INSIDE: Rome Favorites 2 Recipe: Ravioli Gnudi 7 Venice by Kayak 8 Get Your Own Florentine Perfume 8 The Dream Interview: dream of ITALY ® Volume 8, Issue 4 www.dreamofitaly.com May 2009 Secrets of the Italian Language ver the last quarter-century, I have devoted countless hours and effort—enough, if applied to more practical pursuits, for the down payment on a villa in Umbria—to the wiliest of Western tongues. I have studied Italian in every way I could find—with CDs and podcasts, in private tutorials and conversation groups, and in what some might deem unconscionable amounts of time in Italy. wordsmiths, embodies its native speakers’ greatest genius: the ability to transform anything—from marble to melody, from the humble noodle to life itself—into a joyous art. While other tongues do little more than speak, this lyrical language thrills the ear, beguiles the mind, captivates the heart, enraptures the soul, and comes closer than any other idiom to expressing the essence of what it means to be human. I’ve come to think of Italian as a briccone—a lovable rascal, a clever, twinkle-eyed scamp that you can’t resist even when it plays you for the fool. Croce e delizia, torment and delight, Verdi’s Violetta sang of love. The same holds true for the language his operas carried on golden wings. Centuries before there was an Italy, there was Italian. Its roots date back nearly 2,800 years when a band of itinerant shepherds and farmers, possibly led by the legendary Romulus, settled on the hills above the Tiber. Their utterances evolved into the volgare (from the Latin sermo vulgaris, for the people’s common speech), the continued on page 4 O Italian, handcrafted by poets and Catching Up with the Diva of Tuscan Cooking C alifornia native Judy Witts Francini fell in love when she moved to Tuscany in 1984, first with Florence and then with her husband, Andrea. Already trained as a pastry chef, Judy began to study Tuscan cooking right at the source learning from locals at the markets how to choose and combine the best and freshest ingredients. In 1988, she started Divina Cucina, a cooking school across the street from Florence’s famous food market, Mercato Centrale. Judy’s passion for her topic and wealth of knowledge about authentic Tuscan cooking earned Divina Cucina media attention around the world. Her classes were always filled. In an effort to share her techniques with an even broader audience, Judy suspended her classes and threw herself into writing her cookbook. The result is Secrets From My Tuscan Kitchen, available at her Web site www.divinacucina.com. The book is a collection of nearly 100 recipes that she perfected and taught in her cooking classes over the years. Her personal motto is that even if one wasn’t lucky enough to be born a Tuscan, you can bring Tuscany to your own home through food. Dream of Italy spoke to Judy about cooking like a Tuscan, dining in Tuscany and what she’s doing now. DOI: What distinguishes Tuscan cooking from that of other regions in Italy? JWF: Definitely simplicity and quality of ingredients. They say that Tuscans are not great chefs, but that they are great cooks. I take this to mean that they don’t do fancy sauces, but know continued on page 6 Florentines are called mangiafagioli (bean eaters). Author Dianne Hales: My The author of La Bella Lingua, Dianne Hales has been studying Italian and traveling to Italy for decades. She shares her insider picks for how to learn the language and where to stay, where to eat and what to do in her favorite Italian destinations. Rome FAVORITE PLACES TO STAY Hotel Hassler A Roman institution that sets the standard for top-of-the-line service. Villa Laetitia A small ultra-chic boutique hotel owned by Anna Fendi and located in a lush garden behind a historic mansion on the banks of the Tiber. (See Dream of Italy’s review in the May 2008 issue.) L Lungotevere Delle Armi, 22/23 (39) 06 3226776 www.villalaetitia.com MOST UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE Lifting my face to feel rain falling through the circular opening in the Pantheon’s ceiling. L (39) 06 48903612 www.romanreference.com FAVORITE RESTAURANTS L Piazza Trinità dei Monti, 6 (39) 06 699340 www.hotelhassler.com 2 Roman Reference For longer stays, I prefer to rent an apartment. This agency offers a wide range of apartments in different locations and price ranges and excellent, reliable service. Camponeschi On a weekend night, good food is just part of the cosmopolitan entertainment. A great place to celebrate. L Piazza Farnese, 50 (39) 06 6874927 www.ristorantecamponeschi.it FAVORITE PLACES Borghese Gardens for morning jogs and afternoon strolls; Pincio, above the Piazza di Popolo to watch the sunset; Palatine Hill for the evocative sense of Rome as it was very long ago; Castel Sant’Angelo for the views from and of it. Florence FAVORITE PLACES TO STAY Palazzo Magnani Feroni This exquisitely restored Renaissance palazzo has just 12 opulent suites and a roof terrace with a 360degree view of Florence. L Borgo San Frediano, 5 (39) 055 2399544 www.palazzomagnaniferoni.it GIDEC This extremely well-run agency rents artfully decorated apartments in centrally located palazzi. L www.gidec.it FAVORITE RESTAURANTS HOW AND WHERE TO STUDY ITALIAN “Tutto fa brodo.” (Everything makes soup.) This Italian proverb sums up my approach to learning the language. I have played Living Language tapes in the car. I downloaded podcasts from www.learnitalianpod.com. I have taken dozens of language and culture classes at ItaLingua Institute (www.italingua.com) in the San Francisco Bay area. I have listened to Italian news, movies, and music. Everything helped, but I learned the most in Italy—in and out of the classrooms of Società Dante Alighieri (www.ladante.it) schools in Florence and Rome and the Accademia Lingua Italiana (www.aliassisi.it) in Assisi. My best tutors have been the Italians I met, who are patient, forgiving, and enthusiastic teachers. Don’t worry about making a strafalcione (Italian for a linguistic blunder). Parli! (Speak!) Golden View With a location on the banks of the Arno with a close-up view of the Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi, this restaurant offers a great atmosphere. Ignore the cheesy name, reserve a window table, and enjoy the superb fiorentina steak and live jazz. L Via dei Bardi, 58 (39) 055 214502 www.goldenviewopenbar.com The first city to have 1 million in Favorites in Italy Alle Murate This restaurant is in a restored guild hall with sophisticated cuisine and the oldest known portrait of Dante Alighieri (with a straight rather than hooked nose). L Palazzo dell’Arte dei Giudici e Notai Via del Proconsolo, 16r (39) 055 240618 www.artenotail.org FAVORITE PLACES Beatrice’s tomb in La Badia, a church near Dante’s house; the view of the sunset from San Miniato al Monte; Boboli Gardens; Massacio’s frescoes in the Brancacci Chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine; the reading room and Michelangelo staircase in the Laurentian library. Hotel Borgo San Felice This small medieval hamlet is surrounded by vineyards and olive groves and makes an ideal base for exploring the Chianti countryside. L Località San Felice Castelnuovo Berardenga (Siena) (39) 0577 3964 www.borgosanfelice.com Hotel Certosa di Maggiano This restored monastery at the outskirts of Siena offers a gracious setting (including a loggia for leisurely outdoor lunches) and meticulous service, including the crispest table linens I’ve ever seen. L Strada di Certosa, 82/86 Siena (39) 0577 288180 www.certosadimaggiano.com MOST UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE FAVORITE RESTAURANTS Watching fireworks explode above the Piazza della Signoria as Zubin Mehta conducted Tchiakovsky’s “1812 Overture” for the finale of the annual Maggio Musicale concert series. Ristorante da Bracali A Michelin-starred restaurant run by two brothers — one the chef, the other the sommelier — that offers innovative cuisine and a superb wine list in a sophisticated setting that mixes classic and contemporary elements. Tuscany FAVORITE PLACES TO STAY Il Pellicano This is the most romantic hotel I know in the most spectacular coastal setting. We’ve gone back every year for two decades. L Località Sbarcatello Porto Ercole (39) 0564 858111 www.pellicanohotel.com L Via di Perolla, 2 Ghirlanda www.bracaliristorante.it Antica Trattoria Aurora Cinghiale (wild boar) is the local specialty, and you can eat it in more ways than you might guess in this charming, rustic trattoria. The walled medieval town, particularly impressive as you drive toward it in the evening, is itself worth the trip. L Via Lavagnini, 12/14 Magliano in Toscana (39) 0564 592 774 FAVORITE PLACES La Feniglia on the lagoon of Argentario for its long beach and shady walking trail; Pitigliano for its dramatic setting; Orbetello for its piazza, gelato and shops. MOST UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE Chartering a boat to explore the pristine islands of Giglio and Giannutri and to swim in crystal-clear waters in quiet coves. L F-Marine Marina Cala Galera Porto Ercole (39) 0564 817033 www.fmarine.net 1 € = $1.34 at press time dream of ITALY ® Kathleen A. McCabe Editor and Publisher Copy Editor: Stephen J. McCabe Design: Leaird Designs www.leaird-designs.com Dream of Italy, the subscription newsletter covering Italian travel and culture, is published 10 times a year. Delivery by mail is $89 per year in the United States and $99 abroad. An Internet subscription (downloadable PDF) costs $79 per year. Subscriptions include online access to over 60 back issues and regular e-mail updates. Three ways to subscribe: 1. Send a check to Dream of Italy, P.O. Box 5496, Washington, DC, 20016 2. Call 877-OF-ITALY (toll free) or 202-297-3708 3. Subscribe online at www.dreamofitaly.com (Visa, Mastercard and American Express accepted) Editorial feedback is welcome. E-mail: editor@dreamofitaly.com Advertising opportunities are available. E-mail: ads@dreamofitaly.com Copyright © 2009 Dream of Italy, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited. Every effort is made to provide information that is accurate and reliable; however, Dream of Italy cannot be responsible for errors that may occur. ISSN 1550-1353 www.dreamofitaly.com habitants was Rome in 133 B.C. 3 Secrets of the Italian Language continued from page 1 4 The first miracle of Italian is its survival. No government mandated its use. No mighty empire promoted it as an official language. No conquering armies or armadas trumpeted it to distant lands. Brutally divided, invaded, and conquered, the Mediterranean peninsula remained a patchwork of dialects, often as different from each other as French from Spanish or English from Italian. Sailors from Genoa couldn’t understand—or be understood by—merchants from Venice or farmers from Friuli. Florentines living in il centro, the heart of the city, couldn’t speak the dialect of San Frediano, my favorite neighborhood, on the other side of the Arno. Italian as we know it was created, not born. With the same thunderbolt genius that would transform art in the Renaissance, writers of 14th-century Florence—Dante first and foremost— crafted the effervescent Tuscan vernacular into a language rich and powerful enough to sweep down from heaven and up from hell. This priceless living legacy, no less than Petrarch’s poetry, Michelangelo’s sculptures, Puccini’s operas, Fellini’s movies, or Valentino’s dresses, is an artistic masterwork. Just about everything that can be said has been said in Italian—then rephrased, edited, modified, synthesized, and polished to a verbal gleam. It’s no wonder that a single Italian word can reveal more than an entire English paragraph. A headline in Rome captures the misadventures of Britney Spears with a nickname: la scandalosa. A historian’s description of Machiavelli as a mangiapreti (priest-eater) neatly sums up the master strategist’s religious views. An Italian friend winces and blames “il colpo della strega” (the strike of a witch, a fitting term for a back spasm). Barcollare—to move like a boat—perfectly conveys the swaying stride of a drunken sailor. Although I have yet to use it in a sentence, the very existence of colombeggiare, which means to kiss one another like doves, makes me smile. piece of bread) in Italian. Rather than having heart or guts, a brave Italian has fegato (liver) while a man in gamba (literally on a leg) is on top of his game. In Italian, it’s a compliment to be praised for your nose (naso), for intuition; hand (mano), for artistry; or testicles (coglioni), for being, well, ballsy. Just as in Italy’s cars, clothes, and countryside, there is nothing happenstance about the language. English speakers blurt, spitting out words without a moment’s thought. Italians, skilled in the art of sistemarsi (organizing a life), assemble a sentence as meticulously as they construct tiramisu. “Tutto a posto e niente in disordine,” my friend Cinzia Fanciulli, manager of the Borgo San Felice resort near Siena, likes to say as she surveys her gleaming realm, every flower bed manicured, every table top shining. “Everything is in order, and nothing is disorganized.” Romans, scanning the city even they describe as “caotica” (chaotic), prefer to joke, “Niente a posto, e tutto in disordine.” (Nothing is in order, and everything is disorganized.) Italians’ irrepressible wit sparkles in words like trucco (trick) for make-up and bugiardino, or little liar, the term doctors use for the patient information insert for a prescription drug. Friends encapsulate the 14-inch height discrepancy between my husband and me by describing us as an “il”—the combination of a short “i” and a tall “l” that translates into “the.” The fact that Neapolitans once coined a word for a Italy’s long past requires four tenses (not counting the subman who paints the eyes of junctive’s past forms): passato day-old fish in markets so prossimo, trapassato prossimo, they appear fresh crystallizes passato remoto and the imperthe ingenious survival skills fetto, or imperfect—“the most of the locals. Would-be buyItalian of tenses,” one of my ers of Tuscan villas might teachers contends—for unfintake heed of a new meaning Vatican Library ished business. Business can for the word falsificatore to remain unfinished a long time in Italy. refer to a craftsman who makes furniA researcher tells of requesting a book ture look very old and sells it at from the catalogue of the Vatican exorbitant prices to gullible foreigners. Library, only to receive a notice stating, “To trust is good,” says an old Italian “Missing since 1530.” proverb my friends like to quote. “Not to trust is better.” Italy’s food and language meld together as smoothly as cacio sui maccheroni A very good person, someone we (cheese on macaroni). Both boast a rich might praise in English as the salt of and rollicking history dating back to the earth, becomes un pezzo di pane (a jabbusch, Flickr.com rough-and-ready spoken vernacular. Scrappy street Latin, not the classical, cadenced rhetoric of Caesar and Cicero, gave rise to all the Romance languages, including Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. Just about everything that then rephrased, edited, Italian has 200,000 words com can be said has been said in Italian— modified, synthesized, and polished to a verbal gleam. regions use slightly different recipes and names for the fried pastries served at Carnevale: cenci (rags), chiacchere (gossips), lattughe (lettuce leaves), nastrini (ribbons), and nodi deglli innamorati (lovers’ knots). ice cream), ciambellone (ring cake), suspiru di Monaca (a nun’s sigh), and tiramisu (pick-me-up) glide so deliciously over my tongue that I agree with cooks who claim they can fare respirare i morti (make the dead breathe). Italians have long realized that we are, quite literally, what we eat. Sapia, Latin for taste, gave rise to Italian’s sapienza (wisdom). In pursuit of divine wisdom and saintly virtues, as Carol Field records in Celebrating Italy, Italians developed the tradition of “eating the gods.” Through the yearly cycle of church holidays, they devour dita degli apostoli (fingers of the apostles, crêpes filled with sweetened ricotta); minni di Sant’Agata (breasts of Saint Agatha, stuffed with marzipan); occhi di Santa Lucia (eyes of Santa Lucia, circles of durum bread); and at Christmas cartellate (the cloths that cradled the baby Jesus, made of flour, oil, and dry white wine) and calzoncicchi di Gesu Bambino (pillows of pasta filled with a mix of pureed garbanzos, chocolate, and homemade rosolio, fried, and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon). When I asked a waiter about the Italian’s gastronomic words—like the golden hue of risotto alla milanese, he dishes they describe—do more than claimed its origins dated back tease or appease the appetite. to the construction of Milan’s They spice up daily conversamulti-spired Duomo, which tions. Italians deftly describe a began in the 14th century. A busybody who noses into young apprentice glass-maker everything as prezzemolo (parsworking on windows for the ley); someone uptight, as a cathedral created such radiant baccala (dried cod); a silly fool, colors that his colleagues as a salame (salami); and a bore, relentlessly teased him about as a pizza or a mozzarella. adding saffron to the pigments Gotten yourself into a mess? Liguria fisherman to make them so brilliant. You’ve made an omelette (fatto To retaliate, he mixed saffron with the una frittata). Fed up and can’t take any rice for his master’s wedding. The more? You’re in the fruit (alla frutta). appetizing result proves the wisdom Have a crush on someone? You’re of one of my favorite Italian proverbs: cooked (cotto). Italians dismiss a story Anche l’occhio vuole la sua parte. The eye, told time and again as fritta e rifritta too, wants its part. (fried and refried), a worthless or banal movie as a polpettone (large meatball), So does the ear. The next time you’re in and something that’s all sizzle and no Italy, listen as well as look at the wonsteak as “tutto fumo e niente arrosto” (all ders around you. One is a language so smoke and no roast). beloved by its speakers that it inspired a song. La Nostra Lingua Italiana (Our Italian cuisine, like Italian itself, has Italian Language), written in 1993 by many tongues. Rather than una cucina Riccardo Cocciante, celebrates Italian italiana, every region developed a as serene, sweet, welcoming, universal, gusto della geografia, a geographic generous, and sensual, the language of taste based on climate, topography, statues and cathedrals, of boats and local products, and distinctive ways serenades at sea, of looks and smiles of baking bread, growing olives, from afar, of palaces and fountains, of aging cheese, and shaping pasta. opera and the grand Italian cinema, The wives of Ligurian fishermen, for and of everyone looking for un po’ example, created la cucina del ritorno, d’amore (a little love). “homecoming cooking,” that includes a marvelous torta marinara, which is And that’s just about all of us. not a fish pie but a savory flan, to welcome their men back from the sea. —Dianne Hales Sardinian bakers rolled flat breads so thin that shepherds could fold the Dianne Hales is the author of the newly almost-transparent carte da musica published book, La Bella Lingua: My (sheets of music) and carry them in Love Affair With Italian, The World’s Most Enchanting Language (Broadway their pockets for a snack. Different maong, Flicker.com I have adopted a similar strategy of “eating Italian” to make the language part of strozzapreti with pesto me. l read aloud the lilting words for simple culinary techniques, such as rosolare for make golden, sbricciolare for crumble, and sciaquare for rinse. I revel in the linguistic pantry of pasta shapes: little ears, half sleeves, stars, thimbles—and the tartly named lingue di suocera, “twisted mother-in-law tongues,” and strozzapreti, “priest-stranglers” (rich enough to sate ravenous clerics before the expensive meat course). Desserts like zuccotto (sponge bombe filled with shadowgate, Flickr.com ancient times. Both vary greatly from region to region, even from village to village. Both reflect centuries of invasion, assimilation, and conquest. And both can transform daily necessities into vibrant celebrations. Books, $24.95). pared to 600,000 in English. 5 Tuscan Diva continued from page 1 how to use technique in the kitchen for cooking and grilling. They tend to respect the ingredients, and the seasons and let the quality and flavor stand on its own without covering it with sauces or marinades. Nothing has more flavor than a freshly picked zucchini, eaten as close to where it was grown as possible. Tuscans take meat seriously — both beef and pork. The animals here are raised in the fields on natural grasses instead of closed in stables and given hormones, antibiotics and steroids and feed corn to create fat to tenderize the tough meat. 6 DOI: When you first came to Italy 25 years ago, who helped teach you the ins and outs of Tuscan cooking? Who has had the most influence on your recipes? JWF: Once I learned enough Italian, I started eavesdropping on the conversations between the shoppers and merchants at Florence’s Central Market. I also worked in restaurants to get the basic language skills for food. But learning from the Italian mammas themselves was the best. My husband’s family has been a huge help. His mother Tina shared her tricks with me with favorite family-style food and his aunt, Vivetta, passed on restaurant recipes from her trattoria at the sea, where my husband spent all his summers helping out. When Italians eat out they want the food to be as good as at home! DOI: Has anything about Tuscan cuisine changed in the last few decades? JWF: Some of the restaurants have taken to the European food trends of nouvelle cuisine to enter the guidebooks. Although I enjoy tasting some of these dishes, pureed, foamed and fancy plating, when I am hungry I want simple mammastyle meals. For tourists eating out, the restaurants have become more lenient in not requiring that you order the typical three-course meal and have created more salads as menu choices. Tuscans are down to earth people that want real food. My favorite restaurant Cibreo hasn’t changed their menu in 25 years. It is still packed with both locals and tourists. I think Tuscan cooking is all about the basics, so we’re not coming back to but rather holding on to tradition. DOI: What are the most essential ingredients for setting up a Tuscan pantry? JWF: Great olive oil is essential. Extra virgin is the best, the denser oil is unfiltered and is used uncooked on fettunta, salads or for dipping raw vegetables. The lighter oil is used for cooking. Sea salt is another essential. The coarse sea salt is used for salting water for cooking pasta or vegetables. Fine sea salt is used for cooking. Florentines salt heavily because they cook with so many fresh ingredients and their canned products have much less salt. Their bread and butter are also unsalted. That extra pinch of salt really accents garlic and red pepper so taste before serving and adjust as necessary. You also need fresh herbs such as rosemary, basil, sage, mint, thyme and Italian flat-leafed parsley. Garlic is an ingredient but my students are surprised how little garlic is used in Tuscan cooking. Most Italian food we have in America was brought by the first Italian immigrants who came from southern Italy, where there’s a much heavier style of cooking plus when they moved to America they had to cook with what they found, which changed the recipes. DOI: Since you say your book has the “Tuscan Husband Seal of Approval,” which dishes in your cookbook are your husband’s favorites? JWF: These are Andrea’s favorites: Carrettiera — spicy tomato sauce Ravioli Gnudi — naked ravioli (see sidebar for recipe) Braciole — his mother‘s recipe Lesso Rifatto — re-cooked boiled beef with onions Ricciarelli — almond cookies from Siena Salami Dolce — another recipe from Andrea’s mother DOI: You were teaching very popular cooking lessons across from the Central Market in Florence. What are you doing now to share your love of Tuscan cuisine with visitors? JWF: I conduct market tours in Florence (the four-hour Monday tour with lunch and tastings costs 125€ per person) and also host week-long programs in Tuscany and Sicily. I am also writing a lot about food online for my blog at DivinaCucina.com and for FoodConnect.com. “Everyone should try being Itali DOI: Can you recommend a favorite authentic restaurant or two in Florence? JWF: Cibreo (Via Andrea del Verrocchio, 8r; 39- 055-2341100; Closed Sunday and Monday) is an all-time favorite for that special meal. I eat on the “expensive side” so a meal costs around 60€ a person plus wine. There is also a trattoria where you can eat the same foods for 35€ a person and order less expensive wines. Chef Fabio Picchi uses only the best ingredients and tried-andtrue recipes. His seasonings are always spot-on, with the exception of the chili peppers his dad grows for him, sometimes really getting hot. He shows us that home cooking and traditional recipes can be taken to a new level in a fancy restaurant and not spoiled. for For lunch, I like the following places near the market: Pepo — Via Rosina, 4-6r; 39-055-283259; Closed Sunday Fiaschetteria-Trattoria Mario — Via Rosina, 2r; 39-055-218550; Open for lunch only Sergio — Trattoria Gozzi Sergio Piazza San Lorenzo, 8/r; 39-055281941; Open for lunch only except on Sunday DOI: How about a restaurant or two in the countryside that visitors might like? JWF: In the town of Panzano in Chianti, I used to work with master butcher Dario Cecchini (see Dream of Italy’s September 2004 issue) at Antica Macelleria Cecchini. Dario now has two fun places for meat lovers to eat. Solociccia, across the street from the butcher shop, is a classic restaurant offering a mixed meal from antipasto to dessert. Upstairs from the butcher shop, Dario has created Officina della Bistecca, or a “steak school.” “Students” are told to come on time and hungry. When you walk in and see the huge pieces of beef they have ready for the “class,” even the heartiest of eaters is amazed. La Volpaia is one of Tuscany’s most beautiful villages. La Bottega (Piazza della Torre, 2; La Volpaia, Radda in Chianti; 39- 0577-738001; Closed Tuesday) is a family restaurant where you can eat in the garden behind the owner’s house. Carla Barucci and her mom and local women prepare fresh pastas, home-made salamis, and traditional dishes all accompanied by a great wine list. I love coming up here and then walking around the village-turnedwinery. DOI: If your last meal on Earth were to be Tuscan, what would it be? JWF: I adore crespelle alla fiorentina — spinach and ricotta filled crepes, topped with bechamel sauce and baked — or a creamy Tuscan lasagna baked in a wood burning oven. I’d also like to eat Andrea’s mom’s braciole with cheese and capers and her pan-fried potatoes. For dessert, I would have my favorite treat from the pastry shop Antica Pasticceria Sieni in Florence (Via S. Antonino, 54r; 39-055-213830). It is la fedora, a puff pastry base, with a lightly soaked cake layer, topped with whipped cream —solidified with a tiny bit of gelatin and topped with the thinnest layer of chocolate. I’d finish my last meal with a wonderful Illy coffee and a shot of a cru grappa! Diva’s Recipe Ravioli Gnudi Ingredients 12 ounces spinach 12 ounces ricotta 3 eggs 1 ¼ cups flour ¼ teaspoon nutmeg Salt 3 tablespoons parmesan Cook spinach in very little water. Drain and squeeze out all excess water. Chop finely. Place in a large bowl and add ricotta, eggs, parmesan and flour. Season the spinach mixture with salt and nutmeg. Blend well. Bring to boil a large pot of salted water. Lower to simmer. Form ravioli by using a tablespoon or using floured hands, make small walnut size dumplings. Be sure ravioli are covered with a good coating of flour before poaching. Drop a few at a time into salted water. They will drop to the bottom and then float to the top when done. Let simmer 20 to 30 seconds more before removing with a perforated ladle. Place in an ovenproof dish until ready to serve. They are wonderful topped with fresh sage leaves sauteed in butter until crisp. Pour butter and sage on top of ravioli. Toss gently and serve with parmesan cheese. Reprinted with permission from Secrets From My Tuscan Kitchen by Judy Witts Francini an at least once a year.” —Diva 7 News, Tips, Deals and Events G See Venice in a New Way with Venice Kayak “When we paddle around Venice, we’re away and separate from the crowd on land. They don’t matter to us, and we’re just another weird thing to photograph,” says René Seindal, co-founder of Venice Kayak. Getting away from tourist hoards and into the winding canals that make Venice unique offers visitors perhaps the most authentic view and experience of the city. 8 With his co-founder Marco Ballarin, Seindal has been leading kayakers of varying levels through Venetian canals since summer 2008. Ballarin is a native of Venice, and a seasoned kayak and canoe instructor holding Italy’s highest certification level, as well as a marine guide certification. Seindal is Danish, and has extensively studied and traveled in Italy for the past 15 years. The duo is passionate about showing visitors the real Venice—the parts of the city that can only be seen by authorized watercrafts, and that are almost never traveled by gondolas. Tours include some of the outer islands of Venice such as Murano and Burano. There are four touring options: one day, three days, six days or one week, and beginners are always welcome. Routes are agreed on at the start of the day, based on individual or group interests, skills and the weather and tide. Some groups prefer to venture under the Rialto Bridge, see the city’s “secret” canals, or take in the magnificent views of palaces along the Grand Canal. “We can take people to places most Venetians don’t even know exist,” Seindal says. Evening paddles, which are popular on tours lasting three or more days, include a stop for dinner, and allow kayakers to see the city’s finest land features, including the Lido and Piazza San Marco, at night when the city is quietly stunning. Most guests say the evening paddle “is the most spectacular” option, Seindal explains. Day trips (including bilingual tour guide, use of kayak, paddle, other necessary equipment and maps) cost 150€ for an individual or 100€ per person for groups of two to five people. Three-day outings start at 280€ per person. A one-week camping holiday in Venice, with tents at Camping San Nicolò, is 750€ per person. There’s a 20% discount on all trips for groups of six to 12 people. For more information, call (39) 346 4771327 or visit www.venicekayak.com —Sarah Amandolare Get a Custom Perfume Designed in Florence On a Middle East sojourn in the early 1980s, Lorenzo Villoresi discovered a love for the basic elements of perfume, the spices and exotic herbs that would lead to his life’s work. Upon returning to Italy, Villoresi began creating eclectic potpourris and unique fragrances for clients. Today, in his studio in Via de Bardi overlooking Florence, Villoresi develops perfumes matching each customer’s personality and lifestyle, working one-on-one with individuals to translate their emotions into a scent. Each personal perfume consultation takes two to three hours and once Villoresi develops a scent for a client, it is never sold to anyone else. His fee for the consultation is 3,600€. Villoresi focuses on utilizing the purest elements of Tuscany, including laurel, cypress, iris root and olive derivatives. His shop is filled with hundreds of little bottles bearing lovely scents, drawing customers to the on-site Academy of Perfumery, which hosts fragrance-focused lectures and workshops. Villoresi bases his work on a unique philosophy: “A perfume should provide a privileged insight into your own personal essence, a clue to your innermost thoughts and journeys of the soul.” With that devotion to per- sonalized perfume in mind, Villoresi kicked off his business in 1990 when Fendi, the famous Italian fashion house, ordered various potpourris, luxuriously scented candles and fragrant room sprays from him. Three years later, Villoresi released his inaugural line of perfumes and eau de toilettes, including Uomo and Donna, which remain popular today and represent the crux of his business: a combination of Tuscan and Middle Eastern plant essences. Lorenzo Villoresi Firenze is located at Via De Bardi, 12/14. For more information or to set up an appointment to have your own custom perfume created, call (39) 055 2341187 or visit www.lorenzovilloresi.it —S.A. It takes 30 minutes to paddle from St. Mark’s to Lido.