from Sandy Needham

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Montalcino Dispatch

We drove back to Tuscany from Bologna in a rental car, returning after twelve years to the lovely hilltop town of Montalcino. It is famous for Brunello wine, one of Italy's finest reds.































Montalcino is in the Provence of Siena, further south on our way to Rome. Our sweet little hotel looked out on the town's porticoed main piazza below, and beyond.


















The town is as neat as a pin






Cooler weather continued, providing simply another mood to the astonishing beauty of Toscana.

Our first winery was Barbi, one of the bigger producers of Brunello. There was no space on the tour, so we had to be content sipping exquisite Brunello wine. It is a specifically regulated wine in a defined location, much like Chianti Classico to the north. It also uses 100% Sangiovese grapes. Brunello cannot be sold until aged at least four years. 


Our second winery, Il Paradiso di Frassina, was of special interest. In 1999 the vintner, Carlo Cignozzi, thought music would help the vines grow. His experiment became well-known and attracted the interest of researchers at the University of Florence (Agriculture) and the University of Pisa (Entomology - study of insects). Their collaboration began in 2005, studying the positive effects of sound frequencies on the vines and the repellent effects of the frequencies on grape parasites and predators.


The American company, Bose, donated forty-eight outdoor speakers which play only Mozart's music to the four-acres dedicated to Cignozzi's best Brunello: Riserva Flauto Magico (Magic Flute!)

We bought a bottle of the Moz Art Brunello. Plenty fine!










Casali di Bibbiano is a vineyard that lies outside the geographical designation for Brunello in the nearby municipality of Buonconvento, enjoying nearly the same conditions. Their prices are significantly below those of Brunello. We went to a lunch/tasting there on a chilly day and cozied up before the fire.

































More beautiful handwork in the window
We decided to buy a case of their 100% Sangiovese wine to be shipped to Jake's house in Las Vegas for all of us to enjoy over the Christmas holidays. We also decided to buy a case for ourselves to send through baggage when we returned to Brazil. We had to coax them to give us the proper box, then the nice young man carefully wrapped each bottle and packed the carton snugly.

Once back in Natal, we were waiting and waiting - all suitcases came through - but no wine. Finally, I said to Newton, I'm going to go see what that pathetic thing is that keeps going round and round on the next carousel. Sure enough: a smashed-up, plastic-wrapped carton from Caseli di Bibbiano. Oh No.

Once we dug inside at our kitchen sink we were relieved to find ONE shattered bottle and eleven intact bottles. OK.

Near the winery was a beautiful medieval abbey in the Romanesque style: 
Sant’Antimo Abbey. 












The Alpha and Omega: one of many pieces of iron work I admired while in Italy

The fields beside the abbey
This Benedictine Abbey had an abbot who was jailed in the fifteenth century for lewd behavior! You can imagine what fun I had upon our return to Natal reading the famous novel, The Name of the Rose by the late Umberto Eco. Fifteenth century Benedictine monks in an abbey (in the book the abbey is atop a precipice); monks in the scriptorium copying mysterious texts; a series of murders..and, of course, lewd behavior!







Our first dinner on a very quiet Monday was at Fred's suggested simple Trattoria Sciame. As always, the food was incredible.

The following night we found one elegant enoteca/restaurant with a merry crowd, Enoteca Grotta dell Brunello. Quite nice.



We left Montalcino with this scene of morning fog below the town:



On to Rome.

Love,
Sandy




Thursday, November 24, 2016

Bologna Dispatch

Our trusted travel guide in Italy, Fred Plotkin, author of Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, waxes particularly passionate in the Emilia-Romagna section of his book. He was initiated into his field of Italy's regional cuisines here, the region considered the most delicious by all of Italy!

We always love re-reading Fred's descriptions of the various regions because he provides so much more rich information than just their best dishes. Regarding Emilia-Romagna and more specifically, Bologna, I think it best to begin by sharing Fred's loving impressions.

In contrast with Tuscany, whose bucolic scenery belies centuries of conflict and rivalries..where even to this day there are tensions between the citizens of Florence and Siena, the prevailing debate among the cities of Emilia-Romagna tends towards which has the best food! The region is mostly overlooked by tourists, other than the Riviera di Romagna beach stretching along the Adriatic. Like most of the region, the hard-working, productive, open-hearted and fun-loving citizens of Bologna welcome tourists with friendly enthusiasm without catering to tourist tastes in any way. The city offers a civic wholeness that demonstrates life in Italy more purely than the popular tourist destinations.

Locals out on a fall Saturday afternoon
Hanging out in the Piazza Maggiore in front of the Palazzo d'Accursio - Town Hall
We can certainly attest to the citizens exuding ease and contentment while parading down the avenue or gathering in the piazzas for animated interchanges. We found not a waiter/waitress/store clerk one who wasn't friendly and sweet. No attitude here. 

Emilia-Romagna produced Pavarotti and Fellini, but also Mussolini, despite which fact the region has a strong anti-fascist history. While Bologna was the center of the Italian Communist Party - later the Democratic Party of the Left - the post WWII leaders wisely blended the best from socialist thought and the highest ideals of democracy..."to produce a society where every citizen was cared for, but was free to do and say whatever he pleased." The live-and-let-live attitude here would never tolerate totalitarianism. The populace values a high bourgeois standard of living - fine clothes, fine homes, fine food. 

We observed this Communist protest in the Piazza Maggiore against moves towards privatization. "The PD wants to sell this city," the banner says. The event included a festive, beer-on-tap conviviality and went far into the evening with live music and dancing! We observed it over the hours as we passed through.

"STOP PRIVATIZZAZIONI"
The worldly, well-educated populace of Emilia-Romagna lead low stress, happy lives, where pleasure and enlightenment are equally valued, and incredible food and excellent medical care contribute to lengthy life-spans. The University of Bologna is the oldest in Europe, founded in 1088 and considered the best in the country. "Italians also acknowledge that the people of this region, especially those from Bologna, are the best lovers in this very passionate country." As Fred says, this is la dolce vita!

Newton and I caught a train to Bologna from Florence to revisit for a weekend after some years. We stayed in a well-located Airbnb. All of our time was spent walking for miles and eating! Our favorite meal was lunch at Fred's recommended Trattoria Caminetto d'Oro. He says that it would be the best restaurant in many cities, though the standard is higher here. I have not eaten much pasta for fourteen years of a low-carb diet, but I was determined to try the region's famous Tortellini in Brodo (in broth). In Bologna, the small tortellinis are stuffed with turkey, veal, ground pork, mortadella, prosciutto crudo, nutmeg, and Parmigiano-Reggiano (the real thing, no sawdust extenders, as has been reported in the US!). The broth is sublime. They also had a lovely rosé, my current favorite, which was not commonly found on this trip. We had the chance to taste the fine aged Balsamic vinegar on ice cream for dessert!



The porticoes were later handy on our rainy Sunday
We whiled away the afternoon exploring. Most of the streets have covered porticoes along both sides, a hallmark of the city. 

Bologna is associated with the color red for both the hues of its medieval buildings and porticoes and its Communist tradition!








Basilica di San Petronio
The gothic Basilica di San Petronio occupies the other end of the massive Piazza Maggiore. As you can see, the marble facade was never completed.


















The high-flying nave



















We shopped for my birthday request: bright red boots. I exhausted all possibilities in Florence and found only dark red or flat boots. Alas, I found the pair waiting for me along the Via Ugo Bassi: bright red suede with fuchsia rubber soul and heel. Oh...they were made in Spain!






We wandered to a Saturday market just closing up in a piazza, so joined the droves of locals settling along the portico bars for aperitifs and free hors d'oeuvres.  

The Garisenda Tower
Of the many towers in Bologna, this one is noteworthy because it is also leaning, though this does not compel tourists in this case.





We strolled out of the hub along the "spoke" of Via Zamboni towards the University District to dine at the Cantina Bentivoglio. This was not a recommendation from Fred, but a place that offered jazz and dinner, and we were hungry for jazz. Alas, even with a reservation, we were seated in a dining room away from the area with the music, which we could not hear. I made a comparative study of their Tortellini in Brodo with the exquisite version I had had for lunch! Theirs was also delicious, if not as delicate. After dinner we passed by the music area and discovered the evening's act was a female Brazilian singer. At least we were not starved for musica Brasileira.

On our way back we caught this magical light in a corner portico of the Piazza di Porta Ravegnana. Timeless.














Mercato di Mezzo
A rainy Sunday put a damper on the whole city after that effulgent Saturday. We made our damp way to the Mercato di Mezzo for lunch: an indoor market with stalls offering everything of note to eat in Bologna, plus wines and beers. The shared tables stay filled with locals and the atmosphere is jovial. I had octopus and prosecco.





We marched pretty far to reach Fred's recommended gelato: La Sorbetteria. I had the dark chocolate, Newton the milk chocolate.






The incomparable Tamburini shop

Our last stop was the food purveyor that Fred considers the finest in Italy: Tamburini. The old family-run shop prides itself on following the ancient traditions of farmers, "closer to the rhythms and dictates of nature...without short-cuts, without additives, and with love." We bought my revered finocchiona - salami made with fennel - and some impeccable cheese.



On the chilly way home we picked up bread, fruit and wine for a cozy dinner of perfect salami and cheese!

We were off in a rental car the next morning back to Tuscany, to the lovely hilltop town of Montalcino.

Love,
Sandy




Sunday, November 20, 2016

Florence Dispatch

>The first time I went to Florence, Italy was in 1967 at age seventeen. Newton and I have dropped in there a couple of times in our travels, but this fall we exchanged our home for seventeen days in a lovely apartment smack dab in the middle of everything. Observation: there are twenty times more tourists in Florence now than in 1967. I don't believe this is an exaggeration.


Statue of Dante Alighieri in front of Santa Croce
And why not droves of tourists? The city - always wealthy - is a repository of finely preserved beauty and genius, which was nurtured and protected long before the Renaissance brought its own new onslaught of genius. Leonardo, Michelangelo and Dante, among many others, walked those streets. Their patrons, the Medici, preferred tunnels and passages between their palaces to avoid death on the streets at the hands of their enemies. Florence was generally at odds with Siena and emperors were generally at odds with popes. The untold, world-changing treasures the Medici commissioned and left to history exist in a small city that is pristine, breathtaking... and very crowded. I understand why the whole world believes this phenomenal trove belongs to everyone.


The question of throngs of tourists is not an easy one, especially for our exchange couple, a retired Florentine professor of physics and his wife from Abruzzo. Fabrizio and Vittoria lived in the apartment in Florence for ten years. They watched their relationship with shop owners weaken, their civic organizations wither, their ability to move about town, increasingly impeded. Newer to the city have been countless busloads of tourists - many from cruises that dock on the coast - and an increase in tour groups from Asia added to the tour groups from everywhere else. All tend to move about the city in clumps. The sidewalks are maybe  two feet wide, and when one steps into the street to pass, the street itself can barely accommodate two small cars passing. Getting stuck behind a tour group in a museum can actually curtail one's chance to see what is exhibited. While this crowding is a fact in Rome, as well, Rome has more space.

>Our apartment was 70 stairs up, but appointed with finely made pieces.


Newton at work

Window lace

Window lace

Stained glass loft bathroom doors
Sauce made with red wine
>Our stay was fantastic, gorgeous, intense and difficult. We found delicious, un-tourist-spoiled food by way of our food guide, Fred Plotkin. Having given away our prior editions of his Italy for the Gourmet Traveler - which has been our bible since 2004 - we decided to buy the latest edition while in New York last summer. The bookseller referred to it as "the brick!" It is heavy. Many have beseeched Fred to offer a digital version, but so far, no go. Newton surgically sliced out the pages pertaining to our destinations this trip: Toscana, Emilia-Romagna and Lazio, then scanned each page for use on our devices and phones. The pay-off was grand!

We also loved the trattoria down the block that Vittoria and Fabrizio recommended, Il Pennello. We knew Fred would approve: mom and pop establishment; consistently delicious food; good house wine; reasonably priced. We became regulars!


At Teatro del Sale
Fred recommended Teatro del Sale, owned by the famous chef, Fabio Picchi, who prides himself on using fresh ingredients from the Sant'Ambrogio Market next door. An old theater was adapted to a dining room with a stage and a large buffet table. Specialties are announced throughout the meal by chefs shouting from the kitchen! Aqua frizzante, red and white wine and espresso are help yourself a-la-spina. After dinner, everyone lines their chairs up for a performance of various art forms. Our night was Spanish guitarists. Fun and delish.


>
The David copy, in its idealized classical perfection
We decided to avoid the most popular attractions that we had already seen, such as the Academia, which houses Michelangelo's David and is mobbed...though I never tired of passing the copy of the David in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in "our" Piazza della Signoria. 










Palazzo Vecchio and the Neptune Fountain in the Piazza della Signoria, from our apartment window


...and out our window by day, with the crowds lining up




































One afternoon near closing time, we could easily stroll into the elaborate courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio without waiting in line. The coat of arms shown with embedded balls is that of the Medici; these appear in most historic buildings in Florence

We also passed frequently in our Piazza this exquisite and graphic sculpture of Perseus holding the head of Medusa, by Cellini. Hermes (Mercury) lent Perseus his winged sandals to fly and Athena lent a special shield. Perseus then slew the sleeping Medusa in the Gorgon's cave. The statue shares a vaulted colonnade with many sculptures in this corner next to the Palazzo Vecchio.






On the other side of the Palazzo is the Fountain of Neptune:

>I thought I'd fight my way in to see one of the big museums again while Newton worked. I had not yet done so when we had a conversation with an American couple at the next table at lunch. They had purchased the three-day passes to most palaces, churches and museums for the sole purpose of avoiding the lines. They were traveling on after lunch and offered us their passes. The Uffizi was still available and just steps from our door, so we hung those tags around our necks and sashéed past the lines for an afternoon in an exceptional museum.

Pan, with a mannered swagger











Post-classical motion and open space
And an actual classical Greek work, Athena


Botticelli's "Birth of Spring" (His famous "Birth of Venus" was on the opposite wall, but you may already know that one; BIG crowd)

Caravaggio's favorite model, here as the slain Medusa

Speaking of genius: the classical elegance and restraint of Leonardo's "Annunciation"

>We could have used remaining pass locations the following day, except we had already bought timed tickets for the train to Pisa. The leaning tower was something I didn't need to see twice, but having talked Newton out of going through Pisa more than once in the past, I surrendered. Pisa is a bit dirty and bedraggled next to Florence, but the weather was beautiful, we saw the damn tower and had a nice lunch. Problem was, our timed return train tickets were for 10:00pm, and there was nothing else to do in the city on a Sunday. We sneaked back on the next train and were lucky to neither have to play dumb nor get fined, as the conductor did not show up in our car.




Leaning Husband in Pisa
There are some beautiful contemporary marble sculptures around Pisa that invite interaction with pedestrians.














>The Bardini Garden, across the Arno in Florence, was less popular with tourists than the Boboli, so we had a very tranquil afternoon hiking, visiting three exhibits in the villa, and crossing the road to Fort Belvedere for even more vistas of the city.











This extraordinary fashion exhibit of Roberto Capucci at the Villa Bardini took my breath away.




































Hillside view from Fort Belvedere
A nice late afternoon glass of wine at Fort Belvedere


>It was during our incredible lunch at the Cantinetta dei Verrazzano in Florence, where we had delicious wine and fennochiona (salami made with fennel), that we inquired about the Castello di Verrazzano winery. The instructions were simple: make a reservation for a tour and catch a 40-minute bus there. The ride through the Tuscan hills was as stunning and storybook lovely as always. We got off one stop before the town of Greve-in-Chianti in the specific, strictly regulated Chianti Classico strip that falls between Florence and Sienna. 




The clerk in the Verrazzano shop down on the road told us the winery was a one kilometer hike up the hill. He lied. It was over two kilometers up and up, I had on wedge shoes, and the last stretch before the castello was unpaved, so the cars that passed us (without offering a ride) covered us in dust. We arrived just five minutes late for our tour - huffing and puffing - but then had the most marvelous tour and lunch imaginable! The tract of land is huge. They raise boars and pigs to make their own salamis and prosciuttos.


This medium-sized vineyard produces around 250,000 bottles per year
If the name Verrazzano rings any bells with you..."Saturday Night Fever," for example...it is because Giovanni da Verrazzano, who 'discovered' the bay of New York, was born here in 1485. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge between Brooklyn and Staten Island was named for him.



















Neighboring castello
These are the white grapes airing out for three additional months in order to concentrate the sugars for the famous dessert wine, Vin Santo. Our tour guide explained that a favorite dessert in Tuscany is the hard almond "biscotti" dipped in Vin Santo.






They also age balsamic vinegar for ten years here in decreasing barrel sizes until it is a concentrate of pure heaven...drizzled on a piece of cheese at lunch, but also popular on vanilla ice cream! It is expensive.

The lunch/wine tasting was out of a dream.
Our wines included two levels of Chianti Classico, an exceptional white, and a "Super Tuscan"...wines that do not adhere to the Classico rules and which mix other grapes with the Sangiovese

Il Duomo di Firenze
>I took my eyeglass prescription I secured in New York last summer to a Florentine optician next to the Duomo and the Baptistry. The lines to enter either were always too long, but I never tired of observing the buildings on my numerous trips to the optician. The Duomo facade, which is too lacy for my tastes, was added in the eighteenth century. I found the medieval Romanesque Baptistry (with some classical Renaissance touches added later) pleasing to the eye. Besides, it offers Ghiberti's gilt bronze bas relief doors from the early fifteenth century on the east side. The next century they were dubbed "The Gates of Paradise" by Michelangelo. Each panel depicts a scene from the Old Testament. 




Il Duomo facade


The Baptistry
















The Gates of Paradise


















There was a contest for the third and final set of doors of the Baptistry which pitted the accomplished artist, engineer and architect of the Duomo, Brunelleschi, against the young Ghiberti, who had already made a previous set of bronze doors. Ghiberti won, though both artists are considered inspiring influences of the early Renaissance. You can see that the quatrefoil framing was eliminated in the final work of art.


Brunelleschi's entry (Bargello Museum)


Ghiberti's entry (Bargello Museum) - both are of Abraham and Isaac

>The true highlight of our stay was lunch at Fabrizio and Vittoria's house, a 20-minute drive into the Tuscan hills, situated on the grounds of another winery. The two of them really outdid themselves serving up the epitome of a Florentine lunch. We started with a visit to Fabrizio's wine cellar, cleverly using these terra cotta bricks to aid further in the temperature control.


He had already told us we would be having Brunello di Montalcino - our favorite Italian wine - of which he has an impressive collection. He opened two bottles: from 2005 and 1998...and a Sardo white.



Florentine beef

While Fabrizio cooked this gigantic slab of bistecca alla fiorentina, we had some incredible Tuscan cheeses and Vittoria's pasta in fresh tomato sauce.

The beef is served with fresh arugula and large shavings of Parmesan cheese. 

We ended with guess what? Vin Santo and delicious almond biscotti to dip!


As the charming and generous Fabrizio and Vittoria were driving us back, we realized we had taken no photos. Everyone jumped out of the car, leaving it in the middle of a narrow road, and we snapped various combinations of ourselves. Newton decided to put his phone camera on timer to include all of us, so he balanced the bottle of Brunello that Fabrizio sent home with us on top of the car and leaned the phone against it. We're all laughing here because we're waiting for the timer click while an unamused driver has arrived who cannot pass. Pressure. I adore this photo!
Newton, Vittoria, Fabrizio and I
>Newton and I walked for miles in Florence. We returned to the quieter far side of the Arno and ate at Fred's recommendation, Trattoria del Carmine in Piazza del Carmine, twice. 

The Basilica di Santo Spirito is an elegant Renaissance church that has not had Baroque overlays of opulence spoiling it's classical purity. Brunelleschi did the original perspective drawings.









We climbed to the Piazzale Michelangelo, featuring a giant copy of the David and spectacular views.

We crossed back over the bridge and went to a rooftop bar at a hotel along the Arno for more vistas.


The warm late afternoon light creates a beautiful sight.
Basilica di Santa Croce


>Other excursions on our side of the river took in the gothic Basilica di Santa Croce, whose Seal of Solomon in the top pediment divulges a mystery brought back from the Crusades. I love to spot such clues in the churches.











An international ceramics fair in the Piazza Santissima Annunziata also gave us a chance to see that Renaissance church with more Baroque elements added later:


Santissima Annunziata


Palazzo Bargello Museum
As Newton and I always say, the time between food and wine has to be filled some way or another until we're hungry again! We loved our visit to the medieval Palazzo Bargello Museum. It is a gorgeous setting for gorgeous art.










This exquisite Renaissance piece is 'Flying Mercury" by Giambologna. Perfection.
Hestia, Goddess of Architecture
"David" by the famous early Renaissance sculptor, Donatello. He studied with Ghiberti and contributed significant influence to the high Renaissance. True, this David does not exude the virility of Michelangelo's later masterpiece.
Donatello's "Dancing Cherub"
Sophisticated art and design did not come to a halt centuries ago in this rarified atmosphere. Just walking the streets - our favorite thing after food and wine - is a constant feast for the eye, from the "buona forma" of the elegantly dressed Italians to shop windows and little treasures that appear on walls:











































More from Italy to come.

Love,
Sandy



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