(Pumpkin)
The historic city of Mantua, located in Lombardy's southeastern corner is famous for its pumpkins – you can find zucca of every size, shape, and color there. The Marina di Chioggia variety is round with flattened top and bottom, wrinkled skin, and greyish-green color, and due to its sweet and compact pulp, it is often considered to be the best among edible pumpkins.
The Americana and Violino are also very popular, but the most typical and popular variety is the turban-shaped Capello del Prete (lit. priest's hat), with a sweet, bright orange pulp. In Italy, pumpkins are harvested from April to August, then left in the sun to mature. Commonly enjoyed in autumn, pumpkin is the undisputed star of local gastronomy, used in both savory and sweet dishes.
Literary every part of the plant is edible: the flowers, the leaves, the seeds, and the pulp. It can be cooked, grilled, or baked, used in soups, broths, risottos, pasta dishes, cakes, pastries, and even in jams, but the symbol of Mantuan cuisine are definitely the famous tortelli di zucca alla Mantovana – pasta filled with pumpkin pulp, parmesan cheese, mostarda Montovana, and crumbled amaretti biscuits, served in sage butter and sprinkled with locally produced parmesan cheese.
