papadoupolos

A dinner party last night at the home of FV, a young Italian historian at U-Torino, who is writing a book on the Statue of Liberty (did you know it was originally intended as a French monument at the mouth of the Suez Canal?). Her parents live in an apartment with a view of the Alps (on a clear day--not yesterday--I'm told you can see Mont Blanc); they are retired teachers--he a philosopher professor, she a schoolteacher. Another amazing home-cooked meal, including various appetizers; beef (brisket?) in a delicious sauce; red-peppers and onions (I think you just throw it in a pot, the trick is to simmer for one hour). For dessert, a chocolate cake made with nuts, fruit, and egg-whites, called papadoupolos--from Trieste, of Greek origin, but a Venetian recipe (nobody could really explain this genealogy)--served with zabalone sauce. Mrs. V. also makes her own dessert liquers, one from herbs (sage, thyme, rosemary, and others) and one from orange peel. F is engaged to a Norweigan scholar and there was another guest who is an Italian American from New York who has lived in Italy for 15 years so there was lively conversation about cross-cultural and transnational life.

Breakfast-clarification

I have received some emails to the effect that we have been eating all of that breakfast described a few days ago. Please! those are all the choices that are available. We are not eating all of it!!

Leather

Yesterday -- steady rain all day and my last day of teaching in Vercelli; in the afternoon K., my traveling companion, gave a workshop to Univ. Torino women's studies and leaders in city government about workplace-sexual harassment. I had dinner with a colleague, an Americanist scholar in Torino, and his wife, at their home on the other side of the Po River. Home-made pesto with potato gnocchi; roast beef; a vegetable-cheese-ham loaf, grilled eggplant, zuccini and roasted peppers. For dessert, fresh strawberries dressed with lemon juice, a nice combination. Dolcetta wine that came from a friend-of-the-family's vintner's jug. Discussion ranged from influence of the Pope in Italian public policy to the Sopranos and Borat.

Today: K left for home this morning, after breakfast. I went with M&M to Serravalle, a designer-outlet mall about one hour from Torino. It is well situated, about equidistant from Torino, Milan, and Genoa (though a bit closer to the latter two). Although there are single-manufacturer-factory outlets in Italy (the Prada one in Tuscany is notoriously hard to find) the outlet mall is a new thing in Italy. To which we say: Bravo! Now, this was *serious* business. The Prada store was a bust (wierd shoes, no bags) but other stores had fantastic stuff, even if just to admire (Cavalli, Versace, etc). The Italian shoppers are keen on the US-brand outlets (Nike, Timberland, Calvin Klein) but of course I skipped all of these and concentrated on the Euro stores. I left with leather, leather, and more leather (jacket, bag, and bag...) plus some gifts for the folks at home.

Victoria

I did not tell you about our hotel here in Torino, the Victoria. It is in the center of the old city, close to cafes, shops, museums, and the like. The two notable aspects are (1) the breakfast and (2) the spa. Breakfast (for which they have won an award, from whomever gives out the awards for best-hotel breakfasts) is a lavish buffet, with assorted cheeses, ham and salami, croissants (regular, chocolate, and filled with marmalade), breads and rolls, desserts (linzer torte, fruit tart, chocolate cake, cheese cake, cookies, etc.), hard and soft boiled eggs, various cereals, fruits (fresh, as salad, and dried), nuts (hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts), greek yogurt, cottage cheese, fresh grapefruit and blood-orange juice, an amazing assortment of preserves and nut-butters (I tried the pistachio-butter; it tastes like, well, pistachio). I saw a super-model type one day eat nuts and a piece of toast. But we love the soft-boiled eggs (fresh, with orange-y yolks and cooked just right, precisely three minutes), eaten with toast with ham. Also the baked apples (with the core removed and the space filled with currants, pine-nuts and cinnamon) with some yogurt. And OJ and cappuccino, of course. (Then, to go, a pain-au-chocolat wrapped in a napkin, and a blood orange. Some dulce and vitamin-C for later in the day.

The spa has a roman-style pool and whirlpool (for more photos, go to LINK, left). There are jets that come out at your back, of course, but also two at calf-level (one for each leg), and then two from the floor, for the bottom of your feet. There is also a great steam-room with an adjacent aromatic shower. This is a semi-darkened, tiled room with a shower-head that is like a waterfall. Then in the ceiling there is another fixture that sprays warm water over your head that is either “tropical” (which smells like citrus, and an orange glow come on in the room) or “strawberry” (blue light). There are also spa-treatments available but we have not done these. The only negative is that it does not open until noon so it’s not available for a morning swim and we are usually out all afternoon and evening, but we went a couple times.

Mole

Yesterday I spoke at a conference at the Univ. of Torino, on undocumented migrants in the US and Europe. I certainly learned a lot about the high immigration rates in southern Europe, the informal economy, and the many "regularization" drives that have legalized the undocumented here. Interestingly, there are many Romanian "illegal" immigrants here but when Romania joined the EU they magically became "welcome" and even have the right to vote!

This section of the university is in the neighborhood of the Mole Antonelliana, a 19th century synagogue with a 167-meter tower (PHOTO, view of the tower and the Via Po). At night an art-installation by the artist Mario Merz creeps up the spire, a series of illuminated-red numbers (very quickly understood as a mathematical progression, even by this math-dummy: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...etc.) The building now houses the national museum of cinema.

Dinner after the conference at a restaurant, Sotto la Mole (under the Mole) with colleagues, learned about Italian academic politics, especially clientism, though that is beginning to change. A flan made of goat cheese with a piquant marmalade-like sauce; followed by risotto with asparagus and cheese. Risotto is *the* Piedmont dish, creamy and less dry than what you get in the U.S. For dessert, a pistachio gelato, specialty from Sicily (where the pistachio comes from)--stunning flavor, including a slight saltiness, just like eating the nut. Amazing! And little chocolates by the famed choco-maker Guido Gobino, a creamy chocolate-hazelnut concoction. I'm off to buy a case of it today to bring back.

PS. I figured out how to post larger photos so corrected the postings from the Cinque Terre. See earlier postings for full appreciation.

FIAT + Bartok

Tonight I went with M., my host's wife, to Lingotto, on the outskirts of Turin. Here is the former FIAT factory, built in 1927, the first Fordist facility in Europe, over 350,000 square meters, famous for its rooftop track (featured in The Italian Job, starring Michael Caine). Now it is a complex with shopping mall, a hotel (the Meridian), movie-plex, restaurants, etc etc., the conversion was designed by Renzo Piano and opened in the mid-90s. We went to the concert hall with state of the art acoustics (photo below). The program was the Bavarian Radio Orchestra, playing Strauss (symphony no. 30--picture that ape's arm coming down), Wagner (prelude to Tristan and Isolde) and Bartok (suite from Miraculous Mandarin). All very well done, especially the Bartok, heavy but not heavy-handed. For more on the Lingotto project see link, left.

Lunch earlier today with my host at a charming restaurant in Vercelli. Puff-pastry filled with asparagus and cheese, with a cream sauce (divine) and spaghetti with sardine and fresh tomato. It was the first time I had fresh sardine--really excellent, but I think I like the anchovy better yet.

May Day rock

Took the train back to Torino today. It is May 1st, worker's day. In the US we have "labor day" in September because the Americans didn't want to associate with a socialist tradition. It was a rainy day and I did not got out until 8 pm. By then the parades and speeches were over but there was a big sound-stage in the main square, a rock band (pretty good) and a couple hundred people, mostly young people. Dinner: grilled crayfish (huge shrimp) on salad of mache and goat cheese (amazing); ravioli with fresh porcini mushroom sauce (too salty).