Ravenna: 26 November 2015

Wes and Marlow
26 November 2015
Bologna

Here is a final letter from Italy. It is about the day we spent in Ravenna. It is a story told by photographs. It is a story about humans who documented their lives one thousand and five hundred years ago. They did it using tiny pieces of colored glass. Mosaics. I have heard about Ravenna's mosaics. But walking into the churches and seeing them was stunning. They are visually ravishing. One can discuss the events they depict. And who paid for them. Who was in power. But one does not need to know a thing about them to be swept away by their brilliance.

We took the train from Bologna. We arrived within an hour and walked twenty minutes from the train station to see these buildings. It was very simple. Here are very few highlights.

The Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. It was dedicated in the year, 504, by King Theodoric the Great, as his private chapel, his large private chapel. The walls are populated on one side with about fifty life size women. And on the other side with about fifty men. It might have been fun to know these fun loving men one thousand five hundred and eleven years ago.

Next up, the Basilica di Sant'Apollinare in Classe. It was consecrated on the ninth of May in the year five hundred and forty nine.Please note the fun loving adorable bravo ragazzo showing me how to enjoy the mosaic and not be so serious.

Then, we have the Mausoleo di Galla Placidia.This brick building feels more intimate than it's forty feet long and thirty feet wide size. Just inside the door, in the center of the room is this ceiling that depicts a starry blue night with eight hundred gleaming gold stars making concentric circles around a cross that faces east. The building and it's mosaics were created around the year four hundred and thirty.


Finally, we visited the "grand finale", "bet you can't top this", "save he best for last" church, The Basilica di San Vitali.The Byzantines finished this basilica in the year five hundred and forty eight. The images depicted on it's walls are a who's who of the era. The cast is comprised of the top religious figures, Jesus himself in the center of the arch surrounded by his apostles. Biblical characters and events. Dolphins with tails intertwined. Birds and lambs. Before there was photography there were mosaics. Clear, distinct, detailed images. Moments frozen in time. Yet, aside from the content, the composition, the brilliance of the materials and the fact of their survival through fifteen centuries, they are inexpressibly special.

To conclude our journey, I offer two photos for those who like lions. One, is a large centuries old canvas in the city museum.The other, is from the ceiling of University's first campus building from the sixteenth century. Every square inch of the walls and ceilings of every corridor, staircase and class room is painted. This lion is one of the highlights and is dedicated to Myrna.

Lots of love from Bologna

Wes and Marlow
26 November 2015
Bologna

Video of Piazza Santo Stefano

Piazza Stanto Stefano, on which our apartment is located, is the most beautiful in Bologna.  We made this short video to share its charm with you.

Bologna cooking classes

We came to Bologna to enroll in Italian language classes.  When we arrived to the school we learned that they also have a very well regarded cooking program that offers evening programs to students enrolled in the language program.  The three hour evening class (7 to ~10 pm) ends with a three-course meal.  At the start of each week they post the menus for the three evening classes (W, Th, Fr).  After taking our first class (three kinds of pasta: tagliatelle al ragu bolognese, tortelloni di ricotta, ravioli di zucca con aceto balsamico) we couldn't wait until the next class!  We were surprised that in addition to a few language students, there were also several Italian students from Bologna in our classes.  That is a sign of how well regarded the program is.  The class is taught in Italian, but the chef also speaks english well and when asked will explain each step in english too.  The classes are small - six our first class and then 10 the second.  The kitchen is not located in the same part of the City as the language school.  It is on the ground floor on a street popular in the evenings with moderately priced osterias,  trattorias, wine bars and pizzerias.   It is well equipped and clean!

Chef Davide and his students

Preparation of the zucca for the ravioli

Starting the pasta, one egg, 100 g. flour 00

Marlow made a "green pasta" using a tablespoon of puree spinach for color.  We also made a "red pasta" using a tablespoon of tomato paste.

After rolling into sheets so thin you can see through them we cut into squares for the tortelloni.

The finished tortelloni.

Rolling the green pasta.

A ravioli ready to be cooked.

Adding the zucca to the ravioli.

Cutting the tagliatelle.

Our pastas drying for a few moments before cooking.

Plating the ravioli.

Our second class covered fish dishes: a starter of sardines beccafico, ravioli di branzino and polpette di salmone all'arancia.  

Class starts with an explanation of the steps required to complete each dish.  When we arrive the ingredients are laid out in our work stations.  Two/three people are assigned to each dish, but it's very informal and everyone just chips in and helps prepare all the dishes.

The branzino!

Rolling the sardine up around the bread crump mixture.

Cleaned sardines.

Chef Davide creating salmon tartar for the polpettes.

Marlow enjoyed gutting and scaling the branzino.  The guts, etc. are used to make a broth used for the recipe.

The salmon mixed with ricotta.

The breadcrumb mixture for the sardines.

Sardines ready for the oven.  

Lightly steamed branzino ready to mix with a few potatoes for the raviolis.

Plating of the salmon polpettes.

Plating of the branzino ravioli.  Served on chicory and topped with roasted roma tomatoes and chopped almonds.

I enjoyed the classes so much that I requested a private class to watch Chef Davide prepare pasatelli - a pasta noodle unique to Bologna that I fell head over stomach in love with.  Pasatelli is not available in a dry version which is probably why it is not known outside of Emilia Romagna.  It is much easier to make than regular flour based pastas because it does not require rolling or kneading.  It is simply made with equal parts of parmesan reggiano and bread crumbs and egg and nutmeg.  Doesn't that sound great!  It is typically served "in brodo" (chicken broth) but also served "dry" which means it is accompanied by a more substantial sauce and not cooked as long.  Although the "brodo" version is only cooked for three minutes.  All versions are great!  I even purchased a pasatelli press so that I can make it at home.  In the photo below you will see the Chef using a potato ricer to extrude the pasatelli.  That is the "modern" way.  The preferred way is to use a pasatelli press of which there is also a photo below.

Pasatelli in Brodo - the traditional serving.

Pasatelli ball ready for extrusion.

Using the potato ricer to make the noodle.

As sold in the pasta stores.  The noodle is longer than it typically is served.  I have no idea how they manage to get it to be that long!

My pasatelli press.

The cooking program itself is a fantastic and well worthwhile reason for coming to Bologna!


Bon Appetite!


(this is a link to the cooking school web site)
http://www.cookingschoolbologna.com

Porticos of Bologna

One of Bologna’s distinctive attributes is the abundance of porticos (“portici”).  While many European cities have occasional buildings in their historic centers where porticos are still present, it is much more common for the “public space” that lies under the portico to have been filled in over time by expansion of a building outwards towards the street.  The portico posts provided the support necessary to enable a building owner to have a second (and eventually third or more) story that projected into the street.  So the practice of using porticos was common throughout Europe from the 14^th to 18^th centuries.  In addition to providing support for upper floors, porticos provided shelter from sun, rain and snow.

Marlow stands at the door to our apartment beneath "our" portico.

As time passed many building owners sought to expand the ground floor by eliminating the public space of the portico.  The practice of taking over what was a public area for private use was common throughout Europe in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.  However, Bologna prohibited this activity and in fact required all wooden porticos to be replaced over time with stone.  And the City further required all new construction to include a portico at the front of the building.  While it was possible to be exempted from the portico requirement by paying a fee, fortunately most building owners maintained the practice. 

As a result of its unique focus on maintaining the public portico space, Bologna has miles and miles of porticos.  They are not only handy to make walking about the City easier when it is raining, etc, they provide a clear separation from bicycle and vehicle traffic in the road.  And they make the otherwise narrow streets seem wider for the pedestrian. 

Here are a few photos of the many miles of porticos we've enjoyed walking on during our time in Bologna.

Marlow mentioned our 5 mile walk under the porticos to visit the Sanctuary of San Luca, here are a few photos of that unusual stretch.  Notice particularly the incline!

Finally, here is a daytime and night time view of "our" piazza Santo Stefano and someone peaking out from a portico!