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“What news on the Rialto?” wrote William Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice, and while his characters were discussing politics, they may as well have been talking about the renowned Venetian marketplace. Venice was once considered the golden capital of cosmopolitan Europe and was a major trade hub for North Africa and the Middle East, regularly importing culinary influences from both. Today, the city remains the capital of Italy’s northern Veneto region, and ingredients arrive at the Rialto Market from its seven geographically varied provinces, including the snowy peaks of the Dolomites and the fertile soils fed by coastal marshes and shallow lagoons. However people—and produce—have made their way to the market over the years, what has emerged is a culture and cuisine very newsworthy indeed.
Author Ursula Ferrigno. Photo: Charles Moore
Author Ursula Ferrigno has spent the past two decades exploring, writing, and teaching about Italian cuisine, and her latest book, Cucina del Veneto, dives deep into the ways of Venetian cooking. I spoke with her from her home in London and learned about her love for radicchio, the techniques that distinguish Venetian food from the rest of Italy,
