THE ROADS OF LOMBARDY MEET IN MANTUA
Sunday 29th September, at the Loggia dei Mercanti of Palazzo Andreani (MN),
a Festival that celebrates the Wines and Flavours of Lombardy
Of Stefano Passaquindici
The Festival of Wines and Flavours It is a unique opportunity to meet the food and wine and cultural riches of Lombardy, a region where a myriad of different views, products and territorial “know-how” intersect. The event will be held on Sunday September 29, 2024 at the Merchants’ Lodge of Palazzo Andreani (Via Spagnoli, 46100, Mantua). Organized by Federation of the Wine and Flavor Roads of Lombardythe Festival celebrates The Eleven Roads of the Federation through tastings and samplings, offering an in-depth look at the world of Lombard excellence. In addition to promoting the products and the territorial “know-how”, the event will also have a strong social connotation: All proceeds will go to charity.
During this day, visitors will be able to know, taste and buy the identity products of the Lombardy region in a location of art and elegance. After the first edition in Broni, at the Enoteca Regionale della Lombardia, this year the Festival moves to the suggestive Renaissance center of Mantua, the city “worthy of which one moves a thousand miles to see it”, as Torquato Tasso described it, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the capital of Italian culture. Another novelty of the second edition, the presence at the Festival of the Rice and Risotto Road Mantuain the Mincio countryside on the border with Verona, where rice cultivation dates back to the period of Francesco Gonzaga (1500-1540), and the Three Rivers Rice Roadthe latest born in chronological order among the Wine and Flavours Routes of the Lombardy Regionbased in Pavia, in Mortar.
“Travelling to discover a territory today does not only mean discovering its landscapes, villages and historical monuments, but also getting to know the flavours of the table and its traditions” declares Barbara Mazzali, Councillor for Tourism, Territorial Marketing and Fashion of the Lombardy Region – “Food and wine tourism is growing among the habits of those who travel and lovers of wine and good food, who often choose a destination also paying attention to the wineries they can visit, the wines they will taste and the restaurants specializing in typical dishes. Today food and wine have now abandoned the role of mere food products, becoming interpreters and maximum expression of the territory, of the communities that live there, thus offering tourists the opportunity for authentic experiences. Aggregating the enormous variety of our regional food and wine heritage in a single festival represents an extraordinary showcase of many ‘taste trips’ in our provinces. I would therefore like to thank the Federation of the Wine and Flavours Routes of Lombardy for his commitment to promoting our food and wine treasures and I am happy that, on the occasion of the Festival, the ‘food and wine roads’ meet right in Mantua, my city” – concludes Barbara Mazzali.
«With this Festival, the Federation aims to enhance the different expressions Lombardy, making them known first of all to the final consumer”. He says Gianni Boselli, President of the Federation. «It will be a day of celebration, in which the protagonists will be the Lombard products identitythose authentically linked to the territories which are immediately associated with an area, in a city like Mantuaa true jewel of the Renaissance, famous throughout the world for its history, food and wine, art treasures and natural beauty, and awarded, not by chance, the title of Italian Capital of Culture for the year 2016.
The Federation of the Wine and Flavours Roads of Lombardy will gather together in a single mosaic all the food and wine excellences that coexist in Lombardy. An ambitious undertaking if one considers the variety of landscapes, places and culture present in this vast region: from Valtellina Wine Routewith its Sforzato di Valtellina DOCG and Bresaola, to the Valcalepio Wine Route and flavours of Bergamowith its DOC wine of the same name and its cheeses and Franciacorta Roada wine that in 1995 became the first Italian territory and wine produced with the method of refermentation in the bottle; from the Botticino DOC wine of Colli Longobardi Wine and Flavours Road at the Mantua Rice and Risotto Routewith its famous Risotto alla Pilota, cooked by absorbing the water and then adding pork pesto; again, from San Colombano Wine Route and Lodi Flavourswith the famous raspadüra and its San Colombano DOC Rosso, with Varzi salami of the Oltrepò Pavese Road. Also present is the rice from Lomellina, with the Three Rivers Rice Road and the Cremonese mustard with the Cremonese Taste Road in the Land of Stradivari. Visitors will also have the opportunity to taste the refined Garda oil, an excellent product of the Garda Wine and Flavours Route. Finally, there will be the Mantua Wine and Flavors Routewhich will offer the public the opportunity to taste Lambrusco Mantovano, Colli Mantovani wines and Parmigiano Reggiano. This is just a taste of what can be discovered in the rich Lombardy region.
Information: Sunday 29 September 2024, from 11:00 to 18:00, at Loggia dei Mercanti, Via Spagnoli, 46100 Mantua (MN).
Entrance fee: €5 which will be entirely donated to charity.
For information: write an email to [email protected], call 346 503 7718 or visit the social pages https://www.facebook.com/viniesaporidilombardia.it and https://www.instagram.com/viniesaporidilombardia.it/
Tag: Lombardy Region Tourism Department, Councilor Barbara Mazzali, Barbara Mazzali, Federation of the Wine and Flavors Roads of Lombardy, Wine and Flavors Festival, Gianni Boselli, Mantua, Three Rivers Rice Road, Mantua Rice and Risotto Road, San Colombano Wine and Lodi Flavors Road, Valcalepio Wine Road