Lombardia

Geographically speaking, Lombardy's northern half is Alpine, while it's southern half makes up part of the Po River Basin which runs through the Lombardy capital of Milan. The region is home to an extraordinary number of stunning national monuments, many of which bear the marks of influence or invasion by other countries. Bordered by the region of Piedmont to the west, Emilia-Romagna to the south, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige to the east, and by Switzerland to the north, Lombardy is surrounded on all sides by very distinctive local cultures. Even within it's borders there is an east-west separation in language: Eastern Lombard, Western Lombard, and the common Italian are spoken (dependent on where you are in the region) with the unifying influence of Roman Catholicism providing a common Latin root from which several dialects and rather delightful corruptions have developed.

Culinary influences, then, are bound to be just as diverse as Lombardy's population base owing to the wildly varied terrain, internal distinctions in cooking styles and long history of influence by nearby and/or conquering nations (indeed, Lombardy takes it's name from the long-standing barbarian rulers, the Lombards, who claimed the area in the 500s). With such a heritage, cooking traditions are ingrained and recipes unlikely to have been changed for centuries in the important handing down of kitchen legacies. Resistance to altering recipes and techniques that have filled the Lombardy tables with good country food for a large span of recorded history can be seen as a sort of "foodie pride" which began its cultivation long before pop culture's re-embrace of and return to simple cooking, homemade and wholesome.

While the terrain of northern Alpine Lombardy can be harsh and sometimes unforgiving, water from snow on the mountains refreshes many of the streams and rivers branching out into other parts of the region, as well as other parts of Italy. Freshwater fish like trout and whitefish are abundant. The mountains tend to shelter somewhat the southern parts of the region, which allows for milder and more ideal growing conditions further down into the Po River Basin.

Rice grows remarkably well here, so it's no surprise that risotto dishes find their way onto almost every table. The cattle industry is booming, providing veal shanks for the ubiquitous ossobuco. The cattle success also maintains the basis for an equally thriving dairy industry, so much so that butter and cream are used much more liberally than the traditional olive oil base for sauces. Agri d' Valtorta, Bagoss, Bitto, Branzi, Gorgonzola, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Provolone Valpadana ... these are just a few of the many excellent cheeses crafted in Lombardy. It is truly a cheese-lover's paradise. Many dishes, therefore, seem much more informed by French and Swiss cooking traditions than those of the rest of Italy. Peppers, greens and lettuces, pumpkins, potatoes, onions and tomatoes are all abundant harvests. For the sweets-inclined, Lombardy is the home of the Christmas favorite, panettone (a rich bread made with candied fruits, citrus and raisins). Stews, soups, heavily-sauced polentas, hearty filled raviolis and slow-braised meat dishes are all-around favorites and any one of them would be enough to keep a traveler coming back to visit Lombardy for more.

Bring Lombardy into your own kitchen with some of the flavors that have defined the region for centuries. Leave any aversions to carbs and dairy at the door, and indulge in some of northern Italy's most beloved ingredients.