The province of Mantova offers 300 km of wine roads and flavors to taste the agri-food excellence of the territory and traditional dishes: from the famous pumpkin tortelli to the salame, from the mantovana mustard to the risotto to the pilot with the salamelle, from the Grana Padano, produced on the left bank of the Po, to the Parmigiano Reggiano, produced on the right bank.
And to finish the sbrisolòna, the cake characteristic for its hard and friable dough that, more than being cut, is "sbriciola" in large irregular pieces and which perfectly accompanies to a good glass of sweet Lambrusco. The Botteghe del Gusto is ideal for a high quality culinary shopping, before stopping at lunch, in one of the alleys near the Doge's Palace, at Restaurant Eagle Nigra, old house that still retains some original features and offers, in the next door, also a beautiful bistro of contemporary design.
A passage in Polesine, which identifies the whole province of Rovigo, will bring the traveller in a gastronomy that combines city traditions and countryside: from the eels and fresh water fish, to the fine storione of the Po to eat boiled or in wet, fried or roasted, whose eggs give an exquisite caviar; from the aquatic game cooked with special culinary procedures to the smoked Bondiola, famous insacchate of the Lower Polesine.
And for those who still have doubts that for these areas the kitchen is a serious thing, there are over 20 Museums of Taste as an additional tribute to the local food and wine culture: from that of Ham, to Langhirano to that of Parmigiano Reggiano, to Soragna (both in the province of Parma), from that of the traditional balsamic vinegar in Spilamberto (Modena) to the Garden of the Grasses of Casola Valsenio (Ravenna), from the Museum of truffle, to Borgofranco sul Pombilin
Until the Museo dell'Anguilla di Comacchio (Reggio Emilia) not to be missed if you want to understand the entire cycle of processing of the eels, which once fished, cleaned and made of tranci, are placed in long skewers, arranged in front of the 12 fireplaces of the Fuochi Room for cooking and then moved in the Sala degli Aceti where they are covered by the brine (sal, water, bay, etc.
