Veneto

There’s so much more to the northwestern Veneto region than just its famous capital city, Venice, and its picturesque canals. Historically one of the more prosperous regions of Italy, Veneto has a long history of international trade; it was a major producer of the world’s salt, harvested from the sea in shallow plains in the city of Chioggia. It’s home to prosecco and the bitter vegetable radicchio, known locally as radicchio Rosso di Treviso. Because the fertile rice plains of the Po Valley run through the Veneto, pasta is less popular here than risotto and polenta.

In Verona, the region’s largest city made famous as the setting for William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, you’ll find the striking risotto all’Amarone, made with red Amarone wine from Valpolicella and often featuring bitter radicchio. Celebrated local cheeses include nutty Monte Veronese and long-aged Piave. The city is certified as a UNESCO world heritage site, with the Roman-era pink limestone Arena standing side-by-side with medieval fortresses and Renaissance-era gardens.

The Veneto is home to Italy’s most advanced grain and flour company, Petra. In 1914, Angelo Quaglia bought a small stone mill powered by the waters of the river Adige in the small town of Sant’Urbano near Padua. Today, Petra is still family-owned and is dedicated to advancing the understanding of flours of all kinds for everyone, from beginning bakers to pastry professionals. While they have upgraded their facilities to keep up with 21st-century technologies, many of their flours are still stone-ground for that inimitable texture and flavor. The original 1914 mill is now the home of a unique school, Il Laboratorio, where bakers of all stripes can improve their skills with dedicated flour researchers.

Bring a taste of Veneto to your door with these hand-selected products from some of the finest artisans in the region. Giadzy brings you the best of Italy from high-performance flours to garden-fresh giardiniera.