Finally here in Florence the frigid cold and ice rain has departed and the sun is starting to peak its way through the clouds in full force. Today on my tour around the city I was able to put my heavy down jacket in the closet trading it in for a more pleasant lightweight spring jacket. Although, I am not the hugest fan of the hot summer here in Florence, I do love the spring. The tourists are out in full force and the flowers in bloom. Easter is sneaking up around the corner and the local markets are on display in various piazzas around the city, while the bars and shops have their Easter goodies and the children’s large chocolate eggs in the windows for decoration.
When I was little my mom used to create for us an Easter basket filled with the normal Easter treats such as chocolate bunnies, Peeps, or Cadbury Eggs. Italy is not much different and although I haven’t seen any Peeps in store windows, there are plenty of other chocolate and candy confections. One traditional thing that Italy does for Easter, especially for the children, is that they give large chocolate eggs. Inside these eggs is usually a small toy or prize. The children break open the egg immediately to see what has been hidden inside then precede “a mangiare” (to eat) the chocolate. I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew, and although two of my nieces are older, its always fun to watch the younger ones feast on their chocolate and dig in for their prizes. This year, because Maurizio will be working on Easter, we will be going to visit the Italian family this weekend. Not only will we give our nieces and nephew their Easter presents, we will also be celebrating Francesca’s 18th birthday and Davide’s 10th birthday. They will be so excited to get all their presents.
On my tour today I went from my house, down to a major street called Via Dei Servi. This street is a busy, mostly pedestrian, street that connects the Duomo to Piazza della Santissima Annunziata. Most all tourists will find themselves wondering this street at some point of their visit to Firenze and you will always find an array of Italian going into various bars along the way for their caffè. This particular piazza is important to me because Maurizio and I had our wedding reception in the Palazzo Budini Gattai which sits to the left of the entrance to the square. In the actual Piazza you will find anyone from homeless and gypsies to crowds of students filling the rows of the steps on both sides. Today the Piazza was especially full since the merchants had formed lines up down the square displaying everything of everyday makeup and carpets to traditional Lampredotto and Porchetta di Montepulciano.
In a previous blog I have already described what Lampredotto is so today I will write about Porchetta. Porchetta is another typical Tuscan dish that you find mostly at street vendors around the city. Much like in NY is known for its hotdogs on the streets, you will find here in Firenze lampredotto and porchetta.
“Porchetta /por'ket:a/ is a savory, fatty, and moist boneless pork roast of Italian culinary tradition. The body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood. Porchetta is usually heavily salted in addition to being stuffed with garlic, rosemary, fennel, or other herbs, often wild.” Wikipedia
See the photo below:
Along with the Porchetta you could also find various types of salamis and prosciuttos as well as many different cheeses mostly pecorinos. If you happen to have a sweet tooth you would be happy with the assortment of candies, bomboloni, and brigidini di Lamporecchio.
Bomboloni are similar to American style filled doughnuts. Bomboloni, however, are dusted with sugar and can be filled or empty. Brigidini di Lamporecchio are a type of flaked cookie. This is the best way I can explain it. They are very thin and their size can be up to 7cm in diameter. This particular dessert is very typical in Lamporecchio, which is in the province of Pistoia. The ingredients used to make this dessert are: sugar, flour, eggs, and liquid anise. Often times, you can also find this dessert in the less traditional flavor of Chocolate. There is also a machine that is used specifically in making this dessert. See the photo’s below.
the palazzo where we had our wedding reception
After visiting the market I decided to walk up to the Duomo to see how many tourists had found their way to Firenze. As I suspected the streets were packed but they still aren’t as bad as they will be in the months to come. On the way I decided to stop and take a picture of the bull’s head, which is located on the left side of the Duomo. If you didn’t know to look for it, or where to look, you would never see it. I am not sure how certain this story is but about a year ago I met a local Florentine man who told me that this bull’s head is located on the Duomo because back in the day when they were constructing the church, the workers noticed that in a nearby pastry shop every morning after the owner’s husband would leave, her lover would sneak in. Because of this affair, they placed the head of a bull, which consequently is looking directly in the direction of where this particular shop once stood. In Italy, if you make the gesture with your hand of horns (La Corna) above a friend’s head it signifies that your friend’s wife/girlfriend is having an affair on him, hence the statue of a bull’s head. If you look closely at the picture you will see the bull.
As ironic as it may be, on the same side where the bull’s head is located, Ben and Jerry’s has recently put in a new ice cream location. You may wonder why anyone would go to Ben and Jerry’s in the country that first created il gelato (the ice cream) but the place has been packed every time I have been by and today wasn’t different. I am definitely a fan of Italian ice cream and prefer their fruit sorbets to our typical fatty milk concoctions but sometimes a girl just has a craving for some good ole American chocolate chip cookie dough and believe me, I wasn’t disappointed.
The ice cream was delicious and after I finished I made my way down to Piazza della Repubblica to do a little people watching and read the most recent Florentine paper. All in all a beautiful day in the city if only I could just get over this obnoxious ear infection.
Ciao!
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