Comune di Valeggio sul Mincio
Angelo Tosoni, mayor of Valeggio sul Mincio (Verona) was invited by Luca Zaia, (Governatore della Regione Veneto), to introduce Valeggio's glamours and flavours to his councillors and to the national and regional press. Lessinia Cheese and Mostarda, Tortellini 'the Love knots', Tortelli di zucca alla Gonzaga, juicy peaches and Torta delle Rose intrigued all the guests in a sunny mid-autumn Venetian day.
The territory of Valeggio sul Mincio offers visitors a chance to experience unique landscapes, such as the Colline Moreniche, Valle del Mincio, Borghetto with its ancient mills, nature and landscape among the most beautiful in Italy, Villa Sigurtà and Sigurtà Garden and Park.
Equally renowned, as many have already discovered for themselves, is the excellent quality food and wine.
There are plenty of occasions where you can get to know and savour everything this splendid land offers the palate and the eyes. Traditional local main courses include Tortellini di Valeggio, a light pastry filled with mixed meat braised in white Custoza wine, served daily in the numerous restaurants and guesthouses that have been celebrating the ritual of good food for years. The Association of Restaurateurs of Valeggio (ARV) has made this ritual into an actual legend entitled “Lover’s Knot”. It tells the story of two young lovers MALCO and SIlVIA who seal their love by dissolving in the waters of the Mincio and beforehand leaving the local women some yellow silk fabric twisted to form a lover’s knot. To this day local women shape the Tortellini by hand in the shape of a lover’s knot to celebrate this romantic legend.
If you prefer to cook Tortellini di Valeggio at home, they are available in numerous handmade pasta shops which have for years continued the tradition of making handmade Tortellini in their workshops.
There are plenty of other forms of egg-based pasta, filled will pumpkin, mushrooms, asparagus, herbs and cheese from Lessinia, allowing you to taste all the flavours of the different seasons.
Valeggiano cuisine is rich and varied from its starters to desserts: hand produced cold cuts, created from a food chain that is completely locally sourced; the varied production of fruit and vegetables focuses mainly on the cultivation of Kiwis and Verona Peaches PGI, all produce available out of season as stewed fruit and vegetables or jam.
The age-old experience of Valeggiano cellars means the colours, aromas and flavours of a priceless winemaking heritage are fully converted and expertly expressed in local wines, such as Custoza White Doc, Bardolino Doc and Chiaretto Doc.
A typical Valeggiano lunch ends with scented and romantic Rose Cake, from a sixteenth-century recipe dedicated to Isabella D’Este and baked in the cake shops in Valeggio sul Mincio. They also offer other decorated pastries and cakes: Dolce Valeggio (a soft, Madeira sponge log with a butter cream filling, covered in chocolate icing), Coppa al Bagno (homemade hazelnut ice-cream with an original combination of liquors) and Tortellini di Cioccolato (chocolate ravioli).
There’s a multitude of shows organised by the Municipality of Valeggio sul Mincio and by the Office for the Promotion of Culture, Tourism and Production Activities, in collaboration and with the support of local associations, where emphasis is on local produce and its preparation and presentation to Italian and foreign guests dotted around the Valeggiano landscape all year round: ARV, for the last 18 years, has organised the Festa del Nodo d’Amore (Lover’s Knot Festival) in mid June; Tortellini&Dintorni (Ravioli&Surroundings) is held in early September; October hosts Valeggio Produce; there is an Antiques Market every fourth Sunday of the month; Spring and autumn brings Valeggio Veste il Vintage (Vintage Valeggio).
So many recreational and tourist activities testify everyone’s commitment to promoting the Valeggiano territory, with its big open spaces, splendid sub-Mediterranean climate, the fact Mincio can easily be travelled by bicycle, the ancient, medieval relics, the culinary art and that certain, “hospitable” way that combines professionalism, creative flair and respect for local identity.
Nadia Pasquali
Junior Member ARV
The territory of Valeggio sul Mincio offers visitors a chance to experience unique landscapes, such as the Colline Moreniche, Valle del Mincio, Borghetto with its ancient mills, nature and landscape among the most beautiful in Italy, Villa Sigurtà and Sigurtà Garden and Park.
Equally renowned, as many have already discovered for themselves, is the excellent quality food and wine.
There are plenty of occasions where you can get to know and savour everything this splendid land offers the palate and the eyes. Traditional local main courses include Tortellini di Valeggio, a light pastry filled with mixed meat braised in white Custoza wine, served daily in the numerous restaurants and guesthouses that have been celebrating the ritual of good food for years. The Association of Restaurateurs of Valeggio (ARV) has made this ritual into an actual legend entitled “Lover’s Knot”. It tells the story of two young lovers MALCO and SIlVIA who seal their love by dissolving in the waters of the Mincio and beforehand leaving the local women some yellow silk fabric twisted to form a lover’s knot. To this day local women shape the Tortellini by hand in the shape of a lover’s knot to celebrate this romantic legend.
If you prefer to cook Tortellini di Valeggio at home, they are available in numerous handmade pasta shops which have for years continued the tradition of making handmade Tortellini in their workshops.
There are plenty of other forms of egg-based pasta, filled will pumpkin, mushrooms, asparagus, herbs and cheese from Lessinia, allowing you to taste all the flavours of the different seasons.
Valeggiano cuisine is rich and varied from its starters to desserts: hand produced cold cuts, created from a food chain that is completely locally sourced; the varied production of fruit and vegetables focuses mainly on the cultivation of Kiwis and Verona Peaches PGI, all produce available out of season as stewed fruit and vegetables or jam.
The age-old experience of Valeggiano cellars means the colours, aromas and flavours of a priceless winemaking heritage are fully converted and expertly expressed in local wines, such as Custoza White Doc, Bardolino Doc and Chiaretto Doc.
A typical Valeggiano lunch ends with scented and romantic Rose Cake, from a sixteenth-century recipe dedicated to Isabella D’Este and baked in the cake shops in Valeggio sul Mincio. They also offer other decorated pastries and cakes: Dolce Valeggio (a soft, Madeira sponge log with a butter cream filling, covered in chocolate icing), Coppa al Bagno (homemade hazelnut ice-cream with an original combination of liquors) and Tortellini di Cioccolato (chocolate ravioli).
There’s a multitude of shows organised by the Municipality of Valeggio sul Mincio and by the Office for the Promotion of Culture, Tourism and Production Activities, in collaboration and with the support of local associations, where emphasis is on local produce and its preparation and presentation to Italian and foreign guests dotted around the Valeggiano landscape all year round: ARV, for the last 18 years, has organised the Festa del Nodo d’Amore (Lover’s Knot Festival) in mid June; Tortellini&Dintorni (Ravioli&Surroundings) is held in early September; October hosts Valeggio Produce; there is an Antiques Market every fourth Sunday of the month; Spring and autumn brings Valeggio Veste il Vintage (Vintage Valeggio).
So many recreational and tourist activities testify everyone’s commitment to promoting the Valeggiano territory, with its big open spaces, splendid sub-Mediterranean climate, the fact Mincio can easily be travelled by bicycle, the ancient, medieval relics, the culinary art and that certain, “hospitable” way that combines professionalism, creative flair and respect for local identity.
Nadia Pasquali
Junior Member ARV
