A Lunch in Arezzo

 If you’ve read this blog for a while you likely know that there are two authors - Judy (the tall blonde one) and Joanne (me, the short brunette one). We have a lot in common, especially our love of travel in general and Italy in particular.  But we also have differences, including very different travel schedules. As an example, Judy tends to take more frequent, shorter trips while I go for fewer but longer trips. This means that we don't often get to travel together, but we do try to find a way to meet up in Italy every year, which is always fun.

In spring of this year we had overlapping trips to Italy and were able to spend a week in Lucca at the same time. During this time, Judy proposed renting a car and taking a day trip. Here is another of our differences - I never drive in Italy while Judy, well …. Judy was born to drive on Italian roads. Her skill is impressive; she can drive a standard transmission at Italian speeds and hold her own with all those Italian lane changes. I'm in awe! I like to read maps and navigate so we make a good team.

One morning in early May we rented a car (tip: do not forget your passport when you go the car rental agency) and set off for the town of Arezzo, about an hour and 40 minutes southeast of Lucca.  Because this day trip was fairly spontaneous, we’d done only minimal research about Arezzo and hadn’t researched restaurants at all, even though lunch was definitely in our plans. In fact, we were essentially driving to Arezzo for a long lunch and a “get to you know” look around town.

Sometimes you get lucky despite a lack of planning and that’s what happened in Arezzo. As we walked toward the historic center we came down some stairs and straight into a loggia built in 1572 by Vasari (the same architect who built the Vasari Corridor and the loggia of the Palazzo degli Uffizi in Florence). 

It turns out that Vasari was a hometown boy, born in Arezzo in 1511, and he graced the city of his birth with some of his stunning architecture. Lucky for us!

Because we'd left Lucca a little later than planned (remember what I said about not forgetting your passport when you rent a car), we arrived hungry and ready for lunch. I was immediately seduced by the beautiful loggia as well as by the sight of a woman standing under it making homemade pasta. She worked on a marble surface, rolling the dough by hand, topping it with generous dabs of ricotta and borragine (borage). She then folded the pasta dough, sealed the edges, and cut it by hand into half-moon shapes (called agnolotti). The filled agnolotti were perfectly symmetric (a pasta-making skill that escapes me). On top of all this, there was a delicious scent coming from the restaurant. We went no further, settling into a table at the beautiful Logge Vasari Restaurant.

The tables were nestled beneath the arched ceiling and graceful columns of the long loggia. The soft murmur of Italian surrounded us, and music played in the distance. Our table faced outward toward Piazza Grande, the central square of Arezzo, ringed with interesting buildings and without the crowds of visitors found in more "touristy" cities. The setting was perfect for a leisurely lunch.

The restaurant Logge Vasari, Arezzo

And the food did not disappoint.  A basket of warm, house-made breads with imported French Insigny butter (how can butter taste this good?) began the meal, quickly followed by an appetizer (a gift from the chef) of spinach timbale.

Spinach timbale

As a starter, we shared a plate of melon with prosciutto and mozzarella. The sweet melon was a perfect  partner for the salty prosciutto and the creamy cheese. The presentation was artful!

Almost (but not quite) too pretty to eat.

My main course - those ricotta and borage agnolotti topped with a light truffle butter and zucchini flowers - was delicate, fragrant, and delicious. Judy's dish of Parmesan ravioli with porcini was equally wonderful.

Agnolotti

Parmesan Ravioli

A post-meal caffe macchiato arrived with a plate of small cookies.   Perfetto!    post by JMB

Modern Sculpture in a Medieval Tuscan Town

The marble quarried in the Italian town of Carrara has inspired artists for centuries and been used to create some of the most well-known buildings and sculptures in Italy. Michelangelo’s David in Florence and the Pantheon in Rome are just two examples. More recent work by the Costa Rican artist Jorge Jiménez Deredia, who also studied and sculpted near Carrara, is on display around Lucca this summer. This type of temporary art exhibit is common here, gracing the squares and areas along the old city walls. The effect is that Lucca is an evolving art gallery of pieces that can be viewed, and touched, simply by wandering through the town. There is something unique and special about art in public squares, accessible to all, without the boundaries of museum walls.

This piece, on display in the remains of a Roman amphitheater, is from the series Genesis.

The Deredia exhibit, with its rounded and spherical figures in black or white, juxtaposed against buildings constructed six or seven centuries earlier, makes for a most interesting walk through town.

Deredia titled this work Mistero.

Deredia was born in Costa Rica in 1954. He moved to Italy 22 years later and started working in marble and bronze. His work has been displayed around the world and he has created permanent pieces for public spaces in Europe, Asia, the United States and Latin America during his career. He was honored by the Academy of Design Arts in Florence with the Academic Correspondant of the Class of Sculpture award - the same award given to Michelangelo, Titian, and Tintoretto.

In Lucca, three of his massive sculptures are displayed prominently in Piazza San Michele against the backdrop of San Michele in Foro, the basilica built over the ancient Roman Forum. Others are placed in piazzas around town and at Porta San Pietro. Deredia’s work will be in Lucca until September 10 of this year. Don’t miss it if you’re in Tuscany! It's a chance to see this amazing artist's work in what is essentially an open-air museum.

-post by JG

Agretti - A Taste of Spring in Italy

The springtime markets in Italy are full of wonderful vegetables - asparagus, little purple artichokes, and fava beans, to name a few. I have a strong memory of my first taste of fresh spring fava beans, eaten raw with a little bit of pecorino as I sat on a bench outside a neighborhood market in Rome. Heaven! Big piles of spring artichokes look like art to me, and taste amazing when used as the filling for a light-as-air lasagna. And asparagus in a delicate pasta primavera? Is there a better way to celebrate spring vegetables?

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Along with these more common vegetables, the spring markets in Italy also have bunches of what look like thick grass or chives. They are dark green with long, thin tapered leaves and are often wrapped in wet paper to keep the intact roots moist. The appearance of these in the markets is a cause for excitement in Italy. They are only around for a short time in spring and are considered a delicacy. So what are these mysterious grassy bundles?

They go by several names. In Italy they are most commonly known as agretti or barba di frate (frair’s beard). In English, saltwort. The proper Latin name is Salsola soda, a member of the Chenopodiaceae (Amaranth or Goosefoot) family, which includes spinach, beets, and chard.

Agretti grows well in salty water, which means that the Mediterranean coast is the perfect place for it to thrive. It also means that it has become a rather unwelcome and invasive species following its import to coastal California - perhaps because we Americans don’t eat it often enough! And although agretti leaves look like chives or spring onions, they are not related to onions at all and the flavor is completely different.

As an interesting historical note, agretti were originally grown to be burned to ash. The result was soda ash, used in making soap and glass. Imagine how useful this was to the Venetians - why eat a product that could be used to make beautiful Venetian glass? Today, however, there are better ways to make glass and agretti is raised as a food crop.

Agretti can be eaten raw (it’s crunchy and tangy, with a slightly bitter mineral taste). Raw, it’s a good addition to salads. It’s also healthy - high in fiber, low in calories, and a good source of vitamins (A, B, and C) and minerals (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron).

More commonly, agretti is served cooked, either as a contorni (side vegetable) or incorporated into a frittata or a pasta dish . Can you say spaghetti con agretti five times fast? 

There are two basic cooking methods. The most simple is to drop the cleaned agretti briefly into boiling water until crisp tender, and then drain and sprinkle with olive oil and lemon. It can also be sautéed with olive oil and garlic (and perhaps pancetta or anchiovies) and topped with a squeeze of lemon juice. The lemon juice is key to bringing balance to the slightly sharp, spinach taste and bringing out the bright, fresh-as-spring taste of the agretti.

I had seen agretti in the markets on previous trips to Italy, but never knew exactly what they were or how to cook them. After a discussion with friends who recently moved to Lucca and were experimenting with cooking local produce, I bought my first bunch of agretti in one of Italy’s spring markets. After trimming the roots and washing it well (it can be pretty sandy), I sautéed the agretti for about 10 minutes in olive oil along with 2 cloves of garlic. A little salt (it doesn’t need much), several grinds of black pepper, and a generous squeeze of lemon juice later and it was just right as a side dish to a lemony chicken fillet and some rice.

I can’t wait to try it in a frittata next!

-post by JMB

Sautéed agretti alongside pan-sautéed lemon chicken and rice.

Castelli e Cipolle (Castles and Onions) in Bagnone, Italy

 Some of my favorite travel experiences are the result of serendipity - happy accidents that result in the discovery of something wonderful. Though I am by nature a planner, I have learned the joy of leaving some things to chance and grabbing opportunities that arise during the course of travel.

The river in Bagnone

Such an opportunity recently presented itself in the form of an invitation to accompany a fellow language student on a day trip to the small town of Bagnone for its annual spring onion sagra (festival). I knew nothing about Bagnone, or what made its onions worth celebrating, so some research was in order prior to this trip.

Bagnone lies in the province of Massa - Carrara, Tuscany, about 60 minutes from Lucca by car. This area is known as the Lunigiana, a historical designation from before the unification of Italy, crossing the border between Tuscany and Liguria. Importantly, it is home to a large number of Medieval-era castles/fortresses, about 30 of which are intact. Many others are visible as ruins, dotting hillsides and small hamlets throughout the Lunigiana.

Bagnone is charming, with a small branch of the Magra river flowing through the middle of town. There is also a 14th century castle that encloses a still-occupied Medieval village. This is not a town with many tourists. Strolling along its quiet streets (pictured below) was a pleasure, as was wandering through the village surrounding the castle, which lies up a hill above the center of Bagnone.

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As for the onions - Bagnone includes an even smaller borgo (neighborhood) just up the hill from Bagnone proper and called Treschietto. A recent local census lists 96 inhabitants, most over the age of 65. Looming over Treschietto is the ruin of a castle, complete with a tall, round tower.

The tower and castle ruin in Treschietto, Bagnone.

Treschietto is famous for a small, round onion (cipolla) that is red on the outside and white on the inside. The Cipolla di Treschietto is mild and sweet. It is said that the onion “non fa lacrimare”  (doesn’t make you cry). The onion is grown in fields in and around Treschietto and each year, at the end of April and beginning of May, the community hosts a festival where everyone gathers to eat piatti tipici (local specialty dishes) made with the famous onions. These dishes were a good example of cucina povera, simple foods eaten in rural areas where resources are limited.

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Sitting under a large tent, at a communal table, we sampled Barbotta (a soft onion, cornmeal, and cheese torte), torta di cipolle (a crispy onion pie with the white and green parts of the onion and a spinach-like taste), and a pasta with sugo di cipolle (onion sauce). 

We also saw many people eating the onions raw, dipped in a little bit of olive oil.

As a bonus, no one at our table spoke English and the meal was accompanied by lively Italian conversation with friendly locals, a spontaneous language lesson and a delightful cultural experience. Serendipity indeed.

-post by JMB

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Learning to Live Aloha

One reason I love to travel is to learn about other cultures. This was never more true than when I (Judy) visited Hawaii for the first time earlier this year.

The sun sets in Kauai (photo by Ann Hettinger).

I traveled to Kauai, which is called the Garden Island. I knew it would be beautiful and green and lush. I didn’t know the people there would remind me of the importance of love, kindness, respect, compassion, friendliness and so much more. All that is wrapped up in the word “Aloha.” In my naivete, I had thought Aloha meant hello and goodbye. Everywhere I went in Kauai, I learned it really means a way of life.

Ann Hettinger, paddling her one-man outrigger canoe, is the co-author of a book about the meaning of Aloha.

Two of my teachers in this were Ann Hettinger and Lahela Chandler Correa, who have co-authored a book for children about the many meanings of Aloha.

Hawaii is beautiful; the Aloha way of life even more so.

When I was on Kauai, I was fortunate to swim, surf, and stand-up paddleboard. Almost everyday was a new adventure in the ocean or on a river. My fellow travelers and I managed to do all that and more thanks to Ann, who leads adventure retreats for women, even though Kauai was receiving unusual amounts of rain for unusual lengths of time. We also got to hear Lahela, who was born and raised on the island, explain what her parents taught her about Aloha (taking care of family, being honest and kind, respecting their heritage and their elders, etc. etc.). It was a heartfelt lesson delivered in love and with the hope that we would carry it with us when we left the island.

It always rains a lot on Kauai – Mount Waialeale is one of the wettest places on Earth, receiving nearly 400 inches of rain a year. Kauai wouldn’t be as fertile and as stunningly beautiful as it is if it didn’t receive a lot of rain. But a couple of weeks after I left Kauai, the unusual amounts of rain the island had been experiencing turned into disastrous amounts. In a 24-hour period, the famed North Shore received more than 30 inches of rain. The torrential rainfall flooded homes, caused mudslides that buried vehicles and closed roads, and led to the evacuation of hundreds of people. Children at a school who had been learning about Aloha from Ann and Lahela’s book decided to show their Aloha by sending cards and other items to kids affected by the flooding – helping others and demonstrating how to “live Aloha.”

I share this story in the spirit of Aloha. To learn more about Ann and Lahela’s book, go to alohapublishinghawaii.com or click here. To learn more about how to help Kauai residents affected by the flooding, the website hawaiinewsnow.com lists several organizations accepting donations.                      -post by JG