Mantua is located about 40 km south of Verona and has a beautiful medieval cityscape with churches and palaces. Yet the city lies off the beaten tourist track, giving it a relaxed and local feel. What could be better than ending a long working day with lovely colleagues in an excellent restaurant on the Piazza delle Erbe. Surrounded by 15th-century buildings, I try the regional specialties, such as pasta parcels filled with pumpkin, the almond cake Sbrisolona (“crumb cake”), salume and, of course, local wines. The night is unusually mild on this October day and will stay in my memory for a long time as one of the last days of that summer.