By Sharon Sanders
Our first full day in Palermo started with great time at the Sunday flea market. Mercatino Antiquario di Piazza Marina runs weekly from 7 a.m. to midday. Dozens of vendors surround the lovely gated park and nearby streets.
Celebrating Your Inner Italian
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By Walter Sanders
In 2018, when Sharon was studying Italian in Bergamo, and I caught up with her in Cremona, we met up with old pals James Martin and Martha Bakerjian.
These renowned Italy bloggers split their time between northern California and a small town in the wild and wooly Lunigiana section of Tuscany near Massa Carrarra.
The pair met in the mid-1980s when they both worked on an archeological dig in Sardinia. They share an avid interest in Italy and blog at Martha’s Italy, Wandering Sardinia, and Wandering Italy
Over lunch we decided to meet again in 2019 to explore Sardinia together. In April, 2019 we boarded a Corsica Ferries boat in Livorno for an overnight crossing to Porto Aranci in Sardinia. [Read more…]
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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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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.
It was a thrill to meet the artist and acquire (grazie, Walter) a silk shawl of exceptional beauty.
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“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
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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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.