Combining simple, local ingredients with tradition, a dash of history and never-ending love Mantuan cuisine is known as the food of princes and people. Many dishes date back to the days of the House of Gonzaga, a princely family that ruled from 1328 to 1708. Others combine quality local produce with the age-old tradition of filled pasta to create Mantua’s iconic Tortelli di Zucca or pumpkin tortelli. No surprise, then, that this year Mantua is the European Capital of Gastronomy 2017. So what’s on the menu?

Every year the International Institute for Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism, IGCAT, embraces a couple of European provinces as their Regions of Gastronomy. Winners are chosen based on their approach and attitude to food following ingredients from the first shoots in the field to the family or restaurant table. So IGCAT look at everything from a region’s agriculture, local produce, food production customs, flavors, culinary culture, hospitality and traditional eating, and they celebrate and promote regions that have a better quality of life thanks to their distinctive gastronomic culture.