A Morning in Padova's Market

When I first visited Italy, nearly 30 years ago, I hoped to attend a cooking class.  I had been studying Italian cookbooks (especially those by Marcella Hazan) and wanted more than anything to cook in Italy, using local ingredients, with a teacher who could show me how to make authentic Italian dishes.  Unfortunately, the cost of the week-long classes just did not fit my budget.  Instead, I came to Italy determined to taste regional dishes, shop local markets, and take lots of notes.  Or, as someone said to me, “So, you’re going to Italy to eat?”  Well, yes.  That pretty much summed up my intention.

My first bite of prosciutto with melon was a revelation!

 I learned so much on that trip, in large part through food experiences.  Restaurant dining introduced me to many dishes – sweet melon wrapped in salty proscuitto, a delicate risotto with saffron, fish straight from the lake, tiny wild blueberries atop gelato, pasta fatto a mano (homemade). The flavors and preparation methods were enlightening.  As good as the restaurant meals were, it was the Italian markets which really enchanted me.  Fresh produce artfully displayed, pan-ready trimmed artichokes floating in lemon water, perfectly ripe melons.  I marveled at the fishmongers in Venice who arranged their products in photo-worthy displays and at the shops in Florence filled with hanging legs of prosciutto, a vast array of cheeses, and cases of colorful filled pastas.  How I longed for a kitchen on that trip!

Fresh pasta at the Sant’Ambrogio market in Florence

 Since that time I have sought out markets whenever, and wherever, I’ve traveled.  They form some of my most vivid travel memories.  The best ones are the “mamma’s markets”, catering to locals rather than tourists.  Two of my favorites over years of travel are the weekly market in Uzes France (oh those olives!) and the Sant’Ambrogio market in Florence.   

Italy is not the only country with fabulous markets. This one in Uzes, France is among my favorites.

 My most recent market experience was in Padova (Padua) where I was delighted to find a fabulous daily market.  The outdoor market, centrally located in Piazze delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, was a wonderland of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Multiple vendors set up stalls each morning filled with just about everything a cook could desire -  baskets of bright lettuces, mounds of greenish-purple artichokes, piles of vibrant oranges, rows of tomatoes in different shapes and sizes, fat stalks of asparagus, dark purple eggplants, dried beans, herbs, and even flowers.  

Spending a morning there was a joy.  In the afternoon the market stalls disappeared and the piazza became a social hub of cafes, bars and casual restaurants. 

Beautiful blossoms in the Padova market

 In addition to the outdoor market stalls, an adjoining indoor market lies beneath the Palazzo della Ragione.  The culinary fun continued here with a host of shops selling fish, meats, prosciutto, bread, pastries, cheeses, and a variety of prepared foods.  There was even a rare sight in Italy – a “to go” coffee bar.   

There is so much to appreciate in Padova – stunning frescoes, historic churches, architecture, historical buildings, parks (I will get to all of these in another post) but never underestimate the power of a good market to add a fun experience when exploring a new city. 

Tasting Parma Part Three: Prosciutto di Parma

The town of Langhirano serves up two special things. The first is the Castle of Torrechiara which I saw off in the distance on my way to the even bigger attraction - a salumificio, a place where prosciutto (along with other pork products) is produced. The castle is by far the prettier of the two attractions, but it is the production of prosciutto that really defines this town set in the hills near the city of Parma. And prosciutto is what I came to see on this, the final stop on my tour of the foods of Parma.

The first thing I learned during my visit to the Salumificio Conti was to never, ever refer to the product produced here as simply “prosciutto”. Prosciutto is a generic term for a non-smoked, air-dried ham either crudo (raw) or cotto (cooked). It is produced in several regions and is not a protected product name. The delicacy produced in this family owned salumifico is anything but generic. It is known by its full name - Prosciutto di Parma. This special, high quality type of prosciutto crudo is only produced in this region and under strict regulation. It is a controlled process, a quality tested end-product, and bears a DOP designation (in English its PDO, Protected Designation of Origin). Calling it plain old proscuitto just won’t do!

First, a little bit about the Salumificio Conti. The Conti family came to this part of Italy some 200 years ago, working the land and raising animals. In 1968, two of the Conti brothers founded the salumificio and learned the process of curing ham. Today the family does not raise the pigs themselves, they buy the hind legs of specially bred pigs (the types of pigs are part of the DOP regulations). Today the production is completely run by the women of the family, Mariangela and her three daughters, Michaela, Francesca, and Daniela. They do everything from minding the storefront, giving the tours, providing the tastings, and supervising the handling of the meat from raw hind leg to finished product. I have to think that their touch makes the meat ever so much tastier. To learn more about the history of the salumificio, there is a small museum on site with photos, old tools, and a timeline of the evolution of this family business.

The hills around Langhirano have a microclimate that contributes to the unique flavor of Prosciutto di Parma.

So, just what makes Prosciutto di Parma so special? Of course, it begins with the pigs (with apologies here to my vegetarian friends). Not just any pig will do. These are Italian born and bred pigs who are monitored from birth and must be at least 9 months old, weighing around 160 kg before they can begin to become Prosciutto di Parma. Each is even tattooed with the “parma crown”. They are fed a specific diet, which includes the whey that is a by-product of the production of parmesan cheese (another famous local product). This contributes to the flavor of the finished product, which is deeper in flavor and less sweet than other types of prosciutto.

Another factor is that this is a completely natural product. Salt is the only seasoning used in producing Prosciutto di Parma. There are no additives or preservatives added to the meat. In fact, our tour guide emphasized that the magic combination was pig + salt + sea breezes + time. It sounds simple enough, but the process is still quite involved.

Sea salt is the only seasoning added to the raw pork (photo from Conti website)

The hind legs arrive at the facility and are weighed. If too large, they are used for other products (such as Culatello and Fiocco, both of which have added spices and different methods of production). Next, the legs receive a good massage with sea salt crystals. Originally done by hand, today there is a machine for this part of the process. The next step in the curing process is cold storage in high humidity. The legs are first laid flat, to provide a bigger surface for salt absorbtion and to give the classic flattened shape. Later, they are hung in the same cold storage for 60-90 days.

Next, comes the sea breeze part. The legs are hung from large wooden frames in a low humidity environment for several months. In the past they were actually outside on the roof top so as to catch the sea air. Health regulations prevent that open air drying these days, but the drying rooms have screens to let in the sea breeze. It’s an essential part of the process!

Outdoor aging to catch the sea breeze the way it was done in the past. Today this step in aging is done indoors with screens to let in the sea air.

The white coating on the cut end of the leg is the sugna, it prevents the meat from drying out and keeps it soft.

The legs are coated in sugna, a mixture of lard, salt, pepper, and rice flour).

The purpose of this mixture is to seal the meat and soften the cut surface. It is not absorbed and does not contribute to the flavor.

Last step - to the aging cellar. Here the meat rests for at least 12 months.

At the end of the period of aging, an inspector from the local consortium arrives to certify the meat. What an interesting process that is!

A needle like device made from the bone of a horse is used to puncture the prosciutto in several places. This type of bone picks up scent easily and the inspector sniffs the bone to determine if the meat has spoiled or is good. If it passes inspection it is branded with the Parma Crown and the number assigned to the producer.

This aged Prosciutto di Parma is branded with the Parma Crown, signifying it has passed inspection.

During the long process of aging, the producer is never quite sure how much of the meat produced will be good. This factor contributes to the cost of DOP certified Prosciutto di Parma.

After the tour we were treated to a tasting which included both Prosciutto di Parma (silky, almost buttery smooth, and exquisitely flavorful) along with some of the other pork products produced at Conti (delicious). Of course there was some wine too!

My Parma food tour was arranged by the company Get Your Guide. It was a well organized and fun way to see three places in a single day and learn about the production of Parmigiano Reggiano (Part One of this 3 part post) and Aceto Balsamico (Part Two). Of course Parma has much more to offer than just food. Look for more of Parma in future posts.

Contacts:

Salumificio Conti website: contiproscuitti.it

Get Your Guide website: getyourguide.com. (there’s also a helpful app)

A Quirky Attraction in Parma - The Puppet Museum

There is so much to like about Parma, Italy. Let’s start with the food - Parmigiana, Prosciutto di Parma, all those filled pastas. Lambrusco wine. There are wonderful piazzas to enjoy, a gorgeous city park, the Palazzo Pilotta with its group of fabulous museums. My guidebooks listed a host of “must-sees”. However, one of my first stops in Parma was to an off-the-beaten path rather quirky place that was not listed in any of my guidebooks - Il Castello dei Burattini Museo Giordano Ferrari (The Castle of the Puppets, Museum Giordano Ferrari). Sometimes, the less known little places are the most enchanting. And enchanted is just how this small museum feels.

Puppetry was a popular theater format in the days before radio, TV, and movies. Puppets existed as far back as Ancient Greece and Rome. Throughout Italy the golden age for puppet theater was the 18th and 19th centuries. The burattini (or pupi) were used to tell stories ranging from religious to tragic to comedic. Performances included opera and Shakespeare and even some fairly scandalous content. Puppet theatre was enjoyed across social classes and age groups. A visit to the Castello dei Burattini makes this history come alive.

The museum’s collection includes carved puppet heads, marionettes (puppets controlled by strings or rods), and hand puppets. They range from very old to modern muppet-like characters.

All the typical characters from Italian puppet theater are represented in the Castello dei Burattini - princes and princesses, villains, devils (there were lots of devils!), ghosts, monsters, servants, merchants, workers, society gents and ladies, priests, and policeman. There are knights in armor and sultans and animals. The faces are amazingly expressive and the elaborate costumes are fascinating.

The collection showcases the work of the Ferrari Company, a multi-generational puppeteering family from this area. Their involvement with puppets goes back to the late 1800’s and continues today. In addition to being a professional puppeteer, Giordano Ferrari collected the stories of puppet theaters throughout Italy and amassed this vast collection of burattini. Eventually, the city of Parma acquired the collection and, in 2002, the museum was established.

In addition to the puppets, the displays also include video presentations of puppet shows, fabulous old posters advertising the shows, scripts for the performances and - from time to time - live puppet shows which delight the many children who attend and their parents (along with the occasional tourist).

Admission to the museum is free. The enchantment is worth a lot!

Castello dei Burattini. Strada Macedonio Melloni 3 VA, Parma

website: www.castellodeiburattini.it

Everyday Art in Italy

Italy offers endless opportunities to enjoy art. Here, art is everywhere. Ancient and modern art works fill museums large and small, famous or obscure. Art lives in the great cathedrals and surprises us in small chapels. Sculptures grace many piazzas and small ones fill tiny niches along village streets. Gardens and roadside shrines are decorated with graceful sculpture and artistic fountains.

If the definition of art is expanded to include architecture (as I believe it should be), then Italy truly surrounds us with art in the graceful form of buildings, the curlicue iron work of balconies, the moorish arch of windows, and the decorative brick work along medieval streets. These all help to paint the picture of Italy and fill our senses with artistic beauty.

Sand sculpture - the detail and expression delights, even if only for a short while.

Art or graffiti ? Either way, it certainly captures a certain moment in everyday life in Italy during the pandemic

But there are other, less traditional, forms of art to be found. I think of this as “everyday art”. It changes quickly as street artists and art students, working in paint, chalk, or even sand, lend their decorative talents to city streets, doorways, and just about any surface they can find along buildings and alleyways.

As much as I love the classic pieces to be found in more formal settings, the unexpected works of everyday art really delight me.

A recent form of everyday art found in Lucca graces several of the “garage door” type shutters that are pulled down over the entrances of many businesses. These paintings, done by groups of art students from the Passaglia Institute of Art and by local street artists last summer, are found in the area near the museum dedicated to Puccini in Piazza Cittadella. The series is dedicated to “le donne” (the women) of Puccini’s operas. It’s a fun activity to search these out and determine just which opera they represent. During the day the shops open, the shutters go up, and the paintings disappear. At night, down come the shutters and the works reappear. What fun it is to walk through Lucca early in the morning, before the shops open for the day, and see these works of everyday art.

Another example of everyday art, and one of my favorites, is the street art by Blub. Blub - think of it as the sound of bubbles rising through seawater - paints famous figures from art and history, each in an underwater diving mask. He chooses to remain anonymous, painting in his Florence studio by day and attaching the works under cover of darkness on the outdoor panels (often rusty ones) which enclose gas, electric, and water meters. The painting below, one of my favorites, is just around the corner from my apartment in Lucca. It’s not unusual to see people stop to take a photo !

Blub’s message has been described as “art knows how to swim” but I tend to think of it as saying that when the flood comes, and you are about to drown, put on your diving gear and get a move on.

Blub isn’t the only artist covering utility meter cabinets with his work. On a recent walk through the village of Barga I enjoyed a series of scenes which were also painted on utility boxes.

And this one was found in Lucca’s anfiteatro (the site of the ancient Roman amphitheater). A classic scene on a modern surface.

Street art can also be graffiti painted on the walls of buildings (probably not legal, but still enjoyable) like this one found in Rome in 2019.

It is always a surprise when a new piece of street art appears and each new one makes me smile. Just one more reason that it is delightful to spend time in Italy.

Chalk art in Lucca

.

The Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella in Florence

As I stand at the entrance to the Pharmacy of Santa Maria Novella I have a sudden thought - this must be what heaven smells like. I can hardly wait to go inside!

The official name is Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, in English that translates to the Workshop of Perfumes and Pharmaceuticals of Santa Maria Novella. That is a fairly ordinary name for an extraordinary place.

The pharmacy was established by Dominican friars from the nearby church of Santa Maria Novella during the early 13th century, making it one of the oldest European apothecaries still in operation. Centuries ago the friars cultivated herbs and used them to make herbal medicines, tinctures, and ointments for the monastery. Some of their brews, scented with rose water, herbs, and spices, were designed to fight the plagues that ravaged Florence and to treat a variety of other ailments. The friars became famous for their potions and in the 1600’s they opened their pharmacy to the public.

It has been a long time since the pharmacy was run by monks. Fortunately they left behind both their legacy and the formulas they created. For several generations the pharmacy was owned by a family who honored the traditions left by those long-ago friars. They expanded the business to many countries and gave it an on-line presence (in the US the website is: us.smnovella.com). This year ownership was acquired by an Italian beauty products company, Italmobiliare. Let’s hope they continue the wonderful legacy of those long ago monks.

The pharmacy still operates in its historic location on Via della Scala in what was once the Chapel of San Niccolò. The original chapel was built in thanks for the care given to a local merchant, Dardano Acciaioli, by the friars of the church of Santa Maria Novella. It is no surprise then that a trip to the pharmacy feels a bit like a religious pilgrimage.

Walking down Via della Scala towards number 16, you will know you have arrived when you become aware of that most enticing scent. The outside of the building is unremarkable, so allow the scent to draw you in. The experience begins just inside the doors as you cross the ornate marble floor and pass through the elaborate floral decorations. Just follow that scent!

The experience begins at the entrance to the antique pharmacy

Just off the entry hall is a room that was once the sacristy of the the Chapel of San Niccolò. Adorned with beautiful frescoes from around the year 1400 (below), today this room is part museum and part showroom.

Each subsequent room in the pharmacy evokes the ancient apothecary, provides interesting historical artifacts, and contains elegantly displayed products.

Shop here and you follow in the footsteps of Catherine di Medici, an early patron of the pharmacy. A unique perfume was developed for her, named Acqua della Regina. It was the first perfume to be made with alcohol as a base and it traveled with her to France. The scent is still produced today along with a host of other wonderful scents.

Perhaps Catherine di Medici wore an amulet like this one on display in the pharmacy, filled with a potion to ward off illness.

In addition to perfumes, the other products sold here include elixirs, liquors, soaps, potpourri, lozenges, scented candles, and skin care products. There are also some beautiful accessories for the home. All are manufactured locally using traditional methods.

I visited just before Christmas when the seasonal decorations were fabulous and the gift buying opportunities were endless. Every product was beautifully presented, even a simple package of mints came in an artfully designed tin. The delicate filigree items (candle and potpourri holders) are handmade by a local craftsman. They make lovely Christmas ornaments, with or without potpourri. Each gift comes in a box tied with an elegant ribbon.

The Christmas tree at Santa Maria Novella pharmacy, 2021

Florence is full of churches and museums - a host of “must see” places. The Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella provides a different Florentine experience. It is a feast for the senses and a taste of luxury both ancient and contemporary. It is a unique way to step back into the history of this remarkable Italian city.