WTI Magazine #28    2014 May, 1
Author : folclore.it      Translation by:

There is a large portion of the territory of Mantua, the one between the left bank of the Mincio and the province of Verona, from Roverbella to Ostiglia, which is characterized by large expanses of land crossed by irrigation canals.

It 's the area of rice fields, with rice cultivation. A native of Asia, rice has been finding a fertile home in the countryside near Mantua since 1500, thanks to the massive land reclamation projects that allowed to dispose of the large quantities of water that this particular cultivation requires.

The typical quality of the area is "Vialone Nano" rice, celebrated in the local cuisine in dishes such as the "Pilota risotto", topped with a particular, local kind of sausages called "salamelle", or fresh water fish.

This popular dish from Mantua, served at the court of the Gonzaga family and shared with the population of Verona, owes its name to the workers involved in the rice-husking, called "piloti" (drivers) because they had to work with the "pila", the large mortar where rice was separated from the glumes by means of a sort of mechanical pestle maneuvered by hand.

They were specialists in the preparation of the dish and had the habit, linked to the large appetite due to the heavy manual labor, to season very much this rice, doubling the dose of butter, salami and cheese.

The Pilota risotto, originally prepared in the farms to celebrate the harvest of rice, is one of the cornerstones of the local cuisine and, because of its different preparation technique, it is improperly called risotto.