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RARE WINTER FOOD · VICENZA
The Rare Winter Radicchio Candied for Panettone
How a hyper-local chicory engineered by farmers survived the industrial plain, moving from rustic winter fuel to contemporary pastry.
The Radicchio di Asigliano is a rare winter chicory cultivated in Asigliano Veneto, in the agricultural plain of southern Vicenza. Developed by local farmers in the 1960s and 1970s, this specialized strain is now listed in the Slow Food Ark of Taste due to a sharp decline in active producers. Traditionally eaten in dishes such as radìcio e fasòi with polenta, the vegetable’s intense flavor profile has recently entered contemporary pastry, candied by local makers for an artisanal winter panettone. Today, the crop is sustained largely through direct sales and close relationships between growers and consumers.
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THE STORY ↓
WHERE TO BUY IT, WHERE TO EAT IT ↓
The Winter Landscape of Asigliano The agricultural plain of southern Vicenza, around Asigliano Veneto in the Bassa Vicentina, is a landscape defined by winter fog and fertile farmland. Here, Asigliano Veneto produces a chicory that functions as a seasonal marker. The Radicchio di Asigliano is a hyper-local variety, massaged into existence by the area’s farmers during the 1960s and 1970s. By selecting the resilient plants that adapted best to Asigliano’s soil, and drawing traits from Verona, Treviso, and Chioggia varieties, they developed a highly specific local lineage.
The result is a winter crop built for the cold: a compact, dense head with deep red foliage and a crisp fiber that sweetens as the cold sets in. The harvest cycle begins in October, pushing through the deep winter months of December and January. It is a vegetable designed for storage; the heads harvested in November keep particularly well and can remain available on produce markets through March.
From Radìcio e Fasòi to Panettone The foundational pairing is radìcio e fasòi, radicchio and beans served with polenta. It is a dish rooted in a time when radicchio was one of the few fresh vegetables available through the Venetian winter.
Modern kitchens have expanded this bitter profile into risottos, savory preserves, saor, sauces and pesto. In 2024, a young local couple of beekeepers candied the radicchio to use in an artisanal panettone. The experiment is telling: it proves that the vegetable can enter contemporary pastry without losing its sharp, regional identity.
Preserving a Specialized Cultivar The Slow Food Ark of Taste lists the Radicchio di Asigliano because its agricultural reality is fragile. A scarcity of young growers, competition from other radicchio varieties distributed through large-scale retail, and tough production economics have left only a small number of farmers producing it. The radicchio has also held Asigliano Veneto’s De.Co. municipal designation since 2009, formally linking it to this small agricultural town in the province of Vicenza.
Its survival is supported largely by direct sales and personal relationships between growers and consumers. Sourcing this radicchio from the remaining local growers is no longer just a culinary choice; it is an act of preservation for a specialized line of biodiversity.
WHERE TO EAT AND BUY RADICCHIO DI ASIGLIANO
FOR THE MOST LOCAL VERSION
Bar Pizzeria El Chiringhito
Via Roma 2, Asigliano Veneto, Vicenza
Phone +39 0444 872070
The most direct everyday address in Asigliano itself. The house specialities include pizza with Radicchio Rosso di Asigliano, using the local vegetable during its season.
FOR A HISTORIC TRATTORIA IN VICENZA CITY
Trattoria Ponte delle Bele
Contrà Ponte delle Bele 5, Vicenza
Phone +39 0444 320647
Mobile +39 349 7361756
A historic trattoria near Porta Castello, operating at the address since the nineteenth century. Its seasonal ingredients explicitly include Radicchio Rosso di Asigliano, alongside other Vicenza products such as Lumignano peas, Broccolo Fiolaro and Asiago cheese. Call ahead in winter if the radicchio is the reason for booking.
FOR A BERICI COUNTRYSIDE LUNCH
Antica Trattoria Agli Olmi
Via Palma 18, San Giovanni in Monte, Barbarano Mossano, Vicenza
Phone +39 0444 893423
A more composed countryside restaurant in the Berici area, with traditional and contemporary Vicenza cooking.
FOR TRADITIONAL HOME STYLE COOKING
Trattoria Da Munaretto
Via Pederiva 24, Val Liona, Vicenza
Phone +39 0444 889513
A family style trattoria with handmade pasta, grilled meat and traditional Vicenza dishes. Its winter ingredient list includes Radicchio Rosso di Asigliano.
BUY IT DIRECTLY FROM A GROWER
Azienda Agricola El Campo Strin, Rezzadore Flavio
Via Campostrino 24, Asigliano Veneto, Vicenza
Phone +39 334 3228333
Vegetables are sold directly from the farm, including Radicchio Rosso di Asigliano during the production season.
Azienda Agricola Ponso Elisa
Via Cesare Battisti 7, Asigliano Veneto, Vicenza
Phone +39 349 5928665
Farm direct sales of seasonal vegetables including the local radicchio, generally from autumn through winter.
FOR THE FULL RADICCHIO MENU
Festa del Radicchio Rosso di Asigliano
Asigliano Veneto, Vicenza
2026 dates currently listed: 4 to 8 December
Municipal information +39 0444 872014
The festival is the easiest place to try several preparations in one visit. Recent menus have included radicchio risotto, gnocchi with cheese and walnuts, lasagne, grilled and fried radicchio, sausage with radicchio, saor, preserves, bread, sbrisolona and panettone. Fresh Radicchio Rosso di Asigliano is also sold during the event.
GOOD TO KNOW
The season begins in October and continues through winter. November harvested radicchio stores particularly well and can remain available into March, while the later crop develops a crisper texture, deeper red colour and a sweeter, more delicate flavour as temperatures fall.