Posts under "History"

Come si faceva il bucato una volta

Posted by Serena 1 Comment
Feb 6 2012

When our 78 year old neighbour Dina was a girl, la gente andava giù al fiume a fare il bucato (people went down to the river to do their washing). The freshly washed clothes were left stretched out on big rocks to dry in the sun. Dina remembers that ‘i panni lavati così erano tutta un’altra cosa’ (clothes washed in this way were really something else), and believes that the modern washing machine – la lavatrice – can’t wash clothes as well as the old method.

Detersivi (detergents) and ammorbidenti (fabric softeners) didn’t exist in those days, so people made their own soap using left over olio di oliva (olive oil), or grasso di maiale (pig fat) boiled in water with caustic soda, left to cool, and cut into small blocks. This soap was also used for personal hygiene.

Before washing la biancheria (the linen) with soap however,  it was first bleached and disinfected in the following way:

A large terracotta container, called la  conca, was filled with la biancheria. This was covered with un telo (a cloth) called il cenerone, on which was placed la cenere (ash) from the wood stove. Boiling water was poured over la cenere and allowed to filter through the linen inside la conca, exiting into a container from a spout at the base. This water was reheated and the process repeated until the the water that came out of the conca was the same temperature as that poured in. This indicated that all the linen had been properly soaked (see photo below).

La biancheria was then ready to be taken to the river or il lavatoio (the laundry). Il lavatoio in our village consisted of two large vasche (water troughs) under a stone arch, which were fed by una sorgente (a spring). This old lavatoio, where all the women once gathered to lavare i panni (wash the clothes), and exchange pettegolezzi (gossip), is now part of our property, and we mainly use it to store our supply of wood for the winter.

Above: Dina leads a cow down the street past the arch of the old lavatoio

Dina doesn’t, however, romanticize about the past in the way that many disillusioned city dwellers do. ‘Le cose sono molto meglio adesso poiché nel passato la vita era molto dura’ (things are much better now because in the past life was really hard), says Dina. In fact spending hours bent over the lavatoio washing clothes in the chilly spring water was just one of the hard physical tasks that women had to perform in the so called bei tempi andati (good old days).

Ponti d’Italia – 1. Il Ponte dei Sospiri

Posted by Serena 3 Comments
Feb 3 2012

Il Ponte dei Sospiri (The Bridge of Sighs) is one of the most famous of the roughly 400 bridges which span i canali di Venezia (Venice’s canals). Designed by the Swiss-Italian sculptor and architect Antonio Contino, il Ponte dei Sospiri was constructed at the beginning of the seventeenth century in order to span the Rio di Palazzo and connect le Prigioni Nuove (the New Prisons) with il Palazzo Ducale, in which were located gli uffici degli Inquisitori di Stato (the offices of the State Inquisitors).

 

Internally, the bridge consists of due stretti corridoi affiancati (two narrow parallel corridors), one of which leads to the Quarantia Criminale and the rooms of the tribunal, and the other to the Avogadoria (lawyers’ offices). It was traditionally believed that prisoners crossing the bridge to begin their incarceration would take what would probably be their last glimpse of the outside world and utter a sigh of sadness. Unfortunately this romantic notion is contradicted by the fact that the view from the stone grilled windows of the bridge is very restricted (see photo below), but it’s a lovely legend none the less, as is the local belief that due persone che si amano avranno la felicità eterna se si baciano al tramonto su una gondola sotto il Ponte dei Sospiri (two people that love each other will have eternal happiness if they kiss in a gondola under the Bridge of Sighs at sunset).

 

The bridge takes its name from the poet Lord Byron’s lengthy narrative Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, published between 1812 and 1818 and dedicated to “Ianthe”, the nickname of the poet’s intimate friend, Lady Charlotte Harley. Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary young man who, disillusioned with a life of pleasure and revelry, looks for distraction in foreign lands. The poem,  which is divided into four cantos, is believed to be a vehicle for Byron’s personal beliefs and ideas. It is in the fourth canto that Byron wrote the lines: “I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs, a palace and prison on each hand”.

Le Prigioni Nuove, which were probably the first purpose built prisons in Europe, lists amongst their most illustrious ‘guests’ Giacomo Casanova, the famous Italian adventurer, author and womaniser, whose name is still synonymous with seduction. At the age of thirty Casanova was arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment for the crime of blasphemy. He was incarcerated in i Piombi (The Leads), the name given to the infamous cells under the lead roof of the prisons which became an oven in the summer and a freezer in the winter. Casanova, however, had other ideas, and set about devising an escape plan. His first attempt was ruined by an unexpected change of accommodation, but Casanova regained his determination and eventually escaped through the lead roof with the help of another prisoner, a renegade priest called Father Balbi. Thirty years later, Casanova recounted the tale of his escape from the Prigioni Nuove in his book ‘Story of my Flight’.

Una Ricetta Invernale

Posted by Serena 2 Comments
Jan 27 2012

Every now and then I publish una ricetta italiana (an Italian recipe), and if you browse through my recipe blogs you will notice that they all have one thing in common: they are senza carne (without meat). That’s because Geoff and I are vegetariani. Is it unusual to be vegetarian in Italy? Well, you’ll have to wait for my next blog ‘Essere Vegetariani in Italia’ to find out!

Meanwhile here is another of the many traditional Italian recipes that doesn’t contain carne. This one is a nice warming nutritious meal for the winter:  Pasta e Ceci

Ceci (chick peas) are one of the most common legumi (pulses) in the world, and are particularly appreciated in the Middle East and India. In Italy they are mostly cultivated in the central regions. Ceci are associated with an important episode in the history of Sicily. In the 13th century Sicily was under the control of the French Angiò dynasty, but in 1282 a revolt known as “i Vespri siciliani” broke out in Palermo that led to the expulsion of the French. During this period the Sicilian rebels adopted an ingenious method of unmasking the French who tried to hide amongst the local population in order to escape. When someone was suspected of being French they were asked to pronounce the word ciceri (Sicilian dialect for ceci). If the suspect was unable to correctly pronounce the word, revealing a French accent, he was passato per le armi (shot!).

Ecco la ricetta (Here’s the recipe):

200 gr di ditali rigati = 200 grams of ‘ditali rigati’ (a small pasta used in soup)

300 gr di ceci secchi = 300 grams of dried chick peas

2 spicchi d’aglio = 2 cloves of garlic

2 rametti di rosmarino = 2 sprigs of rosemary

5 cl di olio extravergine d’oliva = 50 ml of extra virgin olive oil

sale e pepe = salt and pepper

Soak the chick peas in plenty of cold water for at least 12 hours, then put them in a large saucepan with the water used for soaking, adding a clove of finely chopped garlic and a sprig of rosemary. Gently boil the chick peas for about 40 minutes or until they are tender but not mushy. Puree a third of the cooked chick peas and return it to the saucepan. In a small frying pan fry the remaining garlic and rosemary in the olive oil until golden, then pour it over the chick peas. Bring everything to the boil, then add the pasta and salt. Cook the pasta for a few minutes until al dente. Serve hot, sprinkled with freshly ground pepper and, optionally, grated pecorino stagionato (mature sheep cheese).

Buon Appetito!

L’Esilio di Napoleone all’Isola d’Elba

Posted by Serena 2 Comments
Jan 25 2012

Napoleone Bonaparte, who was born in Corsica in 1769 and died in exile on the island of St. Helena in 1821, was once the Emperor of most of Europe. In 1814 he was forced to downsize somewhat, becoming instead emperor of the little Isola d’Elba (Island of Elba) 10 km  off the Tuscan coast, which covers an area of just 223 square kilometres. Following his disastrous Russian campaign and defeat at the Battle of Leipzig, the coalition forces, consisting of England, Prussia, Russia, and Austria, conquered Paris in March 1814.

Napoleone was forced to abdicate and choose between Corfu and l’Isola d’Elba as his place of exile. Napoleone choose the latter, and during his 10 months as emperor of Elba brought revolutionary changes to the lives of the local population.

When he arrived on Elba on the 3rd of May 1814, he brought with him a flag of his own design which he presented to the islanders as the bandiera dell’Elba (flag of Elba – see photo below), which is still Elba’s official flag.

 

On disembarking, he was received with great enthusiasm by the population and presented with the ‘keys’ to the island’s main town, Portoferraio, by the mayor. As the the town keys didn’t actually exist, it is said that the mayor used the keys to his cantina (cellar) and painted them gold! A procession was then formed which went up to the local church where a Te Deum (Thanks giving mass) was celebrated.

Following an uncomfortable first night at the Biscotteria, the council hall, Napoleone decided to restore some buildings for his own residences. The first, situated on the coast, was La Villa dei Mulini (The Villa of the Mills), which was built, as the name suggests, on the site of 4 mills. For his summer residence he chose La Villa di San Martino (see below), in the wooded valley of San Martino. Both these buildings are now museums.

An abandoned church was transformed into a theatre called il Teatro dei Vigilanti (still in use today) in order to host sumptuous feste e balli in maschera (parties and masked balls). Even today these events are still engraved in the memory of the islanders.

However, Napoleone didn’t spend all his time (and money) simply restoring buildings for his personal use. During his stay on the island he carried out a series of improvements to the way things were run, from the control of stray dogs to the administration of public health and a more efficient bureaucracy. He had new wider roads built  to allow the passage of carriages, and promoted the island’s iron mining industry. He also built a small glass and ceramic factory that didn’t meet with much success. The port and the merchants profited from the continuous arrival of important guests and the large quantities of supplies needed to sustain the court and garrison.

Napoleon’s wife, Maria Luisa, daughter of the Austrian emperor, never set foot on l’Isola d’Elba. However, three women did come to visit him: his mother Letizia, who is said to have fallen in love with the island; his favourite sister, Paolina Borghese, who brought to this little island a taste of the latest fashion from Paris; and for just a few days Napoleon’s Polish mistress, Maria Walewska, with their son Alessandro.

Despite all the work he poured into this little island, Napoleone had not abandoned hope of a return to the European scene. Having intuited that his enemies were planning to send him to a more out of the way and less pleasant exile, Napoleon started planning his escape from Elba. On the night of the 26th of February 1815 he took advantage of the absence of the British colonel Campbell, captain of the fleet that guarded the former French emperor, to carry out his escape plan at the end of a masquerade party. Napoleon boarded the French brig Incostant, which in the previous 10 days had been repainted and refilled with water, food and weapons. He was followed by a small fleet containing a total of 1,100 men. The convoy travelled westward separately in order not to attract attention.

Napoleone left l’Isola d’Elba for ever, but the Elbani (the people of Elba) never forgot him. Every year on the 5th of May, the anniversary of Napoleon’s death, they celebrate una messa di Requiem in suo suffragio (a requiem mass for his repose).

Innovazioni Italiane – Part 3

Posted by Serena No Comments
Jan 16 2012

This is my third and final blog about innovazioni italiane (Italian innovations) from the last 150 years since Italy’s unification.

Here are another four important innovations that have been ‘Made in Italy’:

1. Vibram -  A mountaineering accident, in which six alpinisti (mountaineers) froze to death due to lack of adequate footwear, was the stimulus for the development of a new type of sole. In 1936 the mountaineering expert Vitale Bramani developed climbing boots that would deal with all conditions, both on ice and rock. With the collaboration of Leopoldo Pirelli he perfected a sole made of vulcanised rubber that used a grip which became known as carrarmato (tank). The brand name Vibram was inspired by Vitale Bramani’s name.

2. Cambio per bici (bicycle gears) – These days when we ride a bicycle we take it for granted that, by moving a lever on the handlebars, we can change gears to make it easier to go up a hill. Less than a hundred years ago, however, things weren’t quite so simple: at that time changing gear involved getting off your bike and loosening the nuts on the rear wheel in order to move the chain by hand onto another cog, then tensioning the wheel and tightening the nuts before setting off again. It was the Italian cyclist Tullio Campagnolo who revolutionised the world of cycling with a number of innovative modifications. One of these was the cambio a bacchetta commonly known as the ‘dérailleur’ mechanism, which Campagnolo perfected in 1935. This mechanism enabled the cyclist to change gears by means of two levers without having to dismount the bike . (see photo below)

Atala_Cambio_Corsa_Drivetrain

3. Mater-Bi – In the early 1990s, mindful of the problems caused by the difficult process of recycling plastic, and the consequent impact on the environment, the Italian chemical colossus Novamont  developed a new kind of plastic called Mater-Bi. Invented by Catia Bastioli, Mater-Bi differs from the old types of plastic in that it is biodegradable. This new plastic is obtained from materials such as amido di mais, di grano e di patata (maize, wheat, and potato starch), and decomposes naturally into water, carbon dioxide, and methane due to the action of micro-organisms.

4. MPEG – MPEG is currently the most commonly used standard for compressing digital video. The name MPEG is an acronym for Moving Picture Experts Group, the company co-founded and chaired by the Torinese engineer Leonardo Chiariglione. In the 1980s Chiariglione, disillusioned by the failure of the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) to adopt a single world standard for high-definition television (HDTV), followed in the footsteps of the Joint Photographic Experts Group, which had succeeded in setting international standards for the storage of still pictures in an image format which is commonly known by the acronym JPEG. Here is an interesting article about the birth of the MPEG: Chiariglione.org

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