Simple Italy – Celebrating Your Inner Italian

Best Bakery in Lucca

Posted April 14, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

By Sharon Sanders

Just typing those words and I salivate. Giusti is a fine bakery in the center of Lucca on Via S. Lucia.

Forno a Vapore Amedeo Giusti (steam oven bakery Amedeo Giusti) creates a variety of breads and pastries using stone-ground organic DOP (protected place of origin) flour, heirloom grains, extra-virgin olive oil and other premium ingredients.

The budino di riso (lemon-kissed rice pudding in a cookie crust; above left) was paradise.

A mini crostata filled with stracchino cheese was a savory sensation.

A glazed walnut-fig brioche pastry (right) tasted like Christmas. Walter and I slivered it into disappearing.

The most impressive baked good was the focaccia, both for the quality of the product and the volume of it that left the shop on our two visits.

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Dream Weaver in Lucca

Posted April 12, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

By Sharon Sanders

Weaver Genni Tommasi was profiled in a recent Dream of Italy newsletter article about artisans in Lucca. I bookmarked the piece and this morning made the pilgrimage to Tommasi Loomworks at Via Sant’Andrea 28 to meet the tanto talented Signora Tommasi and her gentle assistant, the collie Lady Hawke.

As promised in the DOI article by Mary Ann Hemphill, the space was graced by Tommasi loom- woven creations in natural fabrics: tops, scarves, neck ornaments, chandelier coverings, tote bags, even aprons. Tommasi, a former harpist, has two looms set up in the back of the showroom. She says her son is now weaving with her.

Tommasi was chatting with friends — an American family who live in Belgium –who had stopped by to visit. Also in the showroom was an associate from Norway who represents Tommasi’s creations in Scandinavia.

Lady Hawke brings a gentle vibe to the Tommasi showroom.

It was a thrill to meet the artist and acquire (grazie, Walter) a silk shawl of exceptional beauty.

The Walls of Lucca

Posted April 9, 2019 by Sharon 2 Comments

“Nel caso di Lucca ci si fierisce quasi sempre, anzi sempre, alla citta definita dall’ambito delle Mura. Perche di essa apprezziao non solo la forma, gli aspetti storici e urbanistici, l’esistenza di monumenti, di beni ed eventi culturali, ma anche la presenza di negozi, di attivita varie, commerciali, degli uffic pubblici e privati; della gente che va e che viene.”

“In the case of Lucca we almost always, indeed always, get to the city defined by the area of the Walls. Because of this it appreciates not only the shape, the historical and urbanistic aspects, the existence of monuments, cultural assets and events, but also the presence of shops, various commercial activities, public and private offices; of the people who come and go.

–Gilberto Bedini, renowned Lucchese architect and urban planner

By Sharon Sanders

Today I am one of the people who come to Lucca and after some days, I’ll depart from Lucca. But the walls encircling the ancient city will remain.

The first defensive walls were built by the Romans. Then came a medieval rendition. The current iteration to protect the city from invaders began construction in the early 1500s and took about a century and a half to complete.

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Genoa Eats

Posted April 8, 2019 by Sharon Leave a Comment

By Sharon Sanders

Walter recounted our Day in Genoa from a cultural perspective. Now for the essential part — the food.

As we strolled and soaked up information with our superb guide Filippo Zamparelli [fzampare@fastwebnet.it], we also stopped here and there for sustenance. Walking through the caruggi, narrow medieval streets and alleys, temptations assaulted us.

We stopped for a torta stuffed with artichokes, warm from the oven. Heaven. Tortas are flat two-crusted pies stuffed with varied vegetables and cheeses.

At another shop, we gawked at the array of baccalá (salted cod) and stoccafisso. It may seem curious that preserved cod from north Atlantic waters are still so popular in Liguria and other parts of Italy but that is the legacy of a seafaring country.

We pass the baroque storefront Pietro Romanengo Fu Stefano pastry shop (since 1780) with marzipani quaresemali displayed in the window. Made during Lent from almond paste and flavorings, then decorated with pearl sugar, these gems hardly seem like deprivation.

Filippo says the locals refer to it as a jewelry shop because the confections resemble gems and cost almost as much. I buy some to take home because I have to keep an appetite for lunch.

Passion for Pesto

As the name explains pesto alla genovese is the signature dish of the city. The condiment is made by grinding Ligurian basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, and extra-virgin olive oil in a marble mortar and pestle. Chef Samin Nosrat visited Nonna Lidia to learn how to make true pesto in Episode 1 or her Netflix series “Salt Fat Acid Heat.”

While non-Italian cooks skip the arm work by using a food processor, purists say the result is not pesto alla genovese. At the Pesto Bene shop, however, someone has devised the best of both worlds: pesto ground in a mortar and pestle by a robot. Robo Pesto!

Pranzo Magnifico

Filippo guided us to the Porto Antico where we wrapped up our morning tour. He bid us arrivederci and pointed us toward Vegia Zena, una trattoria tipica Genovese specialita di pesce (a typical Genoese trattoria specializing in fish). It was literally steps from the piazza on Vico del Serriglio.

Vegia Zena (Genoese dialect for Old Genoa) was everything we love: cozy, unpretentious, filled with happy locals, and serving mouth-watering food.

With a mezzo litro of the house white, we savored fried mussels, grilled octopus, fried rosetti, taglierini in squid ink, and spaghetti with clams.

Satisfied? Oh my, yes!

Not Just Gelato

Throughout the morning I noticed store signs touting vera panera (true panera). It’s pronounced PAH-nayra. Filippo explained that it’s a creamy coffee gelato that’s the signature flavor of the city.

Since I’m a palate purist, I could not sample it before lunch so we walked to the train station after Vegia Zena. I felt justified in indulging at the inviting Gelateria Balbi. It was sumptuous. It coated the roof of my mouth. This is not gelato, I thought. Gelato is made with milk. My tongue was correct.

After some research, I learned that panera is a semifreddo (half frozen), an egg-based mixture flavored with coffee then folded into whipped cream. Panera is a truncation of panna (cream) and nera for black coffee.

More information

~~I would be remiss if I did not mention my go-to source “Italy for the Gourmet Traveler” by Fred Plotkin. Fred also recommends Vegia Zena in his Genoa listing, so I knew that along with Filippo’s word, we were in for a good meal. [Fred’s publisher Kyle Books, if you’re reading this, PLEASE digitalize this volume! It’s densely packed with information but it’s too heavy when one is packing light. I have seen travel chat pages about this topic!]

~~Cooking teacher and author Domenica Marchetti offers an Italian Riviera Tour that includes half a week in Genoa, cooking classes, walking tours, visits to local food producers and more.

~~Some tastes for next time or, if you get to Genoa before I do, please also sample. Torta Zena is a sponge cake filled with rum-flavored zabaglione and trimmed with almond paste. The fry shops are said to be the best! Try fried fish or panissa (chickpea fritters).

Have you eaten in Genoa? What is your favorite Genoese food memory?

One Day in Genoa

Posted April 5, 2019 by Sharon 8 Comments

By Walter Sanders

They Say Genova. We Say Genoa.

Piazza Caricamento fronts the Porto Antico.

My previous experience in Genoa was in the airport in 1999 to attend a Financial Services Congresso (Conference) in nearby Portofino.

I recall the view from the car window upon leaving the airport as uninspiring: a mixed bag of grungy industrial sites, grim housing, busy highways.

So, upon an 8:15 a.m. arrival at Genoa’s Porto Principe railroad station to meet our guide Filippo Zamparelli [fzampare@fastwebnet.it] for a walking tour of the city, I am a blank canvas.

Filippo (right) captained our little group through the old port of Genoa.

Filippo is a delight. Bookish, fine command of English, a sharp sense of humor, a deep and abiding interest in history (his major field of study at the University of Genova) and a lifelong resident of the city.

We get to know each other informally over a caffé. He loves history of all types … including US history. Turns out that he follows the Chicago Cubs who until 2016, share a lovable losing history akin to the Genoa soccer club, which Filippo also closely follows.

From the get-go of the tour, Filippo emphasizes how the city is changing itself. Long a port of global importance, and a major industrial city of Italy, Genoa found itself falling behind other port and industrial cities. The competition was killing the city and it was unable or unwilling to react.

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Three Days In Milan

Posted April 2, 2019 by Sharon 10 Comments

By Walter Sanders

The Set Up: Sharon and I caught a great airfare on Emirates from our new hometown Charlotte to Milan. We decided to make a two-month visit to Italy focusing on areas we have never experienced or wished to know better.

A local guide always adds value no matter how often you visit a place. Look at the passion on her face.

We’re not strangers to Milan, but Sharon and I have never been there together.

Milan is a world-class city on the make in every way: fashion, design, home and office furnishings, music, art, banking, the whole shebang.

And the colors! Not just grays and glass but shocking Phalo blues, vivid pinks, blinding white marble, and husky maroons jostle for your attention. The skyline is in constant flux where construction cranes abound and whimsical grattacieli (skyscrapers) erupt into the sky.

Yet on ground level there’s a comforting familiarity. Outdoor cafes and restaurants as spring had sprung. Shop windows display the unique Italian ability to have love affairs between style and commerce and one night stands between sleek designs and future functionality.

And the fashions! Sure, in the windows. But look around on the streets, in the Duomo square, in Brera, even at the central station. People looking grand. Look at that guy! Movie star maybe? No, just some well-dressed, super-coiffed guy grabbing a caffé.

And look at her! She’s a 6’ 1” exotic principessa walking among plebeians. Is she a holdover runway model from Milan’s Fashion Week or just a regular working woman booking it back to the office?

The city is lousy with glamour.

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