bicciculture: All About Italy and Italian Travel Experiences

I must need a CAT-Scan or some other form of brain evaluation. Why do I want to be on the road tomorrow with millions of Italians (remember how they drive in southern Italy)? “Non ti preoccupato,” Anna, my girlfriend said, “we’re leaving at 3:00 a.m. “Oh, now I understand.” We’re going to do the early-bird-gets-the-worm gig and arrive at our scenic Mediterranean hide-a-way in two and a half hours - just as the sum is coming up over the ocean.

There’s only one problem. The only autostrada down there is A-3 which continues to be plagued with construction projects. The Italians are not always the most vigilant at setting up caution lighting or signs in these areas (reminds me of Tijuana, but that’s another story). I’ve learned to expect the unexpected here, so I’m actually going with a blank slate, the Transcendental Meditation version of electro-shock therapy.

The Italian officials call this “Black Weekend” or “The Great Summer Exodus”. “What’s wrong with leaving, Monday?”, I innocently asked. If looks could kill. No, we’re leaving with all the other Italians tomorrow, because this is the way it has always been done. It’s tradition. It’s part of the “grand casino”. Italians are not happy, unless there is a certain amount of craziness involved. It’s in their blood, which is why the cars move down the highway and through city streets like red corpuscles in the bloodstream, ignoring lanes and traffic lights. I don’t know that they think of it this way, but that’s what it is - Brownian movement.

Last month, a top Vatican cardinal called his travel down the A-3 “a real Via Crucis”, taking five hours to cover 200 km. I’ve got some great design books and a Richard Branson biography to keep me entertained while we sit and watch the sun rise, not over the ocean, but from behind an 18 wheeler. Since I am kind of like, in the Italian “family”, I was warned not to bring the computer, so this blog will have to wait until I return on Aug. 25th. I’ll get some great photos and audio for a few more podcasts, however. So - have a great summer and I’ll return the end of August!

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The wine, Vermentino, is my surprise Italian white wine pick of the summer. One of the things I love about living in Italy is the priviledge to buy very good inexpensive wine. I’m talking about 1.50 - 2.50 euros per bottle. With more different types of grapes grown in Italy than any country in the world, it also allows me to try many new varietals. As hot as it has been in southern Italy lately, I’ve steered away from red wines to whites with lighter meals. The call of the day is either a Frascati from the Latina (Rome) area or a new wine for me - the DOC Vermentino di Sardegna. I chilled the bottle the night before and wanted to try it with some left-over green beans and potatoes and Napolitan salted bread. I like trying a wine before I read the flavors I’m supposed to be tasting, just to check my sense of taste and smell.

I cleared my pallette with a bite of potato (I was starving!) and took a sip. Clean, somewhat crisp and a bit of acidity - refreshing. I was impressed, so I concentrated on what I was tasting. There it was - flavors of green apple and citrus. It was possibly lime, heightened by the refreshing acidity with richness and a medium body. I have to tell you I was smiling at this point. Holding it up to the light it had a pale straw color. Not knowing anything about it, I had to check the history and found that it’s origins are from Spain. It was carried to Corsica in the 14th century by Spaniards and from there, the vines were taken to the Ligurian region of coastal northwest Italy. Its appearance on Sardinia was fairly recent, (the final decades of the last century) and it was first planted in the Gallura area at the island’s northernmost tip.

This particular wine was from Sella and Mosca which has 500 hectares under cultivation further south on the northwest coast near Alghero. This area has much richer and more fertile soils, which permit much higher yields of grapes. Supposedly, the result is a wine with a lower alcohol level that is smooth and quite drinkable, although with “a much less assertive personality”. I didn’t find this to be the case with the bottle I sampled. The sommeliers claim it’s popularity is due to it’s bright acidity, aromas of citrus leaf and mineral and refreshing finish. It is not usually blended or put in oak barrels.

As you might imagine, this wine goes well with fresh seafood, like the orata I spoke about in one of my podcasts. How about spaghetti con vongole (spaghetti and clams) or insalata di carciofi e parmigiano (cauliflower and parmesan cheese). Traveling broadens and enriches you in more ways than one, so I’ve stepped up my exercise program

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Italian film director, Michelangelo Antonioni, passed away today at the age 94. American films have become so formulaic that it is hard to think of anyone of stature in the experimental sense, like Antonioni or Fellini. This week the film world actually lost two of the best, one Swedish and one Italian. On Monday, Academy Award-winning director Bernardo Bertolucci placed Ingmar Bergman (who died Monday at 89) alongside Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni “as a pioneer of profundity and sensitivity in movies.” It’s a bit strange that two directors so very similar in styles would depart within one day of each other - almost as if Antonioni experienced the profound emptiness from Bergman’s death, that is a reoccuring theme in some of his films.

Bergman once remarked that he admired some of Antonioni’s films for their detached and sometimes dreamlike quality. These directors were all about mood - art house to the max.
Take L’Avventura for instance, which won a Canne Jury award in 1960. It has been described as harsh, enigmatic reflections on the difficulties of ‘connecting’ in a brusque, fast-paced, technological world. It created a deep sense of desolation and alienation, with bourgeois characters who appear to have lost their sense of self, their values and their ability to communicate in the modern era.

“Blowup” was his most popular film and got him Academy Award nominations for best director and screenplay. Like his other films, there isn’t a strict plot or movement that culminates into resolving a plot. There is a story however, and it is told through ideas and musings on reality and perception. His films are full of visual beauty, and are perfectly calculated to capture the alienation of the characters, within what has been described as a “spare, slow-moving style”.

“Sometimes I arrive at the place where the work is to be done and I do not even know what I am going to shoot. This is the system I prefer: to arrive at the moment when shooting is about to begin, absolutely unprepared, virgin.”

” I attribute enormous importance to the sound track, and I always try to take the greatest care with it. And when I say the sound track, I am talking about the natural sounds, the background noises rather than the music. For L’Avventura, I had an enormous number of sound effects recorded: every possible quality of the sea, more and less stormy, the breakers, the rumble of the waves in the grottoes. I had a hundred reels of tape filled with nothing but sound effects. Then I selected those that you hear on the film’s sound track. For me, this is the true music, the music that can be adapted to images.”

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Who were the Etruscans? if you travel to the Tuscany, Latina or Campania regions, you will stumble across the names and artifacts of the Etruscan people, and yet, their origins remain a mystery to this day. Dating at roughly 800 BC to 300BC, they were a huge influence on the Roman culture. Some historians have suggested that the Roman culture and architecture were not “influenced” by Etruscans so much as “adopted” by the Romans and that the Etruscan civilization just melded into the Roman DNA. Their origin was lost in history, however, new DNA evidence from their cattle suggest they came to Italy, by way of Turkey.(photo above: Etruscan couple from the Louvre collection

No one really knows for sure. What we know about the Etruscan civilization comes primarily from Roman and Greek writers and from existing frescoes and inscriptions on monuments and tombs. From Roman writings, we know that the Romans viewed the Etruscans as promiscuous and had a low opinion of their women. Many pages were written about the scandalous behavior of wealthy Roman women that descended from Etruscan lines: in particular, the Julio-Claudians.

If you are into ancient civilizations, you may want to visit Volterra (Volterra is southwest of Florence (Firenze) or southeast of Sienna on highway 68) to see the new exhibition about the Etruscan people with collections put together by Rome’s Villa Giulia and Pigorini museums and Florence’s Archaeological Museum. Etruscan jewels, funerary urns, statues, coins and tomb decorations have also come from the Vatican Museums and other top European museums including the Louvre and the State Art Museum in Berlin.

The array of incredible artifacts from the 8th to the 2nd century BC will also include visits to fascinating new digs at Volterra’s acropolis and surrounding necropolises, as well as an exciting new tour of the city’s ancient fortifications, gateways and massive walls. Volterra was a prosperous city state, its wealth based on metalworking, which lay at the heart of the Etruscan Empire. (photo above: The Two Dancers, from the tomb of the Triclinium)

Tomb excavations have given archaeologists valuable insights into Etruscan material culture and fashions. For example, a set of false teeth were found that were fashioned from ivory and bone and secured with gold. This artistry was unrivaled for centuries.

Think you know the Romans? Better think again, because to know the Romans is to know the Etruscans - and they are still a bit of a mystery.

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When I first met Anna, I could say “buon giorno” and “grazie”. She offered to show me around Naples one Saturday and the first thing we did was go to a book store and look for a good language dictionary. If I wanted to talk about something other than the weather, I needed some serious help. Luckily, the book shop manager knew his stuff when it came to choosing a good one. He looked at Anna and knew she was a local Napolitana and then he looked at me . . . Tedescho (German)? Inglesi (English)? No, no. Americano. An Americano lost in a world of verb tenses, but fun word endings like “ino”, “acci”, and “ato”.

So I left his store carrying “The Pocket Oxford Italian Dictionary” in the paperback edition. Over the last nine years, I have seen many, but they were too heavy, not comprehensive enough or contained too much grammer at the expense of space for vocabulary. If I need a word, I can find it quickly - in English or Italian. It is too big to fit in a jacket, but it’s backpack friendly. So there you have it. It got me through my courtship with Anna and helped forge friendships - thanks Oxford University Press!
If you need a copy, check out Amazon

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It all started with a thought of southern BBQ, back in Atlanta, Georgia in the States - a subconscious smokey and kind of tangy sniff of something in the air. When I was aware that it more a little more serious than a wishful thought of a plate of pulled pork, I was curious to see who the hell would be burning something in this dry weather. Then I thought about our balcony where Anna had put laundry outside on the line to dry.

Sure enough, the fire was near our building along the side of a field where someone grows green vegetables in the spring and autumn. I couldn’t see the source, but I started hauling the laundry in as fast as I could, raising the awning like one of the crew on the sailing yacht, the Luna Rossa. Then the Vigile del Fuoco (firemen) arrived with two dated trucks to extinguish the blaze that was being whipped up by the wind across the small field.

Fire is now serious business here in southern Italy. Three people died on Monday from a fire in Puglia in southeastern Italy. More than 4,000 people have been evacuated from camping sites, hotels and resorts in and around the seaside towns of Peschici and Vieste on the Gargano peninsula. The sad thing is that these fires have been ruled arson. I’m told that the sites are fragile and that it is a common practice for criminals to be paid by unscrupulous builders who then move in and buy the land at a discount to develop.

Thousands of tourists were trapped on Gargano beaches on Tuesday and had to be rescued by sea. Many of them were forced to leave their belongings behind on the beach as they waded into the sea to escape the flames. Three hundred people had to be treated for smoke inhalation and three others for burns, one of whom was reported to be in a serious condition.

I’m heading to Praia a Mare in two weeks, but I’ll be on the west side of Italy’s coast, so we won’t have a danger of getting trapped by fire since the wind is out of a southwesterly direction. Regions on fire watch included Calabria, Abruzzo, Lazio around Rome, Campania around Naples and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia.

Our little fire was extinguished in about two hours, but having fought forest fires, I know this hot, dry weather with a little wind can create a dangerous situation very quickly. It hasn’t rained here in 8 weeks and the extended forecast is for sunny, hot and unfortunately, dry weather.

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I feel fortunate to have lived and worked in this city in southern Italy. As the adventurous type, I’m constantly fascinated by Naples - it’s history, people, traditions and language. I put my ear to the street and I sense the footsteps of Algerian pirates, Greek traders and Spanish and French aristocrats. It’s color, contrasts, superstitions, and passions are intertwined to provide an outsider like me with hours of entertainment, human enlightenment, surprises and sometimes, a little frustration.

But that’s just the point. The locals invite you in. They make you feel welcome. You share their heartaches and loves in stories that are told with the drama that only someone destined for the stage could appreciate, for everybody here in Naples is a comedian, actor or grifter.

Now, a festival called “the Piedigrotta” is returning the first of September after a 25 year absence to put the polish on the heart of all that is Naples. If you are fortunate enough to be here, it is a must to attend. It is billed as “a mix of the sacred and the profane” expressed in Neapolitan song, carnival floats, fireworks and a devotion to the Virgin Mary.

Nine novenas, a mass devoted to the Virgin Mary and lots of Neapolitan song will be the main features. Napolitan singer Massimo Ranieri (photo above) will hold a concert of Neapolitan music on September 7 in Piazza del Plebiscito. Raffaele Viviani’s musical ‘’la Festa di Piedigrotta'’ directed by Nello Mascia will also be featured. Thanks to the papier-mâché consortium in Nola, there will be many floats with three processions of four floats devoted to Mt Vesuvius, to song, to the Neapolitan mermaid, and to the ‘body of Naples’. All of this will culminate with fireworks on the beautiful Bay of Naples.

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Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make! Dracula, from the 1931 film “Count Dracula”

I call them the Super Italian bloodsuckers. The locals know them as “zanzara”, for “mosquito”. Last year, I wrote about super mosquitoes that moved up to Italy from Greece. This species is intelligent, meaning they know when you focus your attention on them, super fast and almost invisible to the eye. Very unlike their lazy American cousins. Like jet fighter planes, they come at you from all directions, but you’re lucky if you can see them before they bite.

Now, a little town in north-central Italy called Soliera has decided to do something about these blood sucking children of the night. They plan on applying a concentrated garlic solution in the town’s park. I don’t know whether they bought this potion from a lightning rod salesman in Tuscany, but there is some scientific knowledge backing this seemingly crazy effort. It’s called Mosquito Barrier and it is made up of 99.3% garlic concentrate and 0.7% vegetable oil. They will be applying this the next 6 weeks so I imagine Soliera may run people out of town as much as the mosquitoes. It kills on contact (mosquitoes, not people) and due to it’s offensive smelling sulfur compounds, it acts like a repellent.

The town council warned the Sunday park strollers that the strong smell of garlic would be in the air until the end of August, when the experiment is scheduled to end. I guess anything beats DDT and chlordane. Anna brought home a couple of plug-in units (photo above) that when heated from the electrical socket, gives off some sort of repellent. I’m suspicious of the efficacy of this idea, but I also don’t like breathing something I know nothing about. So I go around the house unplugging these little ominous units and the next day I find them replaced, hopefully repelling the children of the night. BZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz!!!

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This is an advance forecast summary of Italian wine for 2007. Weather is a big factor that fits into the equation for predicting a good bottle of wine. With the above average winter, spring and summer temperatures configured together, this will be the earliest grape harvest in thirty years.

According to the Italian Wine Union, picking will begin 3 weeks ahead of schedule. The early harvest can be attributed to the hottest winter and spring on record, in over 200 years, followed by a heat wave in June. One good thing:this year’s unusual weather is expected to produce an abundant harvest of quality grapes.The heat thickens the grapes’ skin, which gives wine its aromas and raises its sugar and alcoholic content.

The harvest of the early maturing grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco is now expected to begin in early August. August grape picking, rather than September, will also probably be the rule for most of the wine crop, including Trebbiano, Sangiovese, Barbera and Merlot grapes.

Vintners will probably consider harvesting the grapes at night, like in 2003 (another early harvesting year) to take advantage of the cooler weather and to preserve the quality of the grapes. Later picked varieties like the Aglianico, Nebbiolo, Cabernet and Raboso varieties will be picked in mid September instead of mid October.

There seems to be some disagreement on the amount produced. Some groups have the harvest estimated at 3-4% over last year (at 50 million hectoliters) and some have put in an “x” factor for lack of rain, at 5% less than last year.The Veneto region in northeast Italy is expected to once again produce the most wine in Italy, followed closely by Puglia (southeast Italy), Sicily and Emilia Romagna(north-central).

What’s the bottom line?

The quality of this year’s wine should be good overall and in some cases, excellent. If the weather turns out just right, wines such as Chianti, Barolo and Brunello di Montalcino, should produce an especially good vintage. Although it is still early in the season to talk about prices, if the predictions on harvest and quality are close, expect prices to remain stable.

Listen to this bicciCULTURE travel podcast about Italian wine with Uliana Petrucci in Umbria

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