Food and Wine of Bergamo Lombardy Italy - Travel Guide & Information

This description page of Bergamo in the Italian Region of Lombardy Italy, will guide you in planning your trip to Italy and help you to find useful travel information about the Food & Wine of this Italian Region.

Food (Cibo)

The province of Bergamo has a tradition of hearty dishes of meat, often game, cooked in butter, good cheeses and good wines. Though far from the ocean, seafood is common on Bergamo’s menus due to the fact that the city is a major seafood market and customer. Nearby Lake Iseo to the east is also a steady supplier of fresh fish.

Casonsei, meat-filled ravioli is an indigenous and typical primo from Bergamo. There is also the similar casoncelli, which is filled with tangy sausage and topped with butter, bacon and sage. The gray polenta taragna and risotto with wild mushrooms are also commonly found as first dishes.

Polenta e uccelletti, polenta served with small birds is one of the most typical dishes of Bergamo. These small birds, usually thrushes and larks, have been popular with locals since Roman times. For this dish, the birds are plucked, but not cut up, and even the head remains. These are then threaded onto skewers with sage and thin slices of pork and pancetta, and roasted quickly with attentive basting. These are served hot from the grill or spit on top a bed of polenta. Another traditional meal is horse (cavallo) or donkey (asino) with a side of polenta. In Bergamo’s città alta, sweet shops sell yellow polentina confections artfully dabbed with chocolate meant to resemble birds.

Bergamo is home to three historic restaurants that remain recommendable, Tasso that was established in 1476, Taverna del Colleoni that specializes in authentic Bergamo cuisine and dates from 1744 and sits on the gorgeous Piazza Vecchia, and Balzer that serves excellent food in an upscale setting that opened in 1850.

Wine (Vino)

The area of Bergamo supports a DOC, Vacalepio, which are rare on North American shelves. It includes a Rosso, which is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon; Bianco, which is made from Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio; and, Moscato Passito, a sweet red wine made from dried Moscato Rosso grapes.

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