Lessinia, Halloween and Valpolicella. Ancient traditions.

Lights, pumpkins, disguises; to celebrate the deceased with particular rites was a custom also in more ancient times between our valleys, traditions that we now find, but adapted and correct, in step with the times, would be to say.

In some Cimbrian villages and then in Lessinia, the anniversary of All Saints Day was celebrated by cooking the «soup of the dead», a tradition that today we find in Valpolicella in the village of San Giorgio with the soup of fava beans, while the pumpkins were the protagonists of the games of the children of the Veronese mountain of the past.
The pumpkin was used for jokes of various types also in Verona, not only between the valleys and was always illuminated by a candle inside. These scary pumpkins were called the Lumiere.

Witches, elves, creatures of the woods, Halloween is always an extremely creative moment also from the gastronomic point of view. We talked about soups, but there are sweets and other typical autumn ingredients such as walnuts, chestnuts, mushrooms... or the most typical recipes such as «Gnochi sbatui» to try accompanied by our "bloody" Valpolicella Superiore!