Tower of Pisa - A short Investigation

Like many, I have always been fascinated by the famous leaning tower in Pisa. I wanted to understand more about the tower and the city from which it derives its name in preparation for a future visit.  So, I did some quick research and found that the history of the construction of the tower is very involved and quite fascinating.  I tend to like facts and figures, so my apologies in advance if this article appears crammed with data.

(Photo courtesy of ItalyGuides)

But, before we move onto the tower, I thought it was worth mentioning that the tower is a freestanding bell tower that forms part of the Cathedral of Pisa.  The cathedral itself is lovely and seems well worth exploring further. 

(Photo courtesy of ItalyGuides)

(Photo courtesy of ItalyGuides)

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Round trip of the tomato - from America to Italy and back

In my previous article about tomatoes (http://blog.madeinitalymall.com/post/18259071363/are-tomatoes-italian), we learned that the tomato is indigenous to South America and that it spread throughout the Americas before being taken to Europe by the explorers.  In an interesting twist, years later the tomato then returned to America in the form of tomato paste that was shipped from Italy to the United States.

I want to thank David Gentilcore for his help in preparing this article and for graciously allowing me to leverage the wonderful material in his book about the history of the tomato in Italy.

The tomato first appeared on the scene in Italy in the 1500’s. 

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Slow Food Day in Italy - May 26th

Riccardo Astolfi ‘s recent article provides us an excellent introduction to what to expect on the occasion of the second annual Slow Food Day in Italy. This celebration in Italy is part of a series of events that occur all year around the world as part of the Slow Food Movement , which we are featuring here on our blog. For example, we recently collaborated with the Slow Food International press team to re-publish their wonderful announcement about Carlo Petrini, the Slow Food President, speaking at a meeting of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York on May 14th.

http://blog.madeinitalymall.com/post/22845178790/slow-food-president-carlo-petrini-to-speak-on-may-14-at

Here is the link to the article about Slow Food Day in Italy on Riccardo’s site, for those that read Italian:

http://pastamadre.blogspot.mx/2012/05/festeggiamo-lo-slow-food-day.html?utm_source=BP_recent

Here is the translation:

On May 26th there will be a celebration of Slow Food Day in more than more than 300 squares in Italy. Here is a link with more information:

http://www.slowfood.it/slowfoodday/ 

(click on Tutte Le Piazze to find out where the events will be held throughout Italy)

It will be an excellent opportunity to meet, celebrate, and talk about local food, clean and fair food practices, and localized agriculture but also about global climate change and the green economy

Our Comunità del Cibo (food communities), as you know, form part of the Terra Madre network, and therefore we are more than just volunteers, but have been invited to participate in various local initiatives. (both here in Bologna as well as in other regions; we will keep you updated!)

In Bologna we will celebrate Slow Food Day in the historical center of the city, palazzo del Comune (City Hall), between Piazza Maggiore and the inner courtyard and the characteristic Cortile del Pozzo (Courtyard of the Well).

We are currently defining what we will present, and further details will naturally be published soon on this site.

Important: If you want to participate in this initiative and lend a hand, it would be great if you could donate a bit of dough or bring your own food for tasting. Please leave your contact email in the comments below, and we will certainly contact you soon and we can all come together on this great day of celebration!

Ci sentiamo presto,

Lina

Trastevere district in Rome

Since Trastevere was such an integral part of my experience while I was working in Rome, I wanted to know more about that district.  It might seem strange that I have spent so much time there and yet I don’t have that many specific recollections.   Honestly, that is because my Italian colleagues and I usually just roamed the district, choosing our destinations on the spur of the moment.  I wish that I would have taken better notes.  Fortunately, the ItalyGuides site has some interesting material about Trastevere that they have been very generous in providing us so that we can share it with our readers.

(Photos  courtesy of ItalyGuides)

These two photos are of the Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere and the Fontana dell’Acqua Paola. 

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All reviews about Italy are wrong

I look at the product reviews every time I shop either in the shops or on the internet. Unfortunately they are really not very reliable, although I select the “real” ones (at least I hope so). I like to hear what people have to say (some of them are very entertaining). We know that there are plenty of firms specialized in producing this kind of “fabricated stories” on the internet. This fact was also confirmed by

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Slow Food President Carlo Petrini to speak on May 14 at UN Headquarters, NY

On the Made in Italy Mall blog, we are subscribed to a number of newsletters that provide updates on all events around the world surrounding the Slow Food Movement.  We recently received two announcements related to this topic.  We will publish an article soon about Slow Food Day in Italy on May 26th.  We thought it was worth re-publishing this article which we received from the Slow Food International newsletter in its entirety here on the blog. 

Here is the announcement:

Slow Food President Carlo Petrini will speak at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) on May 14 on the right to food and food sovereignty. His invitation to join the New York meeting at UN headquarters, as a valued “friend and supporter of Indigenous Peoples”, marks the first time in the ten year history of the Forum, that an external guest has been invited to take the floor.

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Legend lives on in Italy

The classical tale of the brave Knight saving the damsel in distress from the evil dragon lives on in some frescoes which survive today in Italy.  In fact, the legend of St. George, the holy knight who rescued the princess from the terrible dragon, has given birth to a rich subject for iconography that was widespread within the figurative arts during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

(Courtesy of EVUS, by permission of Antonella Bazzoli)

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Simple Insalata Caprese - vegetarian appetizer

We have been presenting some pasta dishes, side dishes and desserts that fit a vegetarian diet.  I thought it would be nice to add a really tasty and easy to prepare antipasto (appetizer) to the list.   I had often ordered this salad at restaurants because it is not only naturally vegetarian, but also fairly low-calorie.   So, I decided to try making it at home and discovered it is pretty simple to produce.

 The key to this simple appetizer is to use very fresh ingredients.    A simple presentation is also quite elegant.  

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Italian recipe as lifestyle

Many people raise the question as to why I publish Italian recipes, since my knowledge about Italy is quite a bit broader and I could write about any number of other interesting topics. Moreover, as CEO of a shopping mall, they expect me to care more about business or “other stuff” considered to be much more valuable.

From their perspective, they’re very right. It seems they may have thought that it’s easy talking about food, especially if

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Lost, and found again, in Italy

A friend of mine was travelling on the night train to Venice and had a mishap that fortunately was resolved successfully, thanks in part to the kindness of an Italian couple from Milan and the clear-headed thinking of my friend and his travel partner.  This story has always restored my faith in humanity.  It illustrates genuine Italian hospitality, but also contains some important object lessons that might help others if they find themselves in a similar situation in the future.

My friend had been traveling  on an Italian train overnight and found himself in a

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Shoes: strong tradition of Italian artisans

Whenever I travel in Italy throughout the artisans’ shops, I really notice the strong historical legacy of these people by looking at their workshops.

The attached picture is of a shoe repair shop in the South of Italy that gave me the spark to write this article.

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International Worker’s Day

International Workers’ Day (also known as May Day) is a celebration of the international labor movement and left-wing movements. It commonly involves organized street demonstrations and marches by working people and their labor unions throughout most of the world. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries. It is also celebrated unofficially in many other countries. While it is not a national holiday in the US,

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Exclusive Italian architects

I just read in an Italian newspaper (ilsole24ore - Ecco perché la corazza dei grattacieli più high tech del mondo è fatta in Italia….) that the Italian architect Renzo Piano has designed The Shard in London, the tallest skyscraper in Europe, reaching up 308 meters (1010 feet), which is ready on time for the 2012 Olympic games. The building has been made by the Italian Permasteelisa (recently purchased by Japanese holdings). According to the news, Permasteelisa has accomplished a very artistic, yet complex architecture throughout the world: the United States, Paris, and Milan, where they have constructed a tower in the CMR Project Porta Nuova. In New York Permasteelisa is making part of the tower number 3, at the height of 325 meters, that will likely be completed by July 2014. The same Italian company is well known in New York where, by November this year, they will complete another skyscraper in the Manhattan jewelry district, the International Gem Tower. The Italian company is in charge of the building surface (the facade) since it is made with a complex intersection of low emission glass, metal frame, and stainless steel panels to reproduce the shape of diamonds and associated reflected lighting effects that require very particular engineering skill. 

Of course I’m very proud of these Italian architects, but what really impresses me is the international appreciation of Italian design, style, and engineering, which, for some unknown reason, even in the face of globalization, still turns out to be exclusive throughout the world!

Enjoy your day with a little break of Italian dolce vita!

Matteo

Bad experiences in Italy - Chapter I

Awhile ago I had a conversation with a nice American gentleman who was robbed while traveling in Italy with his wife on a first class train in the North of Italy. Thieves took a few thousand dollars, his passport, and other personal documents when he “left” his belongings at his seat to go eating at the dining car. Although this bad experience happened few years ago, he’s still pretty angry with Italians about it. I thought it would be nice to share some of my ideas on how to travel in Italy to help prevent this problem.

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Kefir bread with chestnut honey

I was perusing the latest set of recipes on Riccardo Astolfi’s site and found this unusual and intriguing bread.  I love kefir, but I had never really given much thought to the idea that both bread and kefir involve leavening. This bread, that is born of experimentation, illustrates the full range of possibilities that exist to make bread.

(Photo courtesy Riccardo Astolfi)

For those of you that read Italian, here is the link

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