The Valchiavenna occupies a specific niche with regard to the cuisine of the Province of Sondrio. As a valley more geared to the transport of goods than to agricultural production the Valchiavenna’s cuisine is poorer than that of the Valtellina, its “big sister”, which has a larger area dedicated to agriculture, and has rich vineyards producing celebrated wines , orchards  with some of Italy’s best apples and pears as well as extensive Alpine pastures. And yet even the Valchiavenna makes its own significant contribution to the  food traditions of the Province of Sondrio which can boast of one of the more interesting cuisines within the whole Alpine chain.

Besides its high quality butter , its excellent  cheeses from both cows and goats’ milk, and its fine sausages, the Valchiavenna also has a notable tradition of whole pieces of meat conserved in salt : Brisaola and “Violino”, seasoned in the fresh air of the Mera valley, are of the highest gastronomic value.

Brisaola(Bresaola, Viande des Grisons, Bundernerfleisch) is  a product whose fame has spread beyond the Valchiavenna, its valley of origin, and is now known throughout Europe. “Violino” (literally “Violin”) is less well-known but is no less interesting a product: it is made with the entire hind leg of a goat-or, even better, of a chamois,. It is then cut with a knife and manipulated into the shape of a violin(appoggiato al petto e stretto per lo stinco all’altro capo). It is customary to meet with your friends around a table at a “Crotto” (see separate entry), next to a burning fire,and with a series of good bottles of red wine. Here you remain, eating your Violino, drinking your wine and chatting with your friends until all that is left of the Violino is the bone!  A fine tradition, that of the “Violino” and of the “Crotti!”

Another traditional dish of the Valchiavenna are its Pizzocheri, which bear little resemblance to their more well-known Valtellina cousins which are made with buckwheat ; Here in the Valchiavenna they take the form of white gnocchetti and are plentifully seasoned with butter and cheese. After this  you should follow it up with some excellent spare ribs, which have been cooked in the “lavecc”, a big pot made of soapstone or else in the” piota”, a plate made of slate and heated up with a wood fire. Incidentally, cooking polenta and other dishes on the stone or piota is, like a barbeque, a traditional domain of male cooking.

To finish your meal there are two local specialities ; the  “Torta di Fioretto” ( “Fugascia de Fiorétt” in dialect, made with bread dough, eggs, sugar and anice seeds ) and the “Biscottini di Prosto”(“Biscotin de Prost”, made with flour, sugar and butter),  the latter of which can be bought in the little village of Prosto, a short distance from Chiavenna. Next to the shop which sells the biscuits, in a square just above the 16th century church, is another shop where you can buy your “Piota” or slate stone: behind the shop you can see the “Piota “being made.

As for Valchiavenna wine it is limited in quantity and cannot be compared with the celebrated wine of the Valtellina. Nevertheless, in recent years a number of Valchiavenna wine producers, have set about producing some higher quality wines, using the areas that were traditionally best suited for wine production in the valley. They are now coming up with some excellent results, notably at the beautiful 16th century Palazzo Vertemate above Prosto… Trying is believing!

Seeing is believing.