Rice is a very versatile ingredient that can be associated with many other foods for the realization of good and tasty soups and risottos. Thinking about the latter can not but come to mind risotto alla Milanese, rice and peas, rice at the pilot or the more modern black rice that fits so well with the fish. Lombardy, together with a part of Piedmont bordering our region, is the largest rice producer in Italy. In our region, the rice is produced in the Ticino Park (in the provinces of Milan and Pavia), in Lomellina, in the Lodi area, the Lower Pavia and Basso Mantovano. At the valance bordering the Verona is the so-called "Road of rice and risotto Mantovani" from Roverbella Governolo, Castelbelforte, Porto Mantovano, San Giorgio, Castel d'Ario, Villimpenta and Roncoferraro, true gastronomic capitals of rice. The variety par excellence of Mantua is Vialone Nano, while the Lower Pavese (bordered on the west by the state vigentina, east by the provinces of Piacenza and Cremona, on the north by the town of Pavia and in the south of the Po) since the 50's has spread with great speed the production of Carnaroli, born from the varietal of Lencino and Vialone, The grain of rice is white or pale yellow, crystalline appearance, more or less long and more or less oval section depending on the variety. Native to Asia that still represents as much as 80% of the power of the population, Rice is one of the oldest cereals, whose knowledge is far more remote than that of wheat. In Italy, where rice cultivation has spread especially during the nineteenth century, every year they consume about 5 kilograms per capita. Rice cultivation in Lombardy has always been linked to that of the provinces of Milano, Lodi and Pavia date back to 1200 the first documentary evidence of the existence of the rice traded as a spice rare in the markets of the region. The national annual production is around 15 million tons of paddy rice, equivalent to one quarter of world production. The Italian market absorbs 4 million and a half tons, the rest is exported to EU countries (three million and a half) and in other countries. Rice cultivation was once very hard work, because in the absence of cars, the entire process - the plant, cleaning of weeds, harvesting - was done by hand: the pickers (named after the weeding, the phase cleaning of the rice fields) were women, mostly young people, who every year they went from house to the 40 days of the season of rice processing: these are the words of a woman of the village of Santa Cristina (Lodi) ex mondina "... There he cultivated the rice and just. They were all lands ... gears, but they gave the best of all rice, Carnaroli. It was an ear that was a dark beauty, was a beautiful and good rice. In those lands there sank to mid-thigh. With his hands had to lean on the bottom to pull up your legs and you had to be careful. We were all so: to take the step we had to place his hands on the bottom ... In fact, my mom was not going to pound rice in the marshes, because he was afraid. We were young, girls, lean and strong and went more there than in other places .... " Rice can be used in many different preparations: rice dishes, salads, soups, croquettes and more. It can also be served boiled, as an accompaniment to main courses of meat or fish. Rice is also a main element in the preparation of many dishes Lombard: ris and erborin, the pilot rice, rice with Persian rice in big dog, Milanese risotto, risotto beggar, etc ...