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

This description page of Mantua 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 cuisine of Mantua is distinct from much of Lombardy due both its long independence from Milan courtesy of the Venetians, Gonzagas and Austrians, and its proximity to Emilia to the south. The most peculiar native dish might be the long-popular (at least among locals) stracotto di asino, a stew of donkey. Mantuans interestingly add the light Lambrusco wine to broths and soups. Also, uniquely, many types of condiments are used, and the zucca, pumpkin, can add a sweetness to many dishes, especially when the weather turns crisp.

Stuffed pastas are common first dishes. The current pride of Mantuan cooking might be the tortelli di zucca, ravioli with pumpkin stuffing and topped with melted butter.  Autumn is the season for pumpkin and the much rarer delicacy, white truffles. Other stuffed pastas, agnoli are also common. These are typically filled with salami, bacon, chicken livers and cheese, and cooked in broth. If pasta is served alla mantovana (“in the style of Mantua”), it will be served with a sauce made with meat, crushed walnuts, cream and white wine. A traditional dish from the area of Mantua is riso all pilota, which takes its name from the men who work the nearby rice fields, piloti. It is rice cooked served with fried pork sausage and flavored with nutmeg, cinnamon and Parmesan cheese. Second courses include fish and other delights from the nearby lakes and fish. These include eels, frogs, crawfish, pike, catfish, pike and bass. Deep-fried frog legs are a traditional secondo, as is the luccio in salsa, pike served with a sauce of peppers and capers.

In addition to the bounty of the river and the lakes, the excellent staple, Parmigiano-Reggiano is produced near Mantua. Excellent cured meats are produced in and around Mantua, especially the salame and salamelle. This is a main feature of the distinctive, traditional risotto con le salamelle and in the stuffed pastas. Emblematic of the high quality of the cuisine, the area of Mantua boasts the only Michelin three-star restaurant in all of Lombardy, Dal Pescatore in nearby Canneto sull’Oglio. Well worth the 20km drive west of Mantua, it is straightforward regional cuisine at its lightest and most exquisite in a charming antique-filled setting and top-notch service. A reservation is necessary, usually far in advance, and the cost is very expensive, as would be expected, but worth it.

Wine (Vino)

The local wine is Lambrusco like is in nearby Emilia. Low in alcohol and frizzante, it should be consumed within a year of production. The three designations that generally denote quality from best to least offensive are: Lambrusco di Sorbana, Lambrusco di Santa Croce, and the Lambrusco di Castelvetro. These are a fitting complement to the typical Mantuan cooking. There are the DOC Colli Mantovani del Garda wines to the north that produces good whites, rosés and a Merlot.

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