Gastronomic weekend
I kissed goodbye to my diet last weekend. The temptations of interesting Italian food just proved too darn strong. It all started on Saturday with a trip to our local rosticceria. There I found that they were doing wild boar cooked in a Barolo sauce. I simply could not resist the temptation and ended up with it and some polenta. It was delicious. The Wild Boar was tender and the sauce was exquisite. My other half and son, who are not partial to wild boar, had to make do with some ‘polpette’ - meatballs, and a courgette flower frittata - a type of thick omelette. I wanted to get them some lasagne and gnocchi alla Romana, but both dishes had sold out. And I managed to get to the rosticceria well before midday. Well, that was Saturday. The best was yet to come.
On Sunday we went to the Paolo Sarpi street fair here in Milan. I will admit to having been a little worried about the size of this fair in view of the ever diminishing number of Italian shops in Via P Sarpi, but luckily, although numbers were down slightly on last year, there were plenty of stands. This is just as well because this annual fair is very well patronized. At 11 on Sunday morning the narrowish street was packed, and I hate the think just how many people would have invaded during the afternoon. Seeing as the weather was fine, I imagine that the crowds would have been on the wrong side of acceptable.
Anyway, we managed to get there early enough to grab one to two goodies. My other half got some wonderful truffle salami and some equally yummy Barolo salami. Then there were the porcini mushrooms, which were immediately turned into a risotto or fried. I ignored the risotto in favour of the fried porcini, which I love. Although I will cook them next time, because I would like these mushrooms to be fried just a little more and with less oil. Then they would be absolutely perfect!
In addition to the salami and mushrooms, we also picked up some Fontina, which is rich and creamy, some delicious long stalked capers, olives and some wine. I picked up some of my favourite honey grappa and a bottle of woodland fruits grappa, which I shall leave until Christmas, by which time it should be perfect. Next we have the Cunesi chocolates which are the most diet ruiningly scrumptious chocolates available in Italy, or so I think.
And finally there was this cheese I had never tried before, but I’m going to devote a whole post to this delicacy because it deserves much more attention.
Yes, I did put on a bit of the weight I had managed to lose, but, what the heck. A little bit of what you feel like does you good. And it did!
Gigli Festival, Nola in Italy
Gaetano Salvo, who helps out with Blog from Italy, drew my attention to a particular festival that takes place annually in June in the town of Nola (click to see where Nola is), down near Naples in southern Italy. You can see some pictures here, here and here.This festival sounds spectacular and if you look at the number of people present in the pictures on the Nola Festival site you will see just how popular this event is, even though it is not all that well known outside of Italy, although similar celebrations have been set up in the US by ex-Nola immigrants.
The highlight of the festival is the carrying of the eight ‘Gigli’, intricately decorated twenty five metre high wooden obelisks in the form of lilies, around the centre of Nola throughout the day of the festival. Each of these obelisks is carried by a team of 120 men who slowly march around the town in rhythm to the music provided by a special band. In addition to the Gigli, there is also a boat which is transported around the town. This boat explains, in part, the origins of the event, in that the craft represents the boat used by a certain St Paolino to return to the town after having freed all of its male population.
As the story goes, the men of Nola were captured by the Hun, enslaved, and taken off to North Africa. St Paolino, who was of French origin, managed to save the town’s children during the Hun invasion. However, when St Paolino returned to the town with the children, he was approached by a mother whose child had been captured. St Paolino negotiated with the Hun for the release of the child, but freedom was only granted after St Paolino offered himself in exchange for the child. After some years, and after becoming the personal slave of the leader of the Hun, and after having used his apparent gift to predict the future to save the Hun from impending disaster, St Paolino was liberated. However, St Paolino only agreed to his being freed on the condition that the men of Nola also be liberated. The Hun leader accepted this and St Paolino sailed back to Nola. As you might imagine, the people of Nola were rather happy. When they came to greet St Paolino’s ship upon its return, they were all carrying Lilies, hence the name of this festival or feast. And this is how the festival started - it was held to remember St Paolino’s good deeds.
The town of Nola has kept up this tradition to the present day, and the festival has continued to grow. Now, on the day of the festival there are also lots of supporting events and traditional music is played. Mix all this in with the beauty and atmosphere of an unspoilt Italian town and you have an electrifying mix which is well worth checking out.
If you happen to be on holiday in the Naples area in late June and would like to get a feel for the ‘real’ Italy, then this is an event that is not to be missed. It would be a good idea to get there early though, because there will be a huge number of people. And those of you who like taking photographs are bound to find some interesting subjects for your lenses.
There is also the possibility for business to get involved and the festival would be an ideal occasion for some subtle brand-building down in the south of Italy. Today I spoke to one Angelo Amato de Serpis, the president of the Cultural Tourist Association in the area, about this and he told be that anyone interested in sponsoring this event should contact the Ente Festa Gigli section of Nola town council. English is spoken too, should this information be of any assistance.
If you would like to know a little more, then here are a few links for you to have a look at:
Information about the festival - Official Nola Festival site - In English and Italian
Contact Information - Angelo Amato de Serpis, President of the Cultural Tourist Association Meridies - cell phone: 335 633 79 63 (I don’t know if he speaks English, but it is possible)
International Calls: 39 338 847 31 93 - Information about Nola and the Gigli Festival Fax: 39 081 823 65 09 - Information about Nola and the Gigli Festival
Nola Council - Festival Organisation - in Italian
Giglio Feasts - US site - In English
Born to Giglio - Article from Voices - Journal of New York Folklore about the origins of a parallel festival in the United States - In English
Even if you do not manage to get to the festival, Nola is still worth visiting, as it looks as though it is quite beautiful. Although I have never been, I am, after having written about the place, very interested to see what it is like. But that is Italy for you: fascinating, fabulous and endless. You could spend a lifetime here simply exploring all that Italy has to offer.
If you do go to Nola, let me know how you get on.
Writing to Ambassadors, Consuls and the like
Once people know that you are English and that you speak Italian, you often end up with some interesting requests for assistance. Indeed, the other day, someone asked me to help her write a letter of invitation to the ambassador and the consul of a certain large country, which happens to be the origin of that ‘English’ dish curry, to speak at a conference to be held in Milan later this month.
Well, one of the letters was well received and at least one of the above mentioned parties has agreed to attend. The person in question even complimented the style of the letter he received, which I guess earns me a few brownie points.
Sometimes, a well written letter can make all the difference, and help create the write, if you will excuse the pun, impression. If anyone out there needs some help in this respect, and thinks I may be of some use, then send me a mail outlining what is needed, or even the letter in Italian, and I’ll see what I can do. I will charge a minimum fee of around 50 Euros plus IVA for a a single A4 page.
Although 50 Euros may sound like a lot, if it clinches a contract or gets that all important acceptance to an invitation, then I think the expense will be justified. And you will then have a copy of a letter which you can use again in similar circumstances.
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