EASYROME

The region of Veneto is located on the Gulf of Venice in northeastern Italy. Its capital Venice hosts an extremely popular Carnival and is one of the world's top tourist spots year round. As elsewhere in most of Italy, spring here is more of an April and May thing than a March thing. But Venice is still Venice. And as discussed below, the region of Venezia offers more than just Venice.

The historic city of Venezia (Venice) has a population of a mere 60 thousand in a much larger urban area. Venice has always had a special relationship with its water, both the canals and the sea. On March 25 the Doge, the city's chief of state, tosses a wedding ring into the sea in a symbolic marriage ceremony saying "We wed you, Oh sea, as a sign of true and perpetual dominion." On the last Sunday of March the resort city of Cortina d'Ampezzo (population 6 thousand) in the Dolomites not far from Austria hosts the fourth and final leg of the Italian Winter Triathalon that includes foot racing, mountain biking and skiing. Previous sites were in Piancavallo (Friuli-Giulia Venezia), Malles (Trentino-Alto Adige) and Courmayeur (Val d'Aosta). Verona is a city of about 250 thousand. From several days in early April it hosts Vinitaly, said to be the number one Italian wine festival of the year. For an idea of its magnitude consider that there are over 3 thousand exhibitors and an estimated 100-150 thousand participants from almost 80 countries. This exhibition is accompanied by an Agrifood exhibition, an olive oil exhibition, and a showcase of technological applications for wine and olive oil.

The city of Bassano del Grappa, population about 40 thousand located some 20 miles (35 kilometers) north of Venice hosts an Asparagus Festival from the end of April to the beginning of May. The celebration focuses on white asparagus, grown here for centuries after a hailstorm forced farmers to harvest part of the crop underground. In the interest of full disclosure this city is also a major production center for Grappa, a grape-based brandy containing from 37% to 60% alcohol.

On May first Venice celebrates Vela Venezia, a day consecrated to sail boats held in the lagoon just off of St. Mark's Square. On May's first weekend it's off to the medieval walled city of Montagnana for their Piacere Montagnana, a gastronomic festival showcasing the local prosciutto ham accompanied by music and I daresay some local wine. Both the city walls and the local ham are reputed to be among the best in Europe. I can't say the same for the local wine. For about ten days in early May the small town of Cimadolmo celebrates their Festival of White Asparagus including music, dancing, and soccer tournaments. The best wine for Asparagus is said to be the Gruener Veltliner an Austrian. If you want to go with an Italian I would try a Falanghina from southern Italy. If you want a Venetian wine go for Soave Superiore, but make sure to get a good one.

Levi Reiss wrote or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but to tell the truth, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Check out his wine website http://www.theworldwidewine.com with a weekly column reviewing $10 wines and new sections writing about (theory) and tasting (practice) organic and kosher wines.

Article Source: I Love Touring Italy - Springtime In the Veneto Region