Rather like England’s New Forest, which received that name almost 1,000 years ago, Venice is full of things labeled novo, whose novelty is relative to the age of the city. The most important of these is the Strada Nova (New Street) which since its completion in 1871 has been the main thoroughfare from Venezia …
It has become one of my fundamental beliefs that you cannot find croissants in Italy. There are things that look like croissants, usually called brioche or cornetti, served up and down the country for breakfast in bars, but buy one and you will soon discover the difference between these sweetmeats and the traditional salt-and-butter …
August in Italy is vacation season. At the moment, the news reports are full of exactly how many Italians have taken to the road, trains, or planes to spend their annual vacation in or outside of Italy. The August holiday peaks around the 15 August, which is the feast of the Assumption of the …
As I said in the last post, the name of this cake, Pazientina or ‘little patience’ possibly derives from the fact that it takes a little while to make. So, as it was my mother’s birthday this weekend, I thought it was an appropriate item to make as her birthday cake.
I think it was Woody Allen in his film Midnight in Paris who said that Paris was the only city in the world more beautiful in the rain. Well, unfortunately I wasn’t in Paris last weekend but in Padua and there was a lot of rain. Padua (or Padova as it’s called in Italian) is …
Cotolete de sardele (or cotolette di sarde in Italian) is another dish I tried for the first time in Venice while researching cichéti and discovering that I liked sardines, It’s simple, can be prepared in a few minutes and served as an appetizer, starter, or even a main course depending on the quantity.
