Venice’s Simposio: a unique Venetian cookbook

“The lady’s silver hair was perfectly styled. Her coat was of sublime quality. Her purse was an elegant case hanging from a silver chain. I caught a glimpse of her black cashmere sweater and her burgundy flower-embroidered long skirt.”

“Winter in Venice is for introverts. Those who accept dying a bit, going through a journey in their underworld, discovering new components of their being, and rising again, like the phoenix.”

“Here are the little artichoke boats my fedora friend was savoring before running home to his wife. You can serve them as aperitivo, antipasto, or side dish. They are juicy, creamy, and delicious!”

“In Venice, San Martino is celebrated by kids strolling around the city wearing paper crowns, chanting a doggerel, and making noise with pots, ladles, and jars. The people – probably to make them stop – give them candy or a coin. Back home, they are pampered with the Dolce Di San Martino…”

“Since the Doge didn’t touch anything that wasn’t golden – or so it was said -, when cornflour Zaleti cookies (“zaeti”, in Venetian dialect) had raisins, he didn’t eat them. If they didn’t have raisins, they could, instead, be appropriately called “Zaeti del Doge”.”

“The “Casanova” used to be worn both by men and women. The mask covered the face’s upper part, leaving the mouth free to eat and drink. The spicy detail was the cloak so large it allowed lovers to…”

“To foreigners, it appeared that Venice had a six-month-long Carnival. Others described it as a city populated by spirits. Anonymity and personal freedom were the actual reasons for this custom.”

“Tradition prescribes that, at the end of the cooking, you should reach a density that lets a ladle stand up straight. Challenge accepted?”

“Bigoli in Salsa is one of the Venetian recipes prepared one day before, chilled, and devoured during the Redentor summery festivity. But it is also traditionally made and savored, hot this time, for Christmas Eve dinner and for the Friday before Easter.”

“For the celebrations of April 25th, this incredibly rich in traditions city honors the past Doges! For them, a dish made with “primizie” the first produce of the season, that in this case was “bisi”, peas, was prepared.”

“…Corto Maltese, a 1967 graphic novel by Hugo Pratt… Like most of the Italian iconic “fumetti”, Corto Maltese is adventurous, expressively drawn, and supplemented with fierce curvy women. It became a cult in Europe because it is filled with travel-generated culture and iconic quotes…”

“It was time for our first Cicchetti and our first Spritz. While savoring all the classics – Baccalà Alla Veneziana and Alla Vicentina, liver, and Sarde in Saor – served on the flavorful crust of grilled yellow polenta bites, my brain engines were in full hustle…”

“Although a Monday morning, the city was incredibly busy. Where did all these people go at night? We were about to witness the nonsense of modern tourism…”

“My goal was to find a pair of Friulane (or Furlane). I had already purchased the iconic slippers online, but getting a pair in Venice was something I will call mindful shopping. A three-sixty experience: tradition, culture, and quality blended in a product you’ll cherish forever.”

“Indeed, I found this area much more residential, folk as Trastevere (Rome) was and still partially is. Linens hung to dry out of the windows. People walking their dogs. Sounds of real life coming from inside the walls. A great place to get lost while searching for the places of Casanova, of the courtesans, of a lost past.”

“And what about the gondole traffic? It was hilarious.
But this last thought catapulted me towards a swirl of melancholy. Maybe because I hadn’t slept very well. Perhaps because I had planned too meticulously…”

“He laid his eyes on us and simply invited us to look around. Only when I approached him with a few questions did he leave his task and dedicate his full attention to me. Or better, to the mask.”

“He smiled and said it was where he and his family went for Sunday lunches. There was nothing more to be added.”