Where Pasta is King

“In a country called Bengodi…there was a mountain made entirely of grated Parmesan cheese, on which lived people who did nothing but make macaroni and ravioli and cook them in capon broth. And then they threw them down, and the more of them you took, the more you had. And nearby ran a rivulet of white wine whose better was never drunk, and without a drop of water in it.” –Decameron, Day 8, Tale 3

If wine flows through Italians veins, then pasta lines their stomachs; Italians live, breathe, and, of course, eat pasta. 

From Flavia’s Kitchen

This week I am kicking off a series devoted to Italian cuisine. One might think that food would be the only thing I would want to write about, but it has been a minimal subject thus far on my blog. Well, with less than four weeks left in Italy, now is the time for me to share all I have learned about the country cuisine’s, including cooking techniques, preparations, and, of course, how it all tastes. In the coming days, one can expect posts about Italian pasta, including a recipe for fatto a mano (handmade), wine, cheese and various other Italian specialties. This week promises to wet everyone’s appetite and to leave readers with mouths wide open and envious of my culinary adventures.

To begin this series on Italian food, I thought it best to begin with a recipe and a recounting of my second foray into Flavia’s kitchen. After more than two months since our last attempt at cooking, Emily and I were anxious to return to our host mother’s favorite room in the house and learn some of her secrets. Though it took some convincing, she finally agreed to give us a cooking class this past weekend. On the menu: supplì. 

Scones, Harry Potter, and Chips

My first day in London provided me with a genuine glimpse of the city. Guided by my roommate, I viewed Renaissance art, glanced at Buckingham Palace, and took the must-have pictures alongside London’s telephone booths. When it came to Day Two, there was still much to see. Under clear and sunny skies and armed with a much needed caffeine boost, the two of us set off for a credit card’s heaven: Harrods Department Store.

If one wants to imagine Harrods one only needs to think of New York City’s Macy’s in Herald Square. The London department store is a seven-story paradise with everything imaginable for sale. On the entrance floor, rooms of perfume, handbags, and other accessories make every shopper wish they had a platinum card in their wallet. Those looking for bargains should go elsewhere; Harrods is renown for its collection of high-end labels. It is as if everyone designer boutique on NY’s Fifth Avenue came together to be sold in one shopping center. 

England: A Country of Snobs?

George Bernard Shaw once said, “The whole strength of England lies in the fact that the enormous majority of the English people are snobs.”  Apparently, the French are not the only European citizens who have a stereotyped reputation for being less than welcoming.

Since the beginning of the semester one of my main goals was to dispel common stereotypes about foreigners perpetuated by Americans. Thus far I have dispelled many about the Italians and my brief stay in Paris taught me that the snooty stereotypes about French people were far from accurate. Looking to see if Shaw’s perception of the English was correct, I spent last weekend in the United Kingdom’s capital, London.

Where Every Day is Sunday

When I was younger, every Sunday was spent visiting my Italian grandparents. Dressed in our best to impress outfits, my sister and I loaded into the car, and our dad drove us to the tenement house he grew up in with his big Italian family.

Unlike the stereotypical Italian sons who live with their families well into their thirties, my dad moved out of his childhood home in his early twenties after he got married. Yet as a true Italian, my father recognized the value of Don Corleone’s quote to Johnny Fontane in The Godfather when he said, “A man who doesn’t spend time with his family can never be a real man.” Although my dad no longer lived on the second floor above his grandparents, or below the floor with his aunt and uncle and cousins, his strong connection to family kept him going back every Sunday.

Making sure that my sister and I were aware of our Italian heritage was a strong motivator for my father to drive us to our grandparents each weekend. When we arrived, we were always greeted with hugs and kisses just as warm as the heat emanating from the kitchen. On the table, there was an array of Italian goodies to satisfy our growling stomachs. While my sister and I dove into the homemade egg biscuits, chicken soup or pizza, my dad and his mother immersed themselves in conversation about the “good ole days” in their Italian neighborhood.

To read more, check out the original post for Georgetown’s weekly magazine The Guide.

La Unità di Italia

When waking Thursday morning and remembering the date, I can imagine that thoughts of green filled one’s mind. Ask anyone you know about March 17th and you can expect a smile widening at its announcement of Saint Patrick’s Day. A day for wearing green, eating corned beef and cabbage and Irish soda bread, and enjoying Guinness, the celebration of Ireland’s Patron Saint is highly anticipated for the Irish community.

One might wonder why I am even writing about Saint Patrick’s Day when I am living in country with no Irish roots. As one can imagine, Saint Patrick’s Day does not have a great following in the nation shaped like boot because of its very limited Irish population. However, despite Italians disassociation with shamrocks and green beer, the date has its own significance to the peninsula: on 17 March 1861, Italy became a unified country.

Il Giorno di San Giuseppe

St. Joseph by artist Guido Reni, 1640-42

March is one of my favorite months. Once the calendar turns to the first, thoughts of spring immediately come into mind. To me, March is dominated by the warming weather, the Ides of March, lots of green, Saint Patrick’s Day, and March Madness. But amidst all of these wonderful things, there is one thing that I always look forward to with the arrival of the month: Saint Joseph’s Day.

Saint Joseph’s Day is to the Italians what Saint Patrick’s Day is to the Irish. Just two days after the Irish drown themselves in Guinness, the feast of Saint Joseph is celebrated on March 19th. Though the husband of Mary, Joseph is an important figure in the history of Christianity, thereby March 19th is dedicated to his remembrance. Rather than wearing green, Italians typically celebrate by dressing in red. In Italy, il Giorno di San Giuseppe is also Father’s Day, Festa del Papà, but the day has even more significance in the south. Sicily regards Saint Joseph as its Patron Saint because many credit him with saving the people from drought during medieval times. Once the rains arrived, the Sicilians celebrated their good fortune with great feasts. Unlike the heavy Irish fare of corned beef and cabbage, the traditional celebratory food for the Italian feast is based upon the peasant cuisine of the Sicily, including minestrone with fava beans, la frittata, and plenty of fish. But considering that Saint Joseph is also the patron saint of pastry chefs, the holiday is most known for its signature pastry: la zeppola. 

Le Chiese Cattoliche

You have to give the Catholic Church its due: it certainly knows how to build a church. From the stained-glass windows, colossal marble statues, hand-painted frescoes, and its architecturally innovative domes, Catholic Churches have a flair for the elaborate. But there was a time in history when such ornateness was at stake.

In the sixteenth century, religion underwent a miraculous makeover that nearly cost Catholicism its prestige. Led by Martin Luther, the Reformation began in 1517 as a reform on the Catholic Church and its doctrines. Through this reform, two prominent branches of Christianity evolved: Protestantism and Calvinism, and later other branches grew. One of the leading factors behind the Protestant Reformation was criticism for the growing corruption within the Catholic Church. Among the arguments in his 95 theses, Luther claimed that the Church had become consumed by wealth and greed. The sale of indulgences to those who wanted to save themselves from purgatory was, in Luther’s and many others’ minds, testament to a decline in the Church’s spirituality and devotion.

La Dolce Vita Senza Religione

In director Frederico Fellini’s renowned masterpiece La Dolce Vita, the film begins with the statue of Christ flying over the city of Rome. As the protagonist Marcello rides in the helicopter carrying the divine figure, the sight of three women sunbathing on rooftop quickly distracts him. Through these first few minutes of the film, Fellini introduces the audience to the Catholic Church’s strong presence in the Italian culture. Yet, by simultaneously portraying Marcello’s easy distraction, the director presents a growing trend among the Italian citizenry towards a decline in religious faith and spirituality.

The opening scene of La Dolce Vita depicts a noticeable shift in religious identity and beliefs that began in Italy during the 1950s. At this time, Italy underwent an “economic miracle,” in which industry boomed, the standard of living increased, and social mobility was on the rise. As wealth prospered, the economic hardships of the years immediately following World War II became distant memories. Although the growing prosperity meant well for Italy’s economy, it also introduced a new challenge to the country. With the increase in the flow of money, there was a simultaneous decline in the religious sentiment of its citizenry as people replaced spiritual fulfillment to material.

This piece was written for the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and its Junior Year Abroad Network. You can read more, by visiting here.

La Festa Delle Donne

Ask someone in the United States the significance of the date March 8th and it is likely that the response will be a blank stare and shake of the head. Unbeknownst to the majority of Americans, March 8th is celebrated worldwide as International Women’s Day. Although not recognized as an official holiday by many countries, citizens around the world acknowledge the date as a celebration for women.

The day’s roots were inspired by two events that challenged women’s stereotypical subversive roles in society. The first took place in a New York in 1857 when female garment workers formed a strike to protest the inequity and hardships of their working conditions. Their strike ultimately led to the creation of the first women’s union in America. In a similar fashion, Russian women organized a strike in 1917 to encourage peace and compromise in a time when World War I was raging and the Russian Revolution was on horizon. While there have been a number of other events before, between, and after these two, the strikes in New York and Russia are often credited as the catalysts for the establishment of a global celebration honoring women.