For many families of Italian origin in Brazil, a steaming polenta brings much more to the table than a simple recipe. It brings to mind a cuisine, a voice, a Sunday lunch. It is one of the flavors that emigrants have passed on to their children and grandchildren, keeping their connection with Italy alive even thousands of miles away. Its history spans the ocean, along with that of men and women who left in search of new opportunities. Among the Italians who settled in southern Brazil from the second half of the 19th century, many came from Veneto, Lombardy, Trentino, and Friuli. For them, polenta was a daily staple, a staple during workdays and a way to bring the family together. This custom also found its way into their new homeland.
A simple recipe, a precious memory
Cornmeal, water, and a little salt: a few ingredients created a meal to share. In the Italian communities of Rio Grande do Sul, polenta played a fundamental role in the emigrants’ diet. It could be found from breakfast to dinner, becoming a familiar presence in the settlers’ homes. Over the generations, this everyday food also acquired sentimental value. This is confirmed by research conducted in the Quarta Colônia, in Rio Grande do Sul, through the stories of sixteen families descended from Italian immigrants: the preparation of polenta preserves gestures and knowledge passed down through generations and keeps family memories alive. A recipe, therefore, can become a way to express where one comes from.
Polenta also has a song
Among the most interesting curiosities is the connection with music. Many descendants of the emigrants still know The beautiful polenta, a traditional Venetian song that accompanies, with words and gestures, the various stages of corn cultivation and preparation. A cheerful song, to be sung together, which has also helped preserve the sound of the original language. In 2024, scholars from the Federal University of Santa Maria and the Franciscan University dedicated a book to it, A Bela Polenta: Why is it so special?, written in Portuguese and Venetian. Also designed for children, it combines nutrition, history, music, and educational activities: a practical way to introduce little ones to their grandparents’ heritage.
But objects also tell this story. The Italian Immigrant Museum of Vale Vêneto keeps a polenta table, called backdrop, dating back to 1930.
In his photographic archive there is also a surprising memory: the women who prepared a long polenta nine meters and forty centimeters for the centennial celebrations of Italian immigration to Rio Grande do Sul in 1975. A dish born in domestic life thus became the symbol of an entire community. This spirit is also found in the tradition of the Polenta Festival in Venda Nova do Imigrante, in the state of Espírito Santo. Its most famous gesture is the Tombo da Polenta: a huge cauldron is overturned in front of the audience, transforming a cooking act into a collective show.
For those who emigrated and those who know Italy through family stories, roots can live on in small gestures: stirring slowly, setting the table for a few more, teaching a child a word they heard from their grandparents. This is why a polenta can still be moving. Within that aroma lies the memory of those who left, of those who built a new home, and of those who continue to pass on its history. And when the dish arrives at the table, between an Italian and a Portuguese word, the distance seems to narrow.
