Italian Hospitality

This weekend Nicole and I went to Mantua with Martina, a girl Nicole met in one of her UniBo classes whom we've now become friends with. We wanted to go to Mantua to see some art we had previously studied, and Martina invited us to stay with her family for the night. And as wonderful as the art was and as beautiful as the small city of Mantua was, the real experience for me was staying with an Italian family. We spent the night in Martina's apartment with her grandmother and her twin sister, and we also met her cousin, cousin's husband, and grandmother's sister (their aunt). Everyone was wonderful and doted on us, and the grandmother and aunt fed us huge amounts of food all weekend. The food alone was wonderful, although after stuffing myself at lunch on Saturday (I didn't realize there would be second and third courses, I was full after the first course of seafood pasta!) I couldn't dream of stuffing myself again at lunch on Sunday, and was repeatedly reprimanded for "eating like a bird" when that was definitely not the case. But it was wonderful to be taken into an Italian family and be treated like family members. 

On Saturday, we took a little tour around Mantova, seeing the Chiesa di Sant'Andrea by the famous architect Leon Battista Alberti. We also saw the Duomo, and the expansive Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace), where there is a famous fresco by Andrea Mantegna in the Camera degli Sposi (Wedding Chamber). The next day, although it was pouring, we took a short drive to see the three lakes of Mantua. 

Chiesa di Sant'Andrea

The Duomo

A courtyard in the Palazzo Ducale

One of the food highlights of the weekend (and I assure you, there were many) was a dish that Martina's aunt made for lunch on Sunday: handmade tagliatelle with sausage and radishes and just a touch of cream. I don't even like radishes that much but this dish was life-alteringly good. Another highlight was the dessert that the aunt brought: torta sbrisolona, a traditional Mantuan dessert that is round and large like a cake, but flat, hard and crumbly like a cookie, made with bits of fruit, almonds, and chocolate. Delicious. Many bakeries in Mantua sell them, especially around Christmastime, but the aunt whipped one up herself, just for us. I found this picture of a torta sbrisolona, and while ours looked a little different, it'll give you a good idea of what type of dessert it is. 

Now we're back in Bologna, and it's December! I opened the first door of my advent calendar this morning...that's something I hope never to grow out of. I bought this one in a store in Italy, but it's actually from Germany:

I also added an Italian Christmas song to the blog: Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle, You Descend from the Stars. There are not many traditional Italian songs, in fact it's hard to find a Christmas album without songs in English or translated from English or German, but this one is a traditional Christmas song. The only recording I could find was by the University of the Philippines Choir...but you'll get the idea. You can see the lyrics in Italian and the English translation here. Enjoy!