Pasta Highlights from Northern Italy

Our adventure kicked off in Treviso, where, over a welcome dinner in a villa surrounded by gardens, I had my first bite of bigoli in salsa—a thick pasta with anchovy and onion sauce. Simple, salty, and deeply satisfying.

Later, wandering Treviso’s canals, I found a cozy lunch spot and tried tagliatelle al radicchio trevigiano. The local chicory, sautéed with pancetta, was bold and slightly bitter—a perfect match for the fresh pasta.

In Verona, the city of love, I fell hard for tortelli di zucca—pumpkin-filled pasta with sage butter and crushed amaretti. Sweet and savory, it captured Verona’s charm in every bite.

Venice brought a seafood twist. For dinner, I had spaghetti al nero di seppia—black cuttlefish ink pasta. Briny, garlicky, and unforgettable.

In the hillside town of Asolo, we sipped Prosecco and enjoyed pillowy gnocchi di ricotta e spinaci in sage butter. Light, fresh, and perfect with the local bubbles.

Up in the Dolomites, I tried a regional specialty: casunziei all’ampezzana—beet-filled ravioli topped with butter and poppy seeds. Sweet, earthy, and totally unique.

We ended in Bassano del Grappa, and our farewell dinner featured bigoli al ragù d’anatra—thick noodles with a rich duck sauce. Deep, warm flavors that matched the mood of our final night.

Northern Italy fed us well—with food, with beauty, and with unforgettable bowls of pasta.