Veneto: History, Curiosities, and Gastronomy
The region of Veneto is one of the territories in northern Italy, where you will find countless extraordinary and lesser-known landscapes that exude a charming atmosphere, wrapped in an arc of mystery, magic, and history. The curiosities we present about this magnificent Italian region highlight the most unusual facts about its cities and its rich Italian gastronomy, an important cultural showcase that is highly appreciated today, beyond the typical cliché of pasta and pizza.
Above all, it is important to note that the cultural experience is not concentrated solely in the city of Venice; there are many more cities and secrets to discover. Let’s get started!
Verona, the Home of Romeo and Juliet
You are likely familiar with the great love story by William Shakespeare, which recounts the romance of two lovers from feuding Italian families who defied all odds for their love. Although much of the story is considered fictional, in Verona, you can visit the real residences of the Capulets and the Montagues, accompanied by various sculptures commemorating the most famous events of the novel.
The Legend of Antenor
The origins of Antenor date back to classical times, specifically in the tragedy Iliad by the poet Homer. According to Homer, Antenor was an important Trojan aristocrat whose experience and prudence helped mediate the conflict between Greece and Troy. Shortly after the Greeks conquered the city of Troy, Antenor, like the hero Aeneas, decided to retreat with some survivors and embark on a journey to find a new home for his people. That new home was the cities of Padua and Venice, where he is recognized as their founder.
Traditional Cuisine of Veneto
The Italian cuisine of this region is characterized by using ingredients from both the sea and the mountains, with dishes accompanied by intense flavors that vary with the seasons. Among its specialties, you can find pasta dishes like Bigoli in salsa, high-quality rice dishes like Risi e bisi, risotto varieties with mozzarella, perfectly cooked fish like sarde in saor, and irresistible desserts like tiramisu.
Our Italian restaurant menu also features some specialties from this region, such as fresh pasta gnocchi.
The World’s Largest Chess Match
The city of Marostica is known for being one of the best-preserved medieval towns in the Veneto region. Near one of its castles, you can find an unusual piece of art: a giant chessboard where live chess matches are held and reenacted from time to time.
This living chess match takes place every September, and many of the town's inhabitants participate as chess pieces. According to legend, it was also the site where Italian and Venetian knights challenged each other—not to deadly duels, but through chess matches for less bloody purposes.
The Mystery of the Dolomites
The Dolomites are a mountain range that forms part of the eastern Italian Alps, one of the natural spaces with great biodiversity in flora and fauna. Since 2009, they have been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are known for an unusual phenomenon called enrosadira, which has been the subject of myths and legends for years.
In summer, due to various geological phenomena, the mountains turn a reddish-copper color at sunset, gradually shifting to a muted violet hue.
The Blue Lady of Veneto
In the northern region of Venice, you can find the so-called “Venetian villas,” noble Venetian houses from the 15th-18th centuries, commissioned from the most renowned painters, architects, and sculptors of the time.
It is said that in some of these villas, at night, the ghost of a medieval woman dressed in blue appears, wandering silently in the solitude of the dark. While ghost stories are popular in Italy, they all speak of the same entity. According to local lore, the woman prefers to appear before men, seducing them and driving them mad after revealing her face, hidden by a blue veil.
A Cuisine with Humble Roots
Many of the Italian dishes you will find in the Veneto region have their origins in the countryside and the medieval lower classes, who used basic field ingredients and meat from domestic animals such as cats (now prohibited), donkeys, and horses.
Today, dishes like polenta, felagato, or pastissada de caval retain their medieval traditions, replacing certain meats with more common ones, such as pork and beef, for those with sensitive palates.