PGI Radicchio Rosso di Treviso
This is a unique and incomparable product, typical of the rural culture of the Treviso area.
An 1862 almanac, L'Agricolo, claimed that the month of December was for ... «earthing up cabbage and broccoli, and for whitening red and white radicchio covering the ground with dead leaves». This seems to be the first official report of red radicchio being covered to turn it white.
This technique, suggested by nature itself and used for centuries in Veneto, was soon perfected.
The late typology of radicchio di Treviso is locally known as radìcio spadón or sword-shaped. This regal characteristic is no less important than its bright purple-violet colour, and can claim equal responsibility for its global renown. It has a fresh and delicate flavour, its fragrant and noble, fragile, slender leaves stubbornly enclose the heart in a defensive grasp, the red flower does not give up its leaves easily. It is a delicacy to savour with all the senses, a prize for the cook and the person who eats it alike. Its leaves crunch in your hands and are soft to the touch.
It never fails to astonish with its subtle undertones of spring water and bitter taste: this is late radicchio di Treviso! It is preferably eaten raw so its qualities can be enjoyed to the full, perhaps accompanied by other delicate flavours to compliment it.
The production area encompasses a large territory spanning the provinces of Treviso, Padua and Venice, an area characterised by slow-moving rivers and tributaries, making the land fertile and productive. The two typologies of radicchio, early and late, are grown on deep, well-drained soil.
The precoce or "early" typology can be harvested from the first of September and, thanks to a special binding, it has a long, firmly-closed voluminous head with shining red leaves broken up by thin white veins. The tardivo or "late" typology is harvested from the first of November and then subjected to a forcing process that gives it a characteristic, flavoursome taste. The forcing-blanching process is essential for underscoring the organoleptic value of the late typology.
The heads are collected in special covered vats that let little light in. The roots are set in spring water: gentle and constant, the flow of warm water washes and refreshes all the roots, helping the plant once again grow. Using only the reserves of the large root accumulated during the summer as its food source, it once again grows new, tender and crunchy leaves without light, therefore without any source of chlorophyll pigment, highlighting its intense red colour, and losing its fibrous consistency, becoming crunchy and pleasantly bitter.
The "winter flower" has bloomed, hidden and protected by summer leaves that are sacrificed in a charitable attempt to keep the cold at bay. This is the moment when the expert hand of man comes into it: the heads are left for a few days to dry at a mild temperature on sand or straw, and then delicately freed from their outer leaves and peeled, leaf after leaf, until the ""heart"" appears in all its splendour; the root is beautifully carved, with a special, very sharp and slightly curved knife, before being trimmed according to the size of the "flower".
PGI Combai Chestnut
The production and conditioning area of the combai chestnuts covers the following municipalities in the Treviso province: Cison di Valmarino, Cordignano, Follina, Fregona, Miane, Revine Lago, Sarmede, Segusino, Tarzo, Valdobbiadene and Vittorio Veneto. The physical and organoleptic characteristics of the Combai Chestnuts are strictly linked to the geographic production environment.
The orography of the territory and the characteristics of the ground are the main reasons that make this area particularly suitable for quality chestnut production. The presence and special qualities of these chestnuts can be found in area from Segusino to Cordignano, with Combai as its centre, confirmed by numerous historical testimonies dating dates back to the XII century.
The historical papers gathered, spanning the period from 1200 to 1700, identifies the Treviso foothills to the left of the Piave as an area naturally suited to chestnut growing, as further confirmed by the many place names. In more recent periods, the value of the Combai Chestnuts has been brought to the fore by the Pro Loco Combai thanks to the Combai Chestnut Festival, which since 1945 constitutes an important event at both a local and national level.
PGI Lamon bean
This legume was the staple food for the less affluent classes as an alternative to meat for many centuries. It has been rediscovered in recent decades as an ingredient in traditional, characteristic local dishes.
It was brought to Veneto's mountain areas by the humanist Giovan Pietro dalle Fosse, known as Pierio Valeriano, who went to Rome to work at the Papal Court, appointed as tutor of Pope Clemente VII's nephews. It was the Pope himself who in May 1532 gave him some bean seeds and assigned him the task of spreading them in his native land. So, Valeriano, who had a great appreciation for all things rural as well as literary, cultivated the plants on his property in Castion, near Belluno, to find that the soil was particularly favourable for such a crop.
In describing the beans in his Hieroglyphica (book L), he said «this legume, long unfamiliar in our area, is now abundan in many kitchen gardens; the plentiful fruit hides beans resembling animal kidneys. Some are the colour of a lotus, others are red or black and others still black and white». He was also known to have said «this legume is not as bad as some infer. On the contrary, it is tasty and palatable as long as it is removed from the pod».
The plant was soon growing throughout the valley and in the area of Feltre. It was not long before the Lamon and Sovramonte areas were discovered to be an ideal environment for the production of a top-quality product, to such extent that a variety Borlotta was named after the town of Lamon. On this plateau, bean growing rapidly replaced the existing production of peas, which were equally famous for their extremely thin skin, boosted by the soil and climate conditions.
Such conditions prompted a spontaneous selection of the bean, resulting in four basic ecotypes: the egg-shaped Spagnol, the somewhat smaller Spagnolet, the largest-sized Calonega, and the Canalino, which is particularly tasty, but not commonly used because of its thicker skin. Cultivation became popular in these valleys because the bean could be grown alongside other crops, enabling a greater volume of produce on the same plot of land. Beans were considered a veritable gift of providence and inevitably became part of the local gastronomy together with smoked lamb, since sheep farming was another key activity on the plateau. In 1996, the European Community granted Lamon beans the P.G.I. indication, confirming the vocation of the area and the characteristic nature of the product.
The P.G.I. indication requires, in particular, that seeds be produced in the area between the Lamon plateau and Sovramonte, while they can be planted and cultivated in a broader region area, including the Feltrina, Bellunese and Valbelluna Mountain Communities.
The territory offers extraordinary natural features as it is between the Eastern pre-alpine mountains and the Dolomite chain, encompassing also a Natural Park. The valley's main towns are Feltre and Belluno. Both enjoy pre-Roman origins and have a wealth of monuments and extraordinary architecture, although their distance from the plains has prevented them from becoming very famous.
The valley is brimming with rural villas, churches and well-preserved villages, the hills and plateaus are full of charm. Lamon especially offers a palaeontological naturalistic route dubbed ""Sulle orme dell'orso delle caverne"" (In the footsteps of the cave bear), which weaves through the enchanted valley carved by the Senaiga stream.
Equally fascinating remains of ancient populations can be found in the territory, in the form of a late Roman necropolis and the bridge near San Donato, which is part of the Via Claudia Augusta.
