Wine
The Berici Hills (‘Colli Berici’) are a group of hills, stand out, south of Vicenza, with a total area of about 165 km ². The hills are of volcanic origin, enjoy a mild welcoming climate, ideal for vine growing, an activity already present in these places since very ancient times. Grape pips from the bronze age, of the “Vitis silvestris” variety, were found in the remains of the piles of lake Fimon.
Wines from Berici Hills: Chardonnay Colli Berici; White Tocai; Sauvignon; White Pinot; Merlot from the Berici hills; Cabernet from the Berici hills; Berici Hills sparkling wine Monte Berico – Vicenza
Possibility of wine tour and tastings.
Food
Pizza
The real Italian pizza is cooked on a wood stove.
At the holiday house “3 lasagne” you will have the opportunity to prepare and taste a delicious pizza!
On request an expert “pizza maker” will teach you the secrets of the preparation of the good pizza.
Stockfish Vicenza-style
The Venetian nobleman Pietro Querini decided to travel to the Low Countries in search of honour and richness. He prepared the “Cocca Veneziana”, a ship with a tonnage of 700 tons made of cypress and, after loading it with Malvasia wine, spices, cotton and other valuable goods, he departed from Candia (Crete) with a 68-man crew on 25 April 1431. On 7 December, the waves overwhelmed the boat, taking away its framework and the essential steering equipment. The captain therefore decided to use the lifeboats, even if the closest piece of land (Ireland) was 700 miles away. 47 sailors and Querini boarded the bigger one. After many adventures at the hands of a rough sea the big lifeboat reached a deserted island. The survivors, exhausted, could quench their thirst with the abundant snow that covered the island.. The remaining crew ate the few molluscs and limpets that they found on the beach, being too weak to even try and fish. The next morning they were given new hope: while inspecting the island (with great difficulty), they found a wooden hut where they could shelter. The hut was proof that there were other inhabitants nearby. They also found a large fish that had been washed up on the shore, so they used it to keep their hunger at bay for a period. A few days later they were found by three fishermen (a father and his two sons) from the nearby island of Rost, who saw smoke coming from the hut while they were close to the area in their boat. This is how the remaining survivors (nine with Querini) were saved. The Italians stayed on the island for three and a half months as guests of the families. Querini tells us that 120 people lived on the island, and that the men fished. “Two types of fish are caught in big quantities: stockfish (cod) and dabs or very big soles. The stockfish are dried in the wind and sun, and they become hard as wood. When it is time to eat them, they are hit with the back of an axe until they become so thin that they seem to be gristle. The people then prepare them with butter and spices.” That sad adventure (but with its happy ending for the survivors), was a useful experience for Querini, who came to know stockfish and introduced it to Venice.
