Ca’ de Vèn, Ravenna, Italy

It's a good start when you strike it lucky on day one. Without getting lost we find our first goal, the tourist Information office on the Piazza Caduti per La Liberta (of those who fell for the cause of liberty). Then we hang a right up Via Corrado Ricci and slap bang, end up in this place. And get a table without a booking. It's huge, but heaving. It's like nowhere else you've been. And, lucky you, there will be a review about it soon.

Travel around France or Belgium or other countries which were Nazi occupied in World War II and such street names are common. Here in Ravenna they proliferate. Near our flat, ten minutes out of the centre we have the Via Martiri (Martyrs) di Belfiore and the Via Partigiani (Partisans). The square opposite, where we buy our fruit and veg at the market is the Piazza de la Resistenza. OK, but Italy was one of the axis powers, eventually taken over/liberated by Canadian forces in December 1944. Why so many of this type of memorial?

It appears that the partisan resistance in Ravenna and the surrounding Romagna region was one of the most effective and highly organized anti-fascist movements in Italy. Operating in the difficult terrain of the Po Valley and the Apennine mountains, the local fighters fundamentally changed how the underground war was fought. So much so that one unit, the 28th Garibaldi Brigade, was integrated into the British Eighth Army after the invasion.

But where there is a successful resistance movement, there are reprisals. End of history lesson.

By 1944 this building had long moved on from its original role as palace to the influential Rasponi family, been through its first hospitality incarnation as Osteria della Corona, and had become the most prestigious store in town, the Drogheria Bellenghi. The wood, the shelving and the fittings which you see today date from 1875. Magnificent, but not the comfiest seats in the world. When the drogheria closed in 1975 its salvation was down to a consortium led by local wine makers.

The current owners took over that same year with an emphasis on local wine and food. For much of that time it has been managed by two formidable ladies, Rita Mazzillo and Maria Grazia Guidi.

The food selection reflects the place itself - huge. There is an entire page devoted to piadine and local ccured meats and cheeses. Piadina is a local bread - think pitta - stuffed with all sorts of goodies, salami, soft cheese, grilled veg. It's sometimes made in semi circular form, in which case it becomes a crescione. One can eat here very cheaply from that page.

Want more than a sandwich? There's the Menu del Territorio, the title reflecting the fact that this is local Romagna (as in the region, Emilia Romagna) fare, hearty and rustic. Meat-centric. One fish dish espied, and precious little for veggies, unless you stick to sarnies. That list is augmented by the Proposte del giorno (Day's suggestions). The latter is a menu which changes seasonally, not daily. And just to make your choice even more difficult there are four meaty dishes served on a hot stone.

The good thing is that they will bring your wine very promptly to aid your choice. We've been here a couple of times. The second time we had our own table in a space at the back. May sound better but being seated at the long communal table in the body of the kirk is (a) good fun unless you're smooching, and (b) likely to get you better service.

Our experience is that the pasta is very good. Ragù Bolognese was invented just along the road - in Bologna funnily enough - and is served with tagliatelle (of course). Only these southern upstarts from Naples eat spaghetti and no one here would ever serve that with a Bolognese ragù. They created a special dish to celebrate 50 years in business, garganelli with a sauce featuring sausage and sheep's cheese. I defy anyone to got to a new part of Italy and not discover a pasta previously unknown. Garganelli? Simple. Cut your pasta into squares. Fold the piece diagonally over a little cylinderof wo od, then roll it on a board so you have something like a piece of rigatoni but with grooves. Perfect for your sauce, but OMG! Just imagine a nonna turning out 800 or so of these by hand every hour.

Much simpler to make is the worm like example which has my favourite name of all. I strozzapreti - priest stranglers. They are served here with cream, sausage and peas. Not for the faint hearted this lunch. I followed with a main course of castrato. This is the meat of a sheep between six months and two years. It's supposed to be more tender than average. Exceptions to every rule, but for once the roast potatoes were pretty decent.

Rather better was the hot stone platter a l'aia (farmyard). A hearty plate of chicken and rabbit. Rather good, scented with rosemary and served with more roasties.

It's a fun place if you like bustle and basic, which we do. The folk serving you don't half put in a shift till 2.30, then are back for more at 6.30. We stuck with wines by the glass but I gather that the list is a serious one and that Signora Mazzillo, one of the managers, is something of an expert.

We met both ladies. The former is the more relaxed of the two. Signora Guidi made it quite clear that she does NOT like Andy Burnham, and much preferred his predecessor. Who would have thought that since 2022, Italy is on its same Prime Minister, while we're on our fourth?

The times may be a-changing, but I think Ca de Ven is just carrying on doing what it's been a-doing these past fifty years, to very good effect. Definitely worth a visit.