Discovering the traditional dishes of our city and province in a full menu from appetizer to dessert.
From appetizer to dessert, the table in Bergamo is always set with a variety of delicacies to enjoy. The land of Bergamo is not only to be discovered through historical, cultural and geographical attractions among historic villages, valleys and natural views, but also during meals, as here food and wine need an honorable mention and have always been highly appreciated by the tourists who visit us.
Today, we'll take you on a kind of unusual tour: our stops will be the courses of a typical Bergamo menu.
Appetizer with a charcuterie board
Did you know that Bergamo is called the European Cheese Capital? Here you can find the Cheese Valley, with its over 30 typical traditional cheeses, 3 slow food presidia and up to 9 PDO cheeses.
We have Taleggio, Bitto, Agrì, Branzi, Formagella di Scalve, and Salva Cremasco. And also the Formai de Mut, "the mountain cheese" made only from mountain pasture milk and known for its flavors and aromas that are different every time. While "Strachìtunt" (Round Stracchino) is made with the milk of "stràcch" cows, that means “tired” from the transhumance, and Quartirolo, the cheese of late September, bears the name of the last blades of grass called Quartirola, that is the grass grown after the third cut of hay.
From cheeses to cured meats, salami reigns supreme. It has very ancient origins in Bergamo and is almost entirely produced by hand. The killing of the pig is a fixed appointment of the winter: as the famous saying goes, "nothing is thrown away from the pig," and there are numerous cured meats made from it, including salami, bacon, black pudding, sausage, cotechino, lard, and bacon.
Stuffed pasta dish
When you think of Bergamo, you think of casoncello. Casoncelli are the star of pasta dishes and celebrations and can be found in every restaurant in the city and province. Do you know what they are? They're stuffed pasta filled with meat, grana cheese, amaretti, raisins, and parsley and they're topped with melted butter, sage, and bacon.
The second weekend in May, Città Alta dresses up for the De Casoncello, a festival commemorating the birthday of this typical dish.
There is a lighter version of casoncelli with a filling of cheese, eggs, butter, breadcrumbs, and spices. These are scarpinocc, a typical and ancient preparation from Parre, in the Seriana Valley.
Second course with side dish
On Sundays, Bergamo's tables never run out of polenta. A dish that goes with everything and can be prepared in a thousand different ways: in short, it is always the right choice. The most common polenta is the yellow one, but there are some autochthonous species of corn that you can’t to find anywhere else: the Originario dell'Isola, the Rostrato Rosso di Rovetta, and the Mais Spinato di Gandino. Try it on the griddle on its own, "cunsada," which means seasoned with butter and sage, or as a traditional side dish paired with meat, fish, or cured meats (highly recommended with salami!). You can also enjoy polenta taragna, a dish made of a combination of flours, corn, and buckwheat, along with cheese and melted butter.
Order rabbit in red wine and hot polenta at the restaurant, and don't forget to ask for "pucì", a small groove in the polenta filled with gravy sauce.
Capù, which are dumplings of boiled cabbage stuffed with meat, or breadcrumbs and cheese, are a typical traditional dish that is not frequently found in restaurants. The cabbage-stuffed dumpling is a simple, recycled dish that was once a meager substitute for capon or chicken, which only the richer and wealthier social classes could afford. During the summer, events and festivals dedicated to this dish are frequently organized, such as in Parre, Val Seriana, and other towns around the province.
You'll also hear about polenta e osei, which comes in both savory and sweet varieties. The savory dish, which included polenta and small birds on a spit, is very old and was popular with peasant families during the hunting season. Today, it is easier to find "uccellini scappati" in restaurants: these are skewers of meat wrapped in bacon that are always served with warm polenta.
The Colli di Bergamo escarole is a prized salad variety with white leaves: it is sown at the end of July, and by the end of October each head is tied, preventing light from reaching the inner leaves, allowing them to stay white.
Last but not least: the dessert
Bergamo is also known for its desserts! There's a sweet version of polenta e osei, a small yellow sponge cake filled with cream, chocolate and liqueurs, glazed with yellow sugar and topped with a small dark chocolate bird. The domed shape and name are a nod to the savory version.
"If you are lovesick, all you need is a slice of Turta del Dunizet and everything will be alright" says a Bergamasque legend about a delicious dessert you must try during your visit to Bergamo. The Donizetti cake is a doughnut-shaped Margherita cake with candied apricot, candied pineapple and maraschino cherries added to the dough to give it a delicate but intense flavor.
If you're in San Pellegrino, make sure to try the Biscotti del Bigio, the puppet smile made with the same recipe and artisanal method since 1934.
Did you know that stracciatella ice cream originated in Bergamo? At the Pasticceria Marianna in Città Alta, to be exact.
Enrico Panattoni experimented and combined fiordilatte ice cream with some dark chocolate chips in his gelateria, giving birth to the unique stracciatella flavor we all know and love, perfect for refreshing after lunch, as a snack, or at any time of day. Discover its history by walking from our b&b to Città Alta along an evocative path through nature and secret views.
And what are you drinking?
Val Calepio is the wine of the Bergamo people! It is made in the province, mainly in the hills, and is the result of the union of two grape varieties, Merlot (40% to 75%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (25% to 60%). You can find the Valcalepio rosso DOC, the Valcalepio rosso riserva DOC, the Valcalepio bianco DOC and the Valcalepio moscato passito DOC.
Moscato di Scanzo, Italy's smallest DOCG, is produced in Bergamo! It’s a black berry raisin Moscato produced only in the hilly area of the municipality of Scanzorosciate and only from grapes of the variety of the same name, Moscato di Scanzo. The Moscato Festival of Scanzo is held in September, and participating farms host tastings.
Watercourses and lakes in Bergamo are the source of the famous blue gold, namely a wide variety of mineral waters.
. San Pellegrino, the world's most famous and star-loved water, is produced in the Brembana Valley in the town of the same name. Other examples include Gaverina water, which comes from the thermal town of Gaverina in Val Cavallina, Bracca and Flavia water from Zogno, and Prealpi water from Almè in Bergamo's Romanesque area. And many, many more.
Take a break for a cold beer and try Hammer, Hopskin, Maspy, or Elav beer, Bergamo craft beers whose brewery can also be visited.
We are waiting for you in Bergamo with a full menu to taste! Check availability and book a room right away.
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