Radicchio di Verona

Radicchio di Verona is a protected chicory designation covering two varieties — early and late — of the Rossa di Verona cultivar grown across specified municipalities in the Veneto region. The late variety undergoes a mandatory forcing and blanching phase. The specification requires whole, compact heads with dark red foliage and a fully white main leaf vein.

About this designation

Registered as a PGI on 9 May 2008 under file number PGI-IT-0670 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013753), Radicchio di Verona is produced from plants of the Cichorium intybus species, early and late Rossa di Verona variety, belonging to the Compositae family. The production area spans named municipalities across three Veneto provinces: Verona, Vicenza, and Padua, as enumerated in the specification. Two distinct types are recognised. The early variety requires sowing between 1 and 20 July, with harvesting beginning on 1 October; production per hectare of finished product may not exceed 13 tonnes. The late variety requires sowing between 21 July and 15 August, with harvesting beginning on 15 December; production per hectare may not exceed 11 tonnes. For the late variety, harvesting must retain at least 8 centimetres of the main root, and the product must subsequently undergo a forcing and blanching phase. All sowing, transplanting, collection, forcing-blanching, trimming, and washing operations must take place within the defined geographical area, as must packaging. Packaging must be sealed so that opening breaks the seal. The specification requires that the font used for the words 'Radicchio di Verona' IGP be significantly larger than any other on the label. The applicant body is the Consorzio per la tutela e la valorizzazione del Radicchio di Verona IGP.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 9 May 2008 under file number PGI-IT-0670, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013753.
• The late variety must retain at least 8 centimetres of the main root at harvest and must undergo a mandatory forcing and blanching phase.
• Production per hectare of finished product is capped at 13 tonnes for the early variety and 11 tonnes for the late variety.
• Packaging must take place within the defined production area, and each package must be sealed so that opening the wrapper causes the seal to break.

Tasting notes

Veneto radicchio from Verona area, two types (Precoce harvested early autumn, Tardivo harvested late winter). Distinctive shape and bitter-sweet character.

HoReCa use

The specification notes the product's use as a key ingredient in traditional Veneto dishes, citing examples including chicory omelette, chestnut cappelletti in a nut and chicory sauce, and chicory fagottini.

Packaging

• crate-5kg
• single-head-300g
• retail-tray-500g

Seasonality