Useful info

Mondomusica – Cremona
Il Bontà – Cremona
Fiera Internazionale del bovino da latte – Cremona
Fiera dei Mangiari – Mantova
Sapori & Colori – Mantova
Vivere Vintage – Mantova
Salone del Camper – Parma
Mercanteinfiera autunno – Parma
Mercanteinfiera primavera – Parma
Cibus – Parma
Cibus Tec – Parma
Abitare il tempo – Verona
Vinitaly – Verona
Fieracavalli – Verona
Fieragricola – Verona

Sconosciuta compagnia

Just 50 meters from the Luna Residence Hotel.
 http://www.sconosciutacompagnia.com/

A modo mio

Via Antonio Maria Molossi, 29, Casalmaggiore, IT 26041. Discounted with HOTEL menu at a cost of € 26. Reservations: www.amodomiodadiego.it

Osteria della Bassa

Closed on Tuesdays. Casalmaggiore (Vicobellignano) – CR Via Dante Alighieri, 66, 2 – Tel. 0375 40987. The restaurant is 200 metres from the Luna Residence Hotel
www.facebook.com/osteriadellabassa

Piccolo Paradiso

Closed on Mondays – Set menu – pizza at noon – fresh fish all week. The outdoor tables are under a wooden pergola and the indoor environment is comfortable and hospitable. Vicobellignano di Casalmaggiore – CR Via Molossi, 47 – Tel. e Fax 0375 201312. The restaurant is 250 m from the Luna Residence Hotel
https://www.ristorantepizzeriapiccoloparadiso.it/

La Picara
S.S. Sabbionetana, 420/km 36, Casalmaggiore (CR)
https://lapicara.it/

Piàsa Vècia

Closed on Tuesdays – from 10.30 to 15 and from 17.30 to 24.00 At the Piàsa Vècia salsamenteria you can taste excellent wine, high quality cold cuts and cheeses even fresh homemade pasta Casalmaggiore Cr – Piazza Turati, 16. Tel. 340 7104893 The restaurant is 2000 m from the Luna Residence Hotel.
https://www.facebook.com/people/Salsamenteria-Pi%C3%A0sa-V%C3%A8cia/100054352698921/

Osteria Da Nadia

Sabbioneta. 
https://www.facebook.com/people/Osteria-da-Nadia/100090474888184/


Osteria La Dispensa

In “Piazza delle Armi”, in Sabbioneta, where the castle once stood, the Osteria la dispensa, framed by the “Galleria degli Antichi”, offers refined and traditional Mantuan cuisine using only natural, selected and seasoned products. From pumpkin ravioli to pike in sauce and mule stew, the menu is enriched by traditional desserts such as the “Sbrisolona” cake with zabaglione and the intense aroma of Mantuan Lambrusco. Closed on Mondays Sabbioneta – MN Via Galleria, 3 – Tel. 0375 221107. The restaurant is 8 km from the Luna Residence Hotel
https://www.facebook.com/people/Osteria-La-Dispensa/100063642181255/

Ristorante Corte Bondeno

Ancient farmhouse built in the ‘700 remains unchanged in the masonry structure, and in the furnishings, located in the quiet and peace of the Lombard-Emilian Po Valley, typical local cuisine and traditional menus Sabbioneta – MN Via Mezzana Loria – Tel. 349 6520504 – 345 8012912. The restaurant is 12 km away from the Luna Residence Hotel
https://ristorantecortebondeno.it/

Antica Trattoria Gianna

Closed on Monday evenings and Tuesdays – Typical local cuisine and different menus depending on the season. The restaurant is carefully furnished and air-conditioned, the walls and ceiling are decorated with frescoes and paintings. Surrounded by greenery ideal in summer Recorfano di Voltido – CR Via Maggiore, 12 – Tel. 0375 98351 – 380371. The Trattoria is about 14 km from the Luna Residence Hotel
https://www.anticatrattoriagianna.com/

Il salame Peasant civilization rhymes with salami, with pig farming. The pig was a source of wealth for the people of the fields, from the meat of the famous animal was obtained enough to feed entire families. This farming tradition gave rise to the Cremonese salami industry, which boasts an international reputation, with brands of absolute quality. Traditional Cremonese salami, soft with a hint of garlic, is deservedly famous. Alongside the famous salami are all the other products generously bestowed by the pig: mortadella, cooked and raw hams. The presence of numerous producers, dedicated to pork and beef processing in the Po Valley, is due to the seamless integration of the dairy industry, cereal cultivation (especially corn) and pig farming: cereals and grasslands provide the feed for pigs and dairy cows, whey from a by-product becomes excellent feed for pigs, manure and slurry maintain and improve the fertility of the land, with corrections due to the nitrate problem, and artisans first and industries later process the milk and meat. In March 1995, the Cremona Salami Protection Consortium was founded with the aim of enhancing the production of the salami, the pride of the Cremona table. The Consortium has successfully begun the procedure to obtain Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status and is on the home stretch for European recognition.

Il culatello Culatello di Zibello is a protected designation of origin cured meat typical of the province of Parma. It is also listed among the Slow Food Presidia of Emilia Romagna. It is produced from the thigh of the pig. The Consorzio del Culatello di Zibello has established that processing can only take place in a specific and circumscribed area and exclusively in the period between October and February, when the Bassa is shrouded in fog and cold. It is in that period that the part of meat obtained from the thigh of adult pigs, raised according to traditional methods, is dehorned, defatted, boned, separated from the bow and trimmed by hand, so as to give it its characteristic “pear” shape. These operations will then be followed, after about ten days, by salting and the so-called investiture, that is, stuffing the sausage into the pig’s bladder and tying it with twine, which, after curing, should be large and irregularly meshed. Curing in the cellar accompanies Culatello from winter mists to summer sultriness, to arrive on our tables the following winter in the fullness of its most original flavor qualities. The aging period is from a minimum of 10 months for the smaller pieces (at least 3 kg) to an average of 14 months for all pieces. Annual production is about 50,000 pieces of Culatello di Zibello DOP. Zibello is about 30 km from Luna Residence

Il Parmigiano Reggiano e il Grana Padano Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano are very similar cheeses whose production technology is almost identical. Differences in aging and cow feeding denote a higher quality of Parmigiano Reggiano than Grana Padano. Parmigiano Reggiano is produced with one processing per day, Grana Padano can be produced with two processing. Since the milk comes from two daily milkings (evening and morning), Grana Padano can by law be produced with milk from only one milking even though this is not normally the case. Both cheeses are prized and very good, and typical of the cuisine of the lower Po Valley. Grana Padano is a PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) cheese that must be produced, according to the regulations, in a well-defined area, from raw milk from cows with controlled feed, and only from authorized dairies, in traditional double-bottomed copper boilers. The province of Cremona is one of the largest producers of Grana Padano: every dairy in the province makes the wheels, which are sold at its own store or organized distribution.

Il tortelli di zucca e il cotechino Tortelli di zucca: of Mantuan, Cremonese, and Ferrara tradition, the earliest historical references to tortelli or cappellacci di zucca date back to the year 1000, both in the Ferrara and Mantua areas, in the courts of the Este and Gonzaga families. The traditional dressing (melted butter and cheese) is sometimes flavored with a few leaves of sage. The traditional recipe has them seasoned with melted butter and Parmesan cheese. An excellent alternative is a cherry tomato sauce simmered a little and enriched with dried chilies. To avoid prolonged cooking, do not add water but only a little wine. Pumpkin tortelli are the traditional Christmas Eve dish with their special taste, in which the sweetness of pumpkin and the spiciness of mustard are combined. Pumpkin tortelli consist of egg pastry shells, usually rectangular in shape with a closed size of about 60 x 35 mm, filled with a mixture of boiled pumpkin, macaroons, mostarda, grana cheese and nutmeg. Rightly included among traditional Italian agri-food products, it is the signature dish of Mantuan cuisine, but it is also widespread, with a few variations, in the nearby provinces of Parma, Reggio nell’Emilia, Piacenza and Cremona. The salient feature of this dish is the combination of the sweet flavor of the pumpkin, with the salty of the grana cheese, the bittersweet of the amaretti and the spicy of the mostarda. In Casalmaggiore, the best of the Casalasca gastronomic tradition (as this area of the Cremona region is called) is on stage from November 1 to 6, with tastings of blisgon, the pumpkin tortello, and cotechino, the true stars of local cuisine. Both cotechino and blisgon from Casalmaggiore were granted DE.CO, or the “mark” of Denominazione Comunale, in 2010. Cotechino is the cornerstone dish of winter gastronomy in the Cremonese, Mantuan and Casalasco areas in particular. This sausage is prepared from the meat of freshly slaughtered pork. Pig breeding has always been practiced in these areas, and pork processing has achieved excellent results.

Il lesso e la mostarda No less frequent on Cremonese tables is boiled meat, accompanied by the ever-present mostarda. Sweet and savory come together as one, combining flavors that seem to recall ancient Roman cuisine. A leading cattle-breeding province and the land of great charcuterie, Cremona puts meat first, after soups. Cremonese lesso can be either beef, enriched in cooking with chicken feet, bones, and vegetables, or chicken stuffed with mortadella, meat bread, and cheese. The meat mixture is accompanied, unfailingly, by mostarda, a typical product of Cremona and its territory. Cremonese mostarda is the same age as nougat, or nearly so: made with whole fruits or in large chunks, it is different from Mantua’s sliced or minced. It consists of candied fruit dipped in glucose syrup flavored with mustard. The most commonly used fruits, whole or in pieces, are cherries, pears, mandaranges, figs, apricots, peaches, melons, plums, citrons, pumpkin and watermelon. The origin of Mostarda di Cremona is, as the name implies, in preparations made from grape must (mustum ardens), which, cooked and concentrated, was consumed in its natural state or with small amounts of mustard.

I marubini Marubini are a type of stuffed pasta recognized as a traditional food product for the Lombardy region. A typical dish of the Cremonese and Piacenza plains, with a filling made from braised beef, pistum (Cremonese salami mixture), grana padano cheese, and nutmeg that are cooked and served in the three broths obtained using beef, pork, and chicken. They are also usually eaten in the northeastern Piacenza plain. In the rest of the Piacentino and Parmense areas there is a closely related dish, however, which goes by the name of anolini and which the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies has recognized, at the proposal of the Emilia-Romagna Region, as one of the traditional Italian food products typical of the province of Piacenza. Marubino in brodo is undoubtedly the most classic of first courses. Its origin dates back to the mid-1500s: the recipe was handed down to us by Platina himself. The filling of marubino consists of: beef stew, salamella or fresh garlic salami, Grana Padano cheese, and, of course, brodo di terza. Caposaldo is the tortello cremasco, in ingredients close to the casalasco tortello, but more elaborate in filling. Other Cremasque specialties: puff pastry filled with cheese, grana, raisins, mostaccino, candied citron, mints, nutmeg, lemon, egg marsala, which has moment of glory in the famous “Tortellata cremasca” in Crema at the turn of Ferragosto.

I dolci cremonesi Among the typical sweets of the Cremonese land, one cannot fail to mention Torrone, a mixture of sugar, honey and almonds that owes its origin to the great celebrations in 1441 for the marriage of Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza. But this is not the only delicacy from the land of Stradivari. The Cremona area has its rough and savory dessert in the Sbrizulusa, sister of the Mantuan cake. Also from the furrows comes out the Bertolina, a typical Cremasque dessert. Sbrizulusa is dry cake made of corn and wheat flour mixed with lard, lemon zest and a teaspoon of liqueur. Bertolina is a homemade cake, formerly made with bread dough, now with cake dough, but always made with strawberry grapes. l bambunèen de la nòona are very simple cookies that lard makes crumbly and are mellowed with zabaglione. Equally typical is Dolce Cremona, a soft cake made of almond flour and covered in chocolate. Bussolano di Soresina, a soft doughnut, is a sign of a family tradition.

Il torrone It owes its origin to the wedding between Bianca Maria Visconti and Francesco Sforza. For the occasion they organized a banquet for 6,000 guests and entertainment throughout the city. On this occasion Cremonese confectioners prepared a cake made of sugar and almonds, giving the curious mixture the shape of the Torrazzo, the symbol of the city. Hence the name Nougat would be born. Here the privilege of considering itself the home of the famous dessert that from October until all the Christmas holidays cannot be missed on the festive tables. Although nougat is the characteristic dessert of Cremona, the raw materials that make it have always not been acquired locally but imported from other places, with the exception of small supplies of honey and eggs. Although nougat is prepared according to recipes and with classic ingredients, it has, from time to time, been enriched with flavorings to meet the tastes of different eras: vanilla, mint, citron, orange, rose, carnation, nutmeg, cinnamon, chocolate coffee and millefiori.

Il melone Its origin is uncertain, perhaps from ancient Egypt. With its golden color and rich flesh, it has a home of choice: Casteldidone, in the Cremona area. The melon (Cucumis melo) is a climbing plant in the Cucurbitaceae family. The term melon denotes both the fruit and the plant itself, depending on the contexts in which it is used. The melon fruit is bulky, oval or roundish in shape, and “sliced” divisions are visible on the skin. The skin is nearly smooth or barely wrinkled, and the color can range from pale yellow to shades of green. The flesh varies from white to orange and is juicy and very fragrant when it reaches maturity. The central, fibrous cavity contains many seeds. The melon’s nutritional value comes from its richness in sugars, vitamins and minerals. It is endowed with refreshing properties and aids digestive processes. Famous is the pairing of melon with a good plate of cured meats, unfailing on the summer tables of the Cremonese.

Il lambrusco The ancient Romans (Virgil) referred to the wild vine by this name. The origin of the term goes back to Paleo-Ligurian peoples who settled in the Po Valley regions before the appearance of the Etruscans; it derives from the erimo lap/lab (stone, rock) and means rocky. Vines grew wild in forests. They had smaller berries than cultivated vines and were dioecious (male and female). The male flowers were harvested and used to enrich the wines of cultivated vines by correcting their aroma, taste and acidity. They were also used as medicinal plants. In Reggio’s cellars each farmhouse had a different lambrusco. Today, under the term lambrusco, as many as 10 grape varieties all with black berries are registered in the National Register of Vine Varieties. Of these, 8 are grown for the production of wines of controlled origin. Important are our Viadanese Lambrusco and Mantua Lambrusco. Lambrusco is a wine that goes well with the products of Emilian cuisine, sometimes characterized by products rich in fats and flavors. It also pairs well with robust foods such as pork sausages and lamb, and is excellent with the typical cheeses of the area: grana and parmigiano-reggiano. It is also used in cooking in the preparation of dishes, especially typical Emilian ones, such as zampone and cotecchino, or first courses such as risotto with Lambrusco and pasta with Lambrusco. This type of wine is also used in the preparation of cocktails, then mixed with other spirits and fruits and served as an aperitif. It is also used in vinotherapy for its skin-preserving properties.