Florence (Firenze)

Challenge authority

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My generation always touted the challenging of authority and, I must say, it’s ingrained in me.  I like a bit of a rule-breaker.

Maybe that’s why I always smile when I see that someone shows a sense of humor by challenging the rules a bit.

Almost all the exterior public walls of Florence bear these signs that essentially state: “it’s forbidden to put graffiti” on the wall.

I honestly don’t know how many English speakers even know what the subtle street signs say.

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But, it is delightful to note that someone not only noticed the signs, but felt compelled to suggest a little rule breaking.

I admire a sense of humor, wherever it shows up!

Marron glacés

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This gorgeous confection, the marron glacé, as seen in a Florentine pasticceria this week, originated in northern Italy and southern France, long before those geographical distinctions meant much of anything.

The marron glacé is made from a chestnut that is both candied and glazed in a sugar syrup.  These lovelies are eaten on their own as well as found in many desserts.

Marron glacés appeared in chestnut-growing areas in Italy and France shortly after the crusaders returned to Europe with sugar. Cooking with sugar allowed the creation of all kinds of new confectioneries.

It is believed that a candied chestnut confection was probably served around the beginning of the 15th century in Piedmont, among other places. But the marrons glacé as such (with the last touch of ‘glazing’), may have been created only in the 16th century. 

The first written recipe for the marron glacé was made by an Italian cook working for the Duke of Savoy around 1580.  The French recorded it at the Versailles court at the end of the following century.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can make your own.  Here’s how:

 

 

And here’s a written recipe:

http://www.buttalapasta.it/articolo/ricetta-marron-glace/24877/http://www.buttalapasta.it/articolo/ricetta-marron-glace/24877/

Buon appetito!

 

Laureato: graduating from university in Italy

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When you graduate from college in Italy, you are laureate.  An Italian custom I find completely charming is the habit of the graduate wearing a laurel wreath to mark the occasion.

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Today I spotted this happy fellow, who clearly just graduated.  I followed him for a few steps:

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And then I asked him to pose for a picture.  Unfortunately, I caught him in an awkward pose, because he is a very handsome young man!

Auguri!

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High hopes for the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

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Colombo believes, however, that the building has “enormous potential, enabling us to alternate operas in rapid succession and involve even casual passersby with video projections of rehearsals in the outdoor amphitheater. I feel the house could well become the focal point of a new Florentine Renaissance in the twenty-first century.”

In Florence, there is indeed a feeling that anything can happen, and the great Renaissance of the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries still envelops even the most distracted of visitors.

If one prowls the narrower streets late at night or crosses the Piazza della Signoria as morning rises, one has a real feeling of history still interacting mysteriously with the present.

This was certainly the case for Franco Zeffirelli, who attributes much of the underlying inspiration for his work in the opera house to his upbringing and training in this city haunted by ghosts of the distant past.