What to Eat and Drink in Bergamo

The province of Bergamo is rich in high-quality culinary products, starting with its various types of cheese. Notable among these are Branzi, Formaggella della Valtellina, Formai de mut, Taleggio, Gorgonzola, Stracchini, and goat cheeses. All these cheeses are used to prepare one of the region’s most traditional dishes: polenta taragna, which is eaten mainly in winter. Bergamo’s signature first courses include “Casonsèi de la bergamasca”—which differ from their Brescia counterparts in that they are seasoned with pancetta—and “Scarpinocc de Par,” made with fresh pasta. There are also minestrone, soups, risottos, barley soup, “strangolapreti,” and spinach gnocchetti. As for main courses, these include kid goat, stewed snails, fried frogs, blood sausage, and fresh salami. There are numerous desserts, among which the chocolate-covered Clusone cookies stand out; the San Pellegrino cookies; marzipan treats shaped like polenta and “osèi,” made with sponge cake, corn flour, and sugar, and decorated with small chocolate pieces shaped like little birds; and also the Treviglio cake and the Donizetti cake, which is a sort of crumbly ring cake with candied pineapple and apricot. Since the early 1970s, Valcalepio has become a highly renowned wine-producing region, eventually earning the prestigious DOC certification for its red, white, and Moscato Passito wines.