, pancetta and capocollo (cured ham made from collar cuts), which could be eaten in dribs and drabs throughout the year. This custom gave rise to such expressions as the ""piggy bank"", as pigs proved to be the saving grace for the poor. It was only in the second half of the nineteenth century that fresh hind legs began to appear at the marketplace. A rigid schedule of salting times, ham weight, aging conditions and time - which in some cases may be up to 24 months - produces the elegant, intense and full-bodied taste of Veneto Berico Euganeo ham P.D.O., with its perfect balance of softness, sweetness and aroma. It is this softness and delicate, distinctive aroma that makes it an ideal gourmet starter, first or main course. It slices to reveal its characteristic pink colour.

The typical processing area, clearly defined in the official guidelines, includes fifteen municipalities in the provinces of Padua, Vicenza and Verona, comprised in the area of the Po valley and foothills of the Berici and Euganean Hills, which share natural and environmental features. Two ranges of hills influence the direction of the winds, rains and the local temperature to create a weather balance ideal for the aging process. Both the area - divided into wooded hillsides and extensive farmlands on the plains - and the local economy, which for the most part revolves around agriculture, ensure an ecologically healthy environment, perfect for processing ham.

The three best-known towns in this area are Montagnana, the main production centre, Este and Lonigo. Montagnana, in particular, played host to certain historical events leading up to the rivalry between Carraresi and Scaligeri after joining the Serenissima Republic of Venice, an era of glory and embellishment, when monuments and works of art abounded. The city walls date from the Middle Ages and are perfectly preserved in their entirety, making the town an urban and architectural jewel of world renown.

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Around Lake Garda, hills slope gently down to the water's edge, and from time to time soar to become mountains just a few kilometres away: a dramatic setting for olive groves and vines interspersed with meadows. Evergreen olive trees have a big part to play, standing like nature's own ornaments adorning the lake shore. It is not a new landscape, considering olive trees were prized by the Romans in a time when oil production was thriving and Lake Garda went by the name of Benaco.

Since then, the olive grove has always been held in high regard and terraces and contours have been carved to make cultivation easier and more profitable. Olive trees grown for oil were particularly important, the final product representing an essential, permanent feature in the diet of the local people and the economy. In fact, oil has long been exported to Central Europe and was often used as a form of currency in credit transactions.

Today, small farms that produce Garda extra virgin olive oil P.D.O. dot the territory around the lake, making for a unique, beautiful and harmonious landscape. Garda extra virgin olive oil P.D.O. is fruity, with a light or medium aroma depending on the particular olfactory nuances (artichoke, freshly cut grass, leaves, hay, herbs, flowers, green pepper, etc.) associated with the precise point of origin and the ripeness of the olives. The intense, bold aroma and taste of fresh, sweet almonds is almost always discernible.

There is just a hint of bitter and spice balancing with overall sweetness, roundness and smoothness on the palate. The lingering persistence of its smell is pleasant. The oil is especially recommended raw, added at the end of cooking to foods with delicate taste and smell. Olive groves in the Lake Garda area may at first seem to be a contradiction in agricultural terms, since these trees are growing much further north than the typical Mediterranean agricultural area. In fact, olive trees grow at a different altitude than the pedoclimatic parameters which define the ""ideal"" growing area in geographical terms, normally between the latitudes of 30 and 45 degrees north. Perhaps this is why the olive oil produced in this area has a welldefined and much-appreciated personality.

The area around Lake Garda offers an extremely wide range of quality choices, with mountains and the lake, rolling and spectacular landscapes, historical towns and countryside, an unimaginable variety of typical products and cuisine, games, entertainment and sports activities, for indoors and out around the biggest and best-known Italian lake.

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The ancient origins of soprèssa are known from numerous historical and artistic quotations over the centuries. Jacopo Da Ponte painted the sausage in 1577 in his portrayal of ""Christ at the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus"", in a kitchen in turmoil preparing a meal for a very important guest. He shows one sausage being sliced and others hanging in the background, and they look very similar to soprèssa. The specialty is also mentioned in an inventory dated 1777 and listed in the books of the Chamber of Commerce of Vicenza that began including the item ""Salame e soppressa"" in 1862, underscoring a long-standing tradition for this product in the area.

It is a quality sausage with deep ties to the area of production, the culmination of local culture and rural gastronomic traditions. Since the 1950s, many events and local festivals have been dedicated to this product.

The pigs' diet is carefully monitored and based almost exclusively on top quality cereals. Slaughter and processing are carried out in small, local workshops which follow traditional working methods and are adequately monitored. Climate and the characteristic of the air in this geographical area, surrounded by the Piccole Dolomites, from the Berici Hills to the Altopiano of Asiago, influence both the animal breeding process and the ripening of the sausage, determining its distinctive taste and giving it in particular its characteristic and exclusive bouquet.

A unique attribute of the soprèssa vicentina P.D.O. lies in the fact that the best cuts of pork are used, including lean cuts, such as the leg - normally reserved for ham - and fat, which determines its final quality. The selected meat is minced in a grinder, using plates with hole diameter of between 6 and 7 mm. Other ingredients are added to the minced meat, such as salt, pepper and other spices, mixed well for a homogeneous blend.

The soprèssa vicentina P.D.O. is cylindrical or lightly curved, and comes in different sizes: it can vary from 25 to 50 cm in length and 7 to 12 cm in diameter. It is sold at weights of between 0.7 kg to more than 4 kg. It is the length and location of ripening that gives it its outer colour, which starts out as off-white to become a light grey. Upon cutting the meat appears reddish, tending to rose coloured, with evenly distributed parts of fat. The seasoning, which at times carries the aroma of garlic, gives the product a delicate and unmistakable taste that is sweet but equally savoury.

The production area covers the entire province of Belluno.  The natural environment is characterized by a typical alpine flora and plants, shrubs and herbaceous plants highly suited to the intense work of the ' Apis mellifera ' bees that have adapted perfectly to the characteristics of the high mountain altitudes. Here in fact the presence of man is rare, a crucial factor to help produce a higher quality honey than that of the plains. Given the different floral and botanical species present, different honey varieties are obtained, such as Mixed Flower, Acacia, Lime Blossom, Chestnut, Rhodedendron and Dandelion.

The importance of honey for the people of the Dolomites is also documented by artefacts that date back thousands of years and continue to be celebrated at various events such as the Agrimont Agricultural Show of Longarone and the Limana Beekeeping and Agricultural Festival. The high-quality honey of the Belluno Dolomites is used in many local recipes for cakes, biscuits and yoghurts, but also for cooking pasta dishes such as sausage and honey pasta, as an ingredient in the local liqueurs and in conjunction with local cheeses such.

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Asparagus was a delicacy as far back as ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman times. Its name comes from the Latin word ""asparagus"", asparagio or sparagio in Italian. It is a perennial herbaceous plant, with wild and cultivar varieties grown in Central and Southern Europe. The young spears of the plant are eaten, usually boiled.

The Cimadolmo white asparagus P.G.I. is grown in the permeable and well drained, alluvial and sandy, loamy soils found on the left bank of the Piave river in the province of Treviso, an area that often flooded in the past. Asparagus from the gravel bed of the Piave river's floodplain is highly acclaimed and prized for its quality.

Giovan Battista Barpo, a clergyman author of a seventeenth century cook book, named asparagus as one of the foods no kitchen should be without, backing up his claim with a series of recipes that are still used today... «When a Father brings some asparagus and young pigeons to put on the table, he can live happily and contentedly all summer. Asparagus is a very good nourishment and its qualities are better than any other herbaceous plant; [...] It can be served as a salad, or cooked, with salt, oil and vinegar; it is good for soup, omitting the vinegar and adding pepper and some of its juices; or even with boiled fish, rolled in flour and fried, or grilled and laid out on paper with oil and spices; or perhaps raw, with salt and pepper».

The virtue of this product was also acknowledged in the regional competitions that became very popular at local trade fairs at the end of the nineteenth century. A humid-temperate climate, typical for this area, favours the quick growth of the asparagus, making the cultivation of tender, non-fibrous, white spears possible.

It is a spring vegetable, with harvesting beginning at the end of March and lasting 15 to 20 days the third year after planting, and two months or so after the fourth year. The asparagus is completely white with no green areas, even on the tops. According to the official guidelines that classify the indication, the product has to be whole, with no bruises or impurities, and free from undue humidity, foreign smells or tastes.

The Strada del prodotto tipico (Typical-product Road) itinerary runs through this predominantly agricultural area includes places of great historical interest, such as the town of Oderzo, whose origins date back to Roman times, the town of Cimadolmo and Grave di Papadopoli, an area teeming with reminders of the great final battle of the Piave offensive during World War I.

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On the list of the prestigious Top Italian wines, thanks to the DOCG label awarded in 2008, the Recioto di Gambellara is a wine with very specific organoleptic characteristics, produced solely in the hilly area to the west of the province of Vicenza.

It is produced in the two Classic and Spumante varieties and in accordance with the production conditions regulation, 100% should be made up of the Garganega grape: this is a local vine variety with white berries from among those of major significance in the Vicenza area and that are ideal for the production of straw wines.

The amount of production per hectare is relatively low. Nevertheless, this favours the growth of high quality grapes. This is undoubtedly due to the specific pedo climatic characteristics: the grapes behind the Recioto di Gambellara grow on volcanic-origin land extremely rich in mineral salts; the climate is mild with hot summers and particularly humid with lots of rain during the winter and without relevant heat excursions.

The wine is a beautiful colour between straw and golden yellow with amber shades, an intense, fruity aroma, a sweet, structured and balanced taste. Ideal alongside desserts, biscuits of all kinds and ice creams.

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The DOCG designation for the Malanotte del Piave or Piave Malanotte, is the latest addition to the rich list of highly prized quality Veneto wines. The wine is produced with at least 70% Raboso del Piave quality grapes and a maximum of 30% Raboso Veronese. It is also possible to add up to 5% of other local red-berry varieties, either together or separately. 

The new area along the Piave river covers almost the entire plain of the province of Treviso and of the Eastern side of the province of Venice while excluding the coastal and lagoon areas and obviously the already existing DOC and DOCG areas. It is produced on clayish, chalky or rocky soils, without forcing and with a maximum yield of 12 tonnes per hectare of vineyard with specialised cultivation and a 12.50% vol alcohol by volume level.

One part of the grape yield amounting to between 15% and 30%, is wilted before being crushed and for at least thirty six months this wine with and dry, full-bodied and characteristic flavour, is conserved in the wine producer's cellars, first in barrels (for at least twelve months) and then in bottles (at least four months), until it acquires an intense ruby red colour interspersed with violet reflexions, closer to garnet with age, and its typical spicy marasca cherry flavour.

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After having represented one of the historical Veneto DOC areas from 1968 to 2010, Recioto della Valpolicella has finally been awarded the Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin label.

The new label allows it to be produced in still form, also defined as classic or Valpantena, or spumante, also defined as Valpantena. The production area is located on the north side of the province of Verona, covering 19 municipalities in the hilltop or slightly hilly areas. 

The grapes involved in the production of this prestigious wine are the Corvina veronese (also Cruina or Corvina) and the Rondinella. Other vines can be integrated up to a maximum of 25%, including red-berry fragrant grapes from the province of Verona, and other local Italian varieties.

This complex procedure that codifies a traditional process enables the production of a wine, full red in colour, with occasional violet or garnet reflexions when aged, and a characteristic and accentuated aroma. With a full, velvety, intense and sweet flavour, and fine and continuous bubbles in the case of the spumante, after a couple of years aging this is the perfect wine to accompany all kinds of desserts, especially chocolate and pastry, but its perfect complement is without a doubt Verona’s pandoro.

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Soave Superiore, produced in the hilly area of Soave, obtained the D.O.C.G. designation in 2001. Such a highquality wine is the result of a perfect balance of the area of cultivation, controlled yield in the field and accurate preservation prior to bottling in the winery.

Soave Superiore, becoming Soave Superiore classico when it is produced in the area defined as "classica", can only be sold after a refining period of at least three months in the bottle, which safeguards the characteristics of the mature and complex wine.

The straw yellow colour of Soave Superiore D.O.C.G. is more intense than the Soave D.O.C., although it keeps the typical brightness of a young wine. It is characterised by a floral, more intense bouquet and a full and subtly bitter taste.

The D.O.C.G. designation also includes Soave Superiore riserva and Soave Superiore classico riserva. For the riserva, the refining period requires at least two years, three months of which must be in the bottles. Its colour is also an intense straw yellow, while its flavour is well-rounded, intense and it has a slightly bitter aftertaste.

The Strada del Vino (Wine Road) follows the aromas of these wines passing through areas of natural beauty, where the marks of art and history are to be found along the fascinating spots on the itinerary.

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Recioto di Soave, produced in the Soave area, was the first wine in the Veneto Region to obtain the D.O.C.G. designation in 1998.

The existence of a sweet white wine similar to Recioto di Soave in the Verona area was mentioned as early as the fifth century, when an eminent minister to King Theodoric ordered "white" Acinatico as well as "red" Acinatico for the guests at the royal table, made from grapes « selected from the home pergolas », with the hanging grapes preserved as late as winter.

The name Recioto comes from the word ""recia"", Veneto dialect for ear, which symbolises the characteristic shape of the upper section of a bunch of Garganega grapes, the part richest in sugar and exposed the longest to the sun, and which is selected to make the wine. The best bunches are dried on racks for a period ranging from 4 to 6 months before they are pressed. The fermentation that follows is very slow and long, and takes place in small barrels.

D.O.C.G. wines are Recioto di Soave, Recioto di Soave classico - made in the area defined as "classica" - and Recioto di Soave spumante.
Recioto di Soave is a bright golden yellow, with a greater or lesser intensity; its bouquet is fruity with hints of vanilla; it is sweet, velvety and smooth, full-bodied with possible hints of wood.

The Strada del Vino (Wine Road) itinerary weaves through wineries and places offering typical local products, churches and villas. Visitors can admire charming spots bursting of history, such as the ancient Juno Baths in Caldiero or the old manor house rising from the centre of Illasi, comprising a group of ancient aristocratic villas that are for the most part preserved. Not forgetting Soave, a medieval town surrounded by town walls which are still intact and climb up the towering hill where the Castle stands. The network of roads and the land division into centurie of the surrounding territory suggest how they were in Roman times.

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