Jennifer Schwarz from luxury DMC Authentic Italy shares a fascinating tale about Veneto’s wine country and a particular local tradition.   

Veneto is a famed wine region in Italy. Can you tell us about a particular gem? 
Usually when one thinks of the Veneto region, the dream destination of Venice comes to mind, but the surrounding area offers so much more. The romantic Venetian waterway canals can be found in other reaches of Veneto, like the lovely town of Treviso. It is here that we find a 16th Century statue of a lactating maternal figure, La Fontana delle Tette, erected in response to a severe drought that struck the city. Red wine flowed from one breast of the statue and white wine from the other for three days to quench the Trevigiani’s thirst. This three-day tradition was repeated every time a new Podestà (mayor) was named. The wine ceased flowing after the fall of the Venetian Republic and was transformed into a crystalline water fountain. 

How did you discover this particular treasure? 
When my native Conegliano friend brought me to see the now-modernized nurturing female icon of Treviso, I was disappointed she was now only offering water, albeit potable and refreshing. “No worries,” she said, and in a flash, we were in her Fiat Panda and dashing up to the nearby Valdobbiadene hills, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 40 minutes, we were at Villa Sandi enjoying a flight of some of Italy’s finest bubbles, opening with “Opere Trevigiane” Rose’ and concluding with “Opere Amalia” Moretti.  Our craving for white wine was fulfilled, and our red wine craving would be satisfied the next day when we ventured towards the Allegrini winery in Verona to taste their award-winning deep Amarone wines. 

Our evening was spent at Salis, a very comfy and very local restaurant and enoteca in the heart of Cartizze – a wine appellation in Veneto like Chianti or Burgundy. We reflected on the extraordinary selection of wines from bubbles, to whites to reds, and I smiled, thinking of La Fontana delle Tette and how her enological fertility surely blessed this land! 

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