Vegetable and bean soup, sometimes with pasta (minestrone alla contadina) A 'big' version of minestra, perhaps more commonly seen in the USA than in Italy itself. Each region has its own variation.
Minestrone alla genovese: a very green version, combining potatoes, beans, peas, zucchini, carrots, celery and pesto.
Minestrone di marroni: a broth flavoured with a Parmesan crusts, with potatoes, Savoy cabbage, rosemary and boiled chestnuts (a recipe from San Zeno on Lake Garda's Monte Baldo, Veneto)
Minestrone alla montanara: a tritato in a vegetable broth with rosemary and porcini mushrooms
Minestrone alla pugliese: with chicken, vegetables and pasta
Minestrone alla toscana: with beets and Savoy cabbage, beans, tagliatelle, potatoes
Image by Katrin Gilger