Italian Recipes based on Rice

For centuries in Italy rice had been used for therapeutic purposes, until the first Italian paddy field was inaugurated in 1468 in the Pianura Padana area, rich of waters, and rice became part of the local diet. The cultivation spread rapidly in the marshy areas of the Po Valley, and the Italian genius began to invent recipes with the new ingredient, among them innumerablerisotti, and the wonderful supplì or arancine.