Your November Venice challenge… hunt the castradina

There’s a pivotal scene in The Four Deadly Seasons that, like much of the book, is based on Venetian reality. Arnold Clover has been growing closer to Mia Haas, the woman who’s employed him to research Vivaldi’s supposed memoirs. Over a very unusual meal at a lovely, real restaurant near San Giacomo dell’Orio, the relationship suddenly becomes more serious.

The timing of this scene is crucial. It takes place during the Festa della Salute which happens every year on November 21. Venice has lots of festivals, but Salute is probably one of the most local and the most moving.

In 1630 a terrible plague hit the city, killing around 40,000 people, a quarter of the population. Among the victims were the Doge, Nicolò Contarini, and Giovanni Tiepolo, the Catholic patriarch. The great basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, at the mouth of the Grand Canal, was built to give thanks to the Virgin Mary for the lifting of the plague. Each year, for centuries, a temporary bridge has been erected to allow people to cross the Grand Canal and reach Salute directly.

There they can light candles asking the Virgin to protect their loved ones. It’s a sombre, quietly emotional event. I was there in November 2021 when the pandemic, another deadly plague for Italy, was in abeyance. I can still remember the extraordinary atmosphere inside Salute. Here’s a snippet of video I recorded that year, and another shot of the event is at the head of this post.

Venice is a city that loves its traditions, cultural landmarks that are strictly tied to the historic events that prompted them. In England you can buy mince pies in September, and hot cross buns almost all year round. The links that once bound tradition to specific dates are mostly gone. But not in Venice. You can only find frittelle during February for Carnival. And the period around the Festa della Salute is the only time you’ll see a uniquely Venetian dish on local menus, castradina, a speciality that goes right back to that terrible plague of 1630.

There are, as always, varying accounts for its origins. The convincing one for me is the most obvious: Venice was in quarantine, unable to receive much in the way of fresh produce. So it had to use what it had already, in this case a supply of salted, smoked mutton already shipped in from across the Adriatic… castradina.

Soon you’ll start to see those mutton legs hanging up in butcher’s shops across the city. They’re not terribly pretty to look at but this is tradition for the locals, not something looking for the tourist euro.

And you’re doubtless thinking… hang on this is a local speciality made with something I never knew existed, salted smoked mutton. Must cost a fortune… Well, no. At the Ponte del Meglio it will be just €15 per person, and available for two weeks from the 14th. With a nice glass of red wine you will be set up for the day for around €20 I’d say.

What’s it like? Well really you have to try it to know. This, remember, is a dish that was invented during quarantine and a plague. It’s not haute cuisine. This is the genuine cucina povera. I’m no food writer but I’d describe it as a very hearty soup cum stew, winter vegetables, a very real meaty stock, and chunks of mutton in there. For me it’s a perfect hearty lunch for one of those crisp winter days you get in Venice in November, and when I ate at the Ponte del Meglio I was lucky enough to sit outside next to a couple of cheery gondoliers downing a couple of bowls too. If you have the time on the 14th it could be a great way to start the day before Venice Noir proper begins. And go home knowing you’ve sampled a dish you won’t find anywhere else in Italy pretty much, and for only a couple of weeks each year.

Here’s an amusing video about Castradina – it’s in Italian but you can switch the subtitles to English. I love the fact he’s cooking with a spoon in one hand and a glass of wine in the other — my sort of chef!