Emilia Romagna-Post 2

The beginnings of Parmesan cheese

Two solid masses form per vat

Mention the city of Parma, Italy, and food immediately comes to mind—Parmesan cheese and Parma ham, that is!  Our first destination was to one of several authorized Parmigiana Reggiana plants in the Emilia Romagna region...and the cheese wheel cannot bear the official “Parmigiana Reggiana” stamp imprinted unless it IS produced in this region and moreover passes various inspections levied during the production process.  We watched as workers turned the result of two days of milking into 36 wheels of cheese that evolved through coagulation from large masses of cheese product floating in huge vats, to balls formed in sack cloth and suspended over the vats for shaping.  Each ball weighs about 75 pounds!  The final shape takes place in heavy round disks in which the almost-wheel is turned over and pressed down for one day before moving to the next step:  a 21-day float in water saturated with salt. Over the course of another month or so, codes and stamps are imprinted and the wheels are taken to a huge room filled with shelves and shelves of other cheese wheels (many tons worth!) to age at least a year. Then come the final inspectors who use their trusty metal hammers to tap each wheel to ensure there are no bubbles inside.  Only then is the final stamp applied.  The actual number of months each wheel is finally aged is reflected on it, with 24 months being the max.  Young cheese is milkier and more flexible; older cheese tastes less milky, is a bit sharper, and has a more grainy texture.  The older the cheese, of course, the pricier.  The shop at the factory sold most all age levels, and there was plenty of it available for sampling and purchasing, which we did. 

Inspectors stamping approval

On a hill south of Parma and its surroundings stands the Castello di Torrechiara, one of a series of well preserved castles located between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains.  Torrechiara is probably the best preserved of them and lies virtually unchanged since its construction in the 15^th century.  The castle’s four rectangular towers (torre) make it quite a prominent and imposing structure and offer stunning views of the countryside.  Inside, the artwork is interesting, if not beautiful, with so called “grotesque” frescoes of fantasy scenes like naked acrobats performing impossible stunts while riding lions.   

Next up on our schedule that day was a visit to a prosciutto factory, home of the famous Parma hams that come from the back legs of 9 month old pigs only.  Over 50,000 hams are sold per year after they age a minimum of one year, with two years being even better.  We had never seen so many hams hanging to cure in one place!  After a lunch of (of course) Parma ham and cheese, we toured the historical center of Parma, including the Farnese Theater and Baptistery.  

Ferrara Cathedral

The city of Ferrara proved a pleasant surprise the following day.  We toured the Estense Castle, an imposing fortress inside the city itself with drawbridges over a real moat and towers dating back to the twelfth century.  Built by Niccolo II d’Este in response to a dangerous revolt, the castle still stands as a symbol of the famous House of Este dynasty.  Even more impressive to me, however, was the cathedral in the city that also dates to the twelfth century, particularly the facade.  The mix of Gothic and Renaissance styles, both pink and white marble and terracotta construction, and scenes from the New Testament combine to make it one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.
 

Our final day of touring took us to Mantua for a historical walking tour followed by a lovely luncheon boat tour along the river and lake of the city.  It was the artwork inside the Palazzo Ducale that caught everyone’s eyes—literally.  Watch the pointing arm of a woman in one of the paintings as you walk the length of the gallery, and the arm will follow you!   

Sauro, Lynn, Orietta, Ben

Perhaps the most fun for us that day was sharing it with Ben’s Italian relatives, Orietta and Sauro Brunelli, who drove up from Ancona.  We first met Orietta’s family back in 1972 while stationed in Aviano and have maintained contact over the years.  With our substandard Italian but with help from others in our group who spoke the language much better, we all had a grand time! 

There is so much to treasure in this beautiful country.  If you ever have the opportunity to visit, please seize it; if not, however, I hope these small glimpses into Italia bella will send a little joy your way.

Aviano Reunion in Italy--Part 1

What a wonderful week we had in Italy! Come to think of it, have we ever had less than that in this beautiful country? And as always, Roberto Bechi and his amazing assistant Anna put together an excellent itinerary for us, this time in southern Italy, visiting jewels we would have otherwise missed. When is the last time anyone told you he went to Italy and visited a buffalo mozzarella farm, the Sassi of Matera, and Trullies of Alberobella? Confused? Then keep reading.

Our tour began in Rome where Aviano Reunion Association members convened for pickup at the Rome airport. Since one flight holding 10 in our group was delayed, we sent one bus on to Anzio with Ben for the prearranged tour of the nearby World War II cemetery, while I stayed with the second bus holding the late arrivals and those who didn‘t mind missing that quick tour. Our reward was getting to the restaurant first for our first taste of southern-style Italian food. Yum.

Then it was on to Hotel Corallo (“coral“) in Sorrento for four nights. Ben and I first visited this gem of a city on the Sorrentine Peninsula back in 2002 when we fell in love with surrounding views of the Bay of Naples, Vesuvius, and Capri, not to mention the famous liqueur of this area, limoncello. I‘ve never been much on liqueurs, but limoncello is the exception, and this area is where it all began.

The Corallo is also well positioned for all of the above views, making it easy to see the smaller ships that are able to call on Sorrento such as Azamara Club, Silversea, Star Clippers, and the small Pacific Princess. The meals prepared for us by the Corallo staff were delicious, and the people were most accommodating. If only the water in the shower had been hotter. Ah, travel in Europe....

Our first day in Sorrento included a city walking tour and then free time for shopping. If a cold front hadn‘t blown in with wind and rain, we might have left more money there--but we did a pretty good job, anyway! Sorrento is famous for excellent inlaid wood products: serving trays, multi-purpose tables, music boxes, and “paintings.“ Among the most famous is A. Gargiulo & Jannuzzi, where master craftsman Giuseppe Mastellone sells his work. Magnificent!

Next up was a bus ride back up the winding, crowded highways from Sorrento to the autostrada and on to the famous ruins of Pompeii. Another return visit for Ben and me, but having a tour guide this time made a big difference. She included lots of history and took us to the most interesting sites on this huge site. Founded in the sixth century BC, Pompeii is now the second most visited archaeological site in the world behind the pyramids. At the time of the eruption, this very advanced (if corrupt) city had a population of 12,000 citizens; 20,000 counting slaves. Ironically, all the signs we now recognize as possible harbingers of volcanic activity were occurring: a disastrous earthquake about 17 years prior, a drying aqueduct, swelling landscapes, etc.

In the meantime, I've been reading a book called Pompeii by Robert Harris, which is a gripping historical novel of the final two days prior to the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 that focuses on the man in charge of the Aqua Aqueduct which brought water to the people around the bay. A great read!

Lunch was all about cheese--mozzarella, that is--when we visited a buffalo mozzarella farm in Torre Lupara. The farm is self-sustaining, growing all of the grains needed to feed the buffalo in order to produce the highest quality cheese--so high that it has earned the USDA stamp of approval for import. If the caprese on your menu doesn‘t say “buffalo mozzarella,“ the cheese is from a cow rather than a genuine water buffalo. Our visit there included not only a tour of the farm and close encounters with the buffalo herd, but also that lunch I mentioned with something like seven types of mozzarella and aged pecorino.

We couldn‘t spend time in this area without eating genuine Napolese pizza, so we ended our already cheesy day with an all-you-can-eat pizza dinner at one of the two original pizza restaurants in Italy. The margherita was the best!

Next, you'll read about our day cruise past Capri to Amalfi and then to the ancient city of Sassi in Matera, where several scenes from Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" were filmed.

Click here for Part 1 of Ben's Aviano photos.

La Nostra Famiglia in Ancona

Ben’s parents were both born in Mississippi, but both sets of grandparents and one aunt immigrated from the Marche region of Italy in and around the Adriatic seaport of Ancona. Located about an hour and a half south of Venice, the city is perhaps best known for its proximity the resort city of Rimini and to the Republic of San Marino, that country-within-a-country sometimes offered as an excursion from the few cruise ships calling on Ancona.  Also nearby is the village of Pinocchio di Ancona, where you'll find a statue in honor of Geppeto’s wooden son, although the story itself took place in the medieval hillside village of Collodi in Tuscany, also the hometown of Pinocchio’s creator.

Not until this trip did we learn that the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona, which gave birth to Disney's ships and others, recently succumbed to hard economic times, putting 2,000 people out of work. Other shipyards belonging to this Trieste-based company, including Lloyd Werft in Germany, do continue to operate and build ships for numerous cruise lines and the US military, but it made us sad to see this once bustling construction site sitting idle.

We first met the Italian cousins in 1972 when, armed with a six-week conversational Italian course and backed by Ben‘s mother‘s years of correspondence in Italian about their American cousins, we bravely decided to take the plunge. What we lacked in language skills was more than compensated by their warmth and patience as we toiled through those first days of getting acquainted.

We have remained in contact over the years and have visited again when our travels took us near Ancona. Sadly, some of the elderly cousins have since passed on, but the new generation shows the same welcoming spirit--and one now even speaks and writes English (grazie, Alessia!). The longer we are away from required daily Italian conversation, the more diminished our skills become.

Orietta, daughter of Ben‘s second cousin, prepared delicious meals fit for royalty--from prosciutto & melon and pasta carbonara, to muscles & clams with gelato for dessert. Back to the gym, Zumba, and Weight Watchers next week!

We enjoyed meeting Alessandro’s fiance Samantha (a September 4 wedding date and completion of their new home are on schedule), and Alessia‘s boyfriend Mario, who also speaks some English. It was another wonderful reunion.

Our final stop in Europe this trip was Tuscany, both as a vacation for Ben and me and a business trip to finalize plans for our October Aviano Reunion Association event. We boarded the train for Chiusi, southeast of Siena, ready for a relaxing return to this always enchanting region of Italy.