For many years, Venice has held a steady place among the world’s most popular destinations. Famous for its beautiful canals and amazing palaces, Venice boasts a dream-like atmosphere that only a city built on water canevoke. The locals’ Venice can be enigmatic, and no aspect of Venetian culture has been more underrated or misunderstood over the last decades than Venetian cuisine.
A Small assortment of cicchetti. Photo by Pedro Sousa via CC, adapted by ParTASTE.
An unfortunate combination of bad policy by local restaurants and lack of education on tourists’ part has resulted in a mass under-appreciation of Venetiangastronomy. But now, thanks to a renewed interest incicchetti, traditionalVenetian delicacies and mouthwatering local dishes aresteppingback into the spotlight and have started to be enjoyed again by Italians and foreignvisitors alike.
What are Cicchetti?
Cicchetti are small snacks, similar in concept to Spanish tapas, which are typically eaten accompanied bya small glass of wine, called anombra. Some theories imply that the Venetian word cicchettoderives from the Spanish word chico, used to implicate somethingsmall, since the size of cicchettiis small like an appetizer. Historically,bàcari(wine bars) offeredcicchetti along with the local house wine to beeatenstanding at the counter of the bar. In Italian culture, a good glass of wine is always consumed with something to eat as it helps to avoid getting drunk unintentionally!
There is a great variety when it comes to different types of cicchettiand,depending on the creativity of the chef, theycan becompletely unique to a particularbàcaro or osteria. Cicchettican range from uovo sodo con arringa (hard boiled egg topped with herring fillet), to acciughe marinate (vinegar marinated anchovies), to a small portion of seppioline alla griglia (grilled baby squid), to panino con il salame (a small bread roll filled with local salame).
Polpette, photo by Flavia Conidi via CC.
The most typical cicchetti, those which are most loved by Venetians and that you are guaranteed to find in almost every bàcaro, includesucculent polpette (fried meatballs), slices of grilled polenta topped with mouthwatering creamy baccalà mantecato (creamed cod) and bite-size crostini with sarde in saor (sardines in an onion and vinegar sauce), just to name a few.Regardless of the specific cicchetti you encounter, they should all befreshly prepared and are generally created with seasonal and local products, as are all of the most authentic dishes found in Italy.Cicchetti can be ordered individually or you can opt for acichetada, a platter which includes a selection of the house specialties. The price for anindividual cicchetto ranges from €1.00 to€2.50 depending onthe type and size.
No matterwhichcicchetti you order, they should always be washed down with anombra of the local house wine.Ombra, which literally translates to “shade”,canrefer to a small glass of red or white wine. One legend says that the name comes from the fact that Venetian wine sellers used to stand in Saint Mark’s Square selling wine from their stalls under the shade of the church tower. As the shade shifted, they moved their stalls,thus keepingtheir ambrosial drink cool.
The basilica in Piazza San Marco. Photo by Turinboy via CC, adapted by ParTASTE.
The locals used to say, “Andiamo a bere all’ombra del campanile,” meaning, “Let’s go and drink in the shade of the church tower.” As years went by, the saying was abbreviatedand now locals simply say, “Andiamo a bere un’ombra,” or, “Let’s go and drink a shade.” Another theory suggeststhat the term ombra comes from the fact that the small glass and serving size is only a “shade” of a proper glass of wine, so that is why the locals refer to it in that way! Regardless of which explanation you believe, the pleasure of a nice ombra, enjoyedin the company of friends, still lives on today, always accompanied bya cicchetto or two.
What Type of Wine Should be Orderedwith Cicchetti?
The most typical wine to order with your cicchetti is a Veneto wine. Not many people realizethat Venice produces the largest variety of red and white wines in Italy and it also produces the largest volumeof wine in the country, most of which is consumedlocally!
Wine serve on tap. Photo by Eric Parker via CC, adapted by ParTASTE.
The best and most typical wines to drinkin Venice are Prosecco, the light sparkling wine now famous internationally, Raboso, a light red wine with a little hint of peppery spice, Merlot, the most commonly consumed red wine in Venice, Pinot Grigio, a very common dry white wine on the Venetian tableandRibolla, a light but delicious white wine.
As is customary,all of these wines should beserved drafted, fromthe tap. It is very rare that Veneto wine, apart from Prosecco, is served from a bottle in an authenticbàcaro. Typical Venetowines areyoung, smooth, refreshing and cheap – an ombra will usually cost around €1.00.
An Aperol Spritz, in the making
If you aren’t in the mood for wine, you aren’t required to drink it when eating cicchetti.Instead, you can opt for aworld famous Spritz, prepared with good quality Prosecco, sparkling water and a typical Italian aperitif of your choosinglike Select, Aperol or Campari, according to how bitter you’d like your drink to be.
Andiamo per Bàcari
The social ritual of going out for drinks andcicchettiisreferred tobyVenetianswith the expressionandar per bàcari,meaning to go to wine bars.Toandar per bàcariis about more than the destination – it means coming together to eat and drink in the company of friends, perusing the various local bars and making frequent stops in the best bàcariin the city.
In recent years it has become fashionable amongyoung people to spend their Friday and Saturday nights andando per bàcari, but the older generation of local Venetians woulddo thisevery day as a sort ofaperitivoritual. Still today,it is not uncommon to see groups of men in their 70s and 80s going from one bar to another, having a drink and a nibble, chatting and enjoyinga friendly, lively discussion! In general, the locals go for a quick ombra and a small cicchetto around lunchtime, before heading home for a family meal, or in the evening, around 6, again, before heading home for dinner.
Venice’s famous Rialto Bridge. Photo by Gnuckx via CC, adapted by ParTASTE.
Traditionalwine bars like Venetianbàcari have existed for a very long time. Already bythe 1300s there weremore than 20 bàcariin the area immediately surrounding theRialto Bridge. With such a long history, it comes as no surprise that the etymology of the word bàcari has conflicting origins. According to some people, it comes from the nameBacchus, the god of wine. Others believe the termbàcari
comes from bàcaro, a type of wine from Puglia which was the most popular variety in Venice during the eighteenth century. Yet another explanation of thewordcomes from alegend in whicha gondolier coined the term one day when tasting a new wine, exclaiming, “xe proprio un vin de bàcaro,” meaning, “it is a real wine of bàcaro,” that is, a wine to celebrate. The Venetian expression far Bàcarameans, in fact, to celebrate, to party, and to eat and drink together!
Cantinone Già Schiavi, a 19th century bàcaro run by the same family for generations. Photo by Tim Sackton via CC, adapted by ParTASTE.
A typical bàcarois often found directly overlooking narrow Venetian streets, it is small and has a very minimal interior space. Only a few bàcariofferseats: usually customers stand at the counter or in the street, so it is not unusual to see people sitting on bridges or by the canal’s edge, particularly if the bàcaro provides its customers with a boat mooring. To find agood Venetianbàcaro, look out for small crowds of people holding a glass of wine and a plate of cicchetti. When you spot a group like this, odds are that they are standing right outside one of their favorite local bàcari.Thebàcariusually open aroundlunch time and again arounddinner time, but some of them are open through the day continuously from around 11 in the morning until 10 in the evening – bear in mind that food will be scarce during hours that aren’t typical for eating!
The Evolutionof Cicchetti
Nowadays,cicchetti can be eaten not only inbàcaro, but as starters in restaurants. When this is the case, the restaurant will generally lista selection of fish-based cicchetti, including ovuli di seppia (squid eggs), insalata di polpo (octopus salad) and gambari in saor (sweet and sour prawns). Cicchetti have also begun to spread in popularity outside of Venice and it is not unusual tofindthem in neighboring towns like Padova, the alleged homeof the Spritz, and Treviso, the birthplace of Tiramisù.
A restaurant’ssarde and gambari in saor, quite different from what you’d find in bàcari. Photo by Voiello via CC, adapted by ParTASTE
Although cicchetti can be ordered in some restaurants, forgoing the sit-downcicchetti experience toandar per bàcari is not only the best way to enjoy good Venetian food and good local wines at reasonable prices, it is also a pleasant way to enjoy the real Venice, away from the hustle and bustle of typical tourist routes. The opportunity to discover the most authentic and genuine side of this enchanting city is the real key to understanding the Venetians andthe pleasures of life in a placewhere no-one is in a hurry.
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