What kind of food would you enjoy in Venice centuries ago? The question is quite interesting and answers can be found in paintings, recipes printed in the early 16th century not to mention local chronicles and reports of the splendor of elaborate banquets.
Food in Venice in the ancient times: Fusion Cuisine ante litteram
Let’s start from what seems a problem: lack of ingredients. The soil of the Venetian islands is quite challenging. The presence of salt, the frequent flooding events posed a question and as Marin Sanudo in his diaries of the early 16th century noted:
Et qui in questa terra non vi nasse alcuna cossa, tamen di tutto se trova abbondantemente… perché di ogni cossa et di ogne terra et parte del mondo che possa vegnir robba, massime da manzar, qui vi viene
(Marin Sanudo (1466-1536) De origine, situ et magistratibus urbis Venetae (Cronachetta, ed. Fulin, 1880). 1493-1530)
(In this land nothing was born and yet we can find everything and plenty of… as anything that exists in the world, in particular if it is something to eat, will then be delivered here)
The strong commercial and mercantile nature of Venice guaranteed therefore abundance of food and a great variety. In other words Venice was a city where you could enjoy international cuisine, where contamination (in a positive sense) of different parts of the world beautifully met. Would you like to enjoy wine from Greece? Spices from Asia or Africa? Well, come to Venice!
“Fusion cuisine” is now very fashionable, but it is not that new… even if in Venice it was born out of necessity or by chance.
Grimani Palace, detail of a capital in the inner courtyard, 16th century, Venice
A traditional “Venetian” specialty: Baccalà mantecato
Take the example of “baccalà mantecato”, cod whisked with extra virgin olive oil and turned into a soft, delicious cream you spread on bread or on grilled polenta.
The story of this Venetian specialty is quite well known. Pietro Querini, a Venetian patrician, left Crete in 1431 with his ship carrying spices and wine, directed towards the Atlantic coast. In December, when crossing the Channel, a major storm forced him and his crew to leave his ship. On a smaller vessel the almost 50 survivors finally reached the island of Røst, part of the Lofoten islands in Norway, in January. In his report to the Venetian Senate he described the experience and the local habit of preserving cod fish by drying it.
Of course Querini was not interested in the taste. Well, certainly he liked it. But what fascinated the Venetian patrician most was the preserving technique without the use of salt and the fact that you could transport the fish easily — it was light, it didn’t encumber and, I guess Querini didn’t know, but in this way all nutritional qualities remain unaltered.
A recipe book (and more) printed in 1526 in Venice
When it comes to recipes and menus, it was in Venice, in 1526 when —as I understand for the first time— a book was printed describing in a few pages not just how to cut the meat or cook, but also how to preserve it and how to set the table correctly (and in which order to bring the food to foreign visitors). The book was by Eustachio Celebrino from Udine and it was entitled “Il Refettorio”. Here we can see the frontispiece:
Celebrino, Eustachio, Il refettorio: Opera noua che insegna a parecchiar una mensa a vno conuito: & etiam a tagliar in tauola de ogni sorte carne & dar li cibi secondo lordine [!] che vsano gli scalchi per far honore a forestieri. Intitulata Refettorio. Appresso aggiontoui alcuni secreti apertinenti al cucinare: & etiam a conseruar carne e frutti longo tempo, Venezia, 1526
Banquets and business meals
When it comes to banquets, how can you forget the frescoed ceiling in the Doge’s palace of the hall designed for these events? By the way, banquets at the time of the Doges were regularly arranged so that the Doge as the Venetian State leader would meet all members of the Government in a non rigid, convivial way —and divert votes when needed during the official meetings. So yes, business meals are not new, either.
Paolo Caliari called Paolo Veronese, Convito in casa di Levi, Accademia Galleries, cat. 203, 1573
Detail of Paolo Caliari called Paolo Veronese, Convito in casa di Levi, Accademia Galleries, cat. 203, 1573
So what did they eat? Considering there’s always been a difference between the refined meal and the everyday meal, being the first often prepared with spices and dressings, being the second relatively modest and based on local products, here is a list.
Fish, meat, vegetables, game and dessert: Food in Venice at the time of the Doges
Fish: sturgeon, trouts, turbot and bream, sole fish and pike, grey mullet (we have several varieties), oysters, eel, roe and caviar, goby fish.
Meat: veal, cow, pork, dried meat.
Vegetables: lettuce, spinach, carrots, chickpeas, beans, lentils, asparagus, cabbage, artichokes…
And then game: ducks, quails, pigeons, chicken, roosters, even cranes and swans.
Grimani Palace, detail of frescoes by Camillo Mantovani, 16th century, Venice
When it comes to fruits: gooseberry, grapes, pears, figs, watermelons, cherries, almonds, chestnuts, daters and plums…
Among desserts: biscuits, candied pumpkins, marzipan, quince jelly…
Not bad as a variety!
Food in Venice today: “foodification” in the over tourism era
What about today? Well, in the recent years the bad fame Venice used to have in the 80s-90s of being a place where you hardly find a good restaurant is gone. I am sure you will find great guidebooks with the right advice —always check the recent ones, as often owners change and quality, too.
If I may, here is my advice. Be curious and adventurous, try flavors you don’t get at home. Don’t look for a great restaurant where you pay little money, where locals only go, possibly by a canal. Such places don’t exist.
Pietro Longhi, La polenta. ca. 1740, Museo del Settecento Veneziano, Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice
And consider getting a table indoors. I know, this is a weird piece of advice. But there is a reason why I say so.
Sitting inside or outside at a restaurant: an ethical approach
Overtourism has turned many cities into huge restaurants. No other activities, but food food and food. An obsession. In Venice by 2024 they have counted 1090 bars and restaurants. Too many. And what it’s worse is that because of Covid, the habit of placing tables and chairs outside, in the streets, in the squares, by every single corner has taken over. Even now, when covid is no longer an emergency, the local government has not tried to regulate the phenomenon. Or rather, it’s still allowed.
But a city is not a gigantic restaurant. Streets and squares are public spaces where you chat, meet, work and kids play. A bench is better than a restaurant table with a huge awning. The erosion of public spaces at the expense of private activities will be reversible if guests contribute with their responsible behavior. Trust me, food is still really good when you don’t eat in the street and it will taste even better when you know you are also doing something to support the city’s life.
by Luisella Romeo
registered tourist guide in Venice, Italy
www.seevenice.it
