Bergamo cuisine is perhaps the most unknown of Lombardy in gastronomy books. Even if it is influenced by Venetian tradition it has its own character, which includes simple and energetic dishes.Bergamo has indeed always been  a poor land and its inhabitants were able to use just the most basic products of the land to cook. Typical dishes from Bergamo are  “casonsei”, big ravioli made of crumbled bread, sausage and parmesan, with melted butter and sage on the top; the very famous “polenta e osei”, polenta with little birds cooked in pan, called “Food of the gods” by a local poet; polenta taragna, polenta with Branzi cheese, served alone or with sausages or liver mortadella. Among fishes try trouts and large carps, grilled sardines, “alborelle” fried or in “saor” “aole”. The most famous sweet is “polenta e uccelli”, a yellow cupola of sponge-cake covered by sugar and corn-flour, with small chocolate birds on the top.