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In Veneto among the Palladian Villas that inspired the White House – Italian Cuisine

In Veneto among the Palladian Villas that inspired the White House


The most famous is La Rotonda, but there are many noble villas that deserve a visit between Padua and Vicenza. Also to be cycled through the vineyards

There are many, one more beautiful than the other and it is really difficult to choose which one to visit. Let's talk about Palladian Villas of the Veneto, Unesco heritage since 1996, and among the treasures more or less of our country. The hand – or better said head – which designed them in most cases is the same (Palladio in fact), the era in which they were also built, yet these homes are very different from each other, and they are each unique and special in its own way.

We are located a few kilometers from Venice, in a lucky (tri) corner of the Po countryside between Vicenza, Padua and Treviso, where vineyards and land make love to give the world their best wine. Here, in a period of peace and great wealth (for some), the Renaissance noblemen from Veneto had representative homes built, to supervise summer work in the fields. The one who first had the flicker was Andrea Palladio (Padua, 1508 – Maser, 1580), official architect of the Serenissima Republic, to whom the invention of the open villa as we know it today. "In the sixteenth century there were no more wars that had characterized the previous time, the castle was no longer needed to defend itself and the villa gave the idea of ​​a structure open to the world and perfectly integrated into the surrounding naturalistic and landscape context", explains Tiziana Spinelli, secretary of the La Rotonda Foundation, which heads one of the most famous villas.

Villa La Rotonda

It was erected between 1560 and 1565 and in reality it is not called that, but rather Villa Almerico Capra, like the surname of its first owners: Paolo Almerico, the founder, and the Capra marquises, to whom Almerico's son sold everything after having squandered the entire family patrimony. The most famous appellation owes it to the circular shape of the dome (and not only that), which clearly recalls the Pantheon in Rome, of which also imitates the hole at the top, but also the hill of San Sebastiano overlooking it. For Palladio, everything had to be harmonious and in accordance with the rules and geometry, just as it had been for the Greeks and Romans, from which he also columns and gables of the ancient temples. In turn, however, Palladio was also taken over, even exported: the White House with the long colonnade it is inspired precisely by its villas, as well as the Capitol, seat of the American Congress, which evokes the lines of La Rotonda. He was the third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson to take inspiration from Palladio to give (also) an artistic connotation to his nation, beautiful and cultural.

Today Villa La Rotonda belongs to the Valmarana counts, who every now and then – blessed! – weekends are spent at the palace. Curiosity: just like in the Renaissance when the villa was only a representative home, in La Rotonda the furniture is discovered in mid-March, "and in mid-November it is covered", says Tiziana Spinelli. Between March and November, the structure is open to the public every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 12 and from 15 to 18, and only guided tours are to be booked.

Villa Valmarana "ai Nani"

It is very close to La Rotonda, you can get there by crossing the road in a few meters. As the name already suggests, this also belongs to the Vismara accounts and takes the name to the Dwarves because of the dwarf statues placed on its surrounding wall. It dates back to the seventeenth century and is the work of the architect Francesco Muttoni. It is said that the daughter of the ancient owners, Layana, was born small and they, in order not to make her feel inferior, decided to build her around an equally small world, made up of servants of limited height, barchesse mignon (that is, the service areas typical of these villas) and, precisely, stone dwarfs. The story so far is very tender, then changes register and turns into tragedy: the little girl falls in love with a boy tall, she discovers that the world is not as small as her and takes her own life. Sigh.

The Villa consists of three buildings – building (1669), guesthouse and stable (1720) – located in a large park with Italian garden and built perfectly symmetrically. Here, the element of greatest interest is given by the frescoes of Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo, called in 1757 by the owner Giustino Valmarana to decorate the building and the guesthouse. Villa Valmarana can be visited every Sunday at 10:30 and 11:30 and, in this case, it is advisable to book.

La Malcontenta

Let's go back to Palladio, who designed it in 1559, and we are in Mira, in the province of Venice. What makes this villa special, owned by the Foscari family of Venice (who are still the custodians of it today), is above all the natural context in which it is located, right on the banks of the Naviglio del Brenta, which by Palladio was perfectly incorporated into its architecture. Before entering, you have to leave your car in the parking lot of the village because here you get strictly on foot.

A legend says that the villa owes the nickname of Malcontenta to one mysterious lady of the Foscari house, who lived here alone for thirty long years, but was never seen going out or looking out of the windows. More prosaically, it is possible that the name derives from the expression Brenta poorly contained, since the river often overflowed.

The villa is open every weekend from 9.30 to 12.30 and from 14.30 to 17.30.

E-bike tour

If in addition to visiting these wonderful villas you want miss – so to speak – between narrow streets and rows, mostly cycle and flat, book an e-bike at thePalladian Routes agency: each bike – there are 120 available – is equipped with an integrated GPS that will guide you along the main stages of your Palladian tour. All you have to do is pedal.

To sleep

It may not have been designed by Palladio, but it is still a villa full of charm and history. Surrounded by greenery, it is close to the Vicenza Est and Vicenza Ovest motorway exits and is an excellent base for Palladian, cycle and food and wine tours: The Locanda degli Ulivi, historic residence of the eighteenth century, it has only 10 rooms, and offers authentic hospitality. In addition to a beautiful view of the lake of Fimon.

Who is Nicolò Moschella, the pastry chef among the 100 under 30 of Forbes Italia – Italian Cuisine

Who is Nicolò Moschella, the pastry chef among the 100 under 30 of Forbes Italia


He is one of the great talents of Italian pastry making, a pupil of Iginio Massari. And he hopes to repeat his career: at 26 he leads a successful laboratory. «Because I really like getting my hands in the dough, but I'm an entrepreneur

It was not unknown to those who follow the world of Italian pastry. But now Nicolò Moschella, born in 1994, Milanese from Cornaredo he also had the consecration as a young entrepreneur: he entered the restricted list of Forbes Italy who choose 100 talents under 30 every year: from music to technology, from sport to fashion and precisely to the world of food & drink. For the record, Matteo Cricco and Niccolò Lapini (co-founders of Bella & Bona), Matteo Frescobaldi (brand manager of Laudemio Frescobaldi), Giacomo Saltarelli (chef of the Bolognese restaurant La Bottega di Franco) and Giada Zhang were mentioned. (CEO of Mulan Group). A nice group, under the banner of talent and application: something that Moschella has never missed, who is very happy with the recent recognition also because "I hope it is a sign of a revaluation of the role of pastry chef when we always talk about chefs" .

The period from the Master

Moreover, Niccolò was also passionate about cooking from an early age («I was very curious and I liked to experiment, he says), but the boy from Cornaredo understood that pastry was his way when he bought the first edition of Not just sugaror, written by Iginio Massari who had come to visit the school, together with the pupil Davide Comaschi. "Page after page, I read it in a few days. Until then I thought that the pastry was to make cream puffs and cannoncini. Then I tried to try my hand at making some sweets that were described there. There I decided that my future would be to be a pastry chef. " Almost taken for granted after graduation, the high pastry course at Cast Alimenti in Brescia, but the fundamental step was the internship with the Maestro. «I wrote to him on Facebook, he invited me to visit him during a lunch break and he took me on trust. It has been a busy six months, he always said: "Everyone does good things, I want them perfect." But it is a phenomenon, indestructible at work: never stopped, in the constant search for improvement. And it gives great confidence to the young people who commit themselves .

It serves 150 rooms

Back home, Moschella he worked with the Comaschi brothers of Pasticceria Martesana. Then he had no doubts and decided to start his own business: at the age of 22 he opened his pastry shop in Cornaredo – with his brother – over 500 square meters where ten people work. Daily they bake desserts – by the thousands – that arrive in about 150 places in Lombardy: to call them this is an understatement since Nicolò does not lack the imagination: whether they are cakes, single portions, creations in chocolate or mignon, his minimalist and very refined style is immediately recognizable. "For me, patisserie encompasses technique, mathematics and aesthetics. I don't have a greater passion for one type of product than another. What excites me is the ability to translate an idea into a dessert: try and try again, alone, the thought that came to me in the strangest moments of the day, "he explains.

The example of Davide Oldani

One wonders why such a talent has never ventured into haute cuisine, where the crisis of vocations in patisserie is evident. «It's a different profession. In a restaurant you can organize a line, but basically you have to meet the needs of the moment, in a laboratory one week can be programmed. Those who have an independent and entrepreneurial mentality, as soon as they feel ready, leave the kitchen and start their own business: obviously, you work a lot without specific timetables, but it is something of your own .
Young, but with his feet firmly on the ground ("I like to renew the tradition, not change it. Even in the ways: for example, panettone must remain the Christmas dessert", he underlines), he has no dreams out of the ordinary. «When I grow up I want to become better as an entrepreneur and still have fun getting my hands on the dough. Here in Cornaredo we have Davide Oldani who complimented me on a dessert: he is an example of how it should be done. Because he knows his job very well and has created a company that works from nothing ".

the Marche among the best tourist destinations for 2020 – Italian Cuisine

the Marche among the best tourist destinations for 2020


Lonely Planet chooses the Marche as the best destination of 2020, second only to the "Silk Road" in Central Asia. Among art, nature and good food here are some tips on what to visit and what to eat

The famous guide Lonely Planet has included an Italian region among the best destinations of 2020, in the ranking Best in travel 2020 – Top ten regions. The only one that declines its name in the plural, but perhaps also one of the least known: le Marche. According to the team of the Australian publishing house it is the second best destination after the "Silk Road" in Central Asia. But if the name of this region does not remind you of anything so striking in terms of tourism, it will suffice to mention a few key points: it is the first Italian region for longevity and life expectancy at birth, with one of the highest incidences of organic farming compared to the total of agricultural production. A treasure chest of culture that is expressed in over one hundred secular theaters, including the beautiful Sferisterio of Macerata; city-castle surrounded by intact medieval walls (Jesi), Renaissance artistic capitals such as Urbino, elegant squares decorated with marble (Ascoli Piceno) and natural wonders like the Frasassi Caves. And then the Cònero, the only mountainous promontory on the shore of the central Adriatic sea, which contains Caribbean sceneries such as the beach of Two sisters, reachable only by sea. The Marches are also famous for fashion: the shoes of the Fermo and Macerata district and the hats made in Montappone. Or, again, religious tourism, with Loreto the Marian capital, where its sanctuary is a pilgrimage destination from all over Europe. Visiting this region requires a good deal of curiosity and an aptitude for research. The most suggestive places are precisely sought after and to be fully enjoyed the best thing would be to rent a car. In this way it is possible to cross roads that lead from the sea to the high mountains, passing between campaigns that are designed as mosaics. Without losing the secondary streets, which are often the most beautiful.

The kitchen is "at home"

The cuisine of the Marche is a cuisine linked to the share-making and popular tradition. Doses "by eye", as taught by the experience of the "vergare", the true matriarchs of peasants, and great attention to homemade pasta. From these assumptions, fishing in the inland products, the menus of the great Italian chefs were born, such as Mauro Uliassi is Moreno Cedroni, both fellow citizens of that Senigallia with its velvet beach, the real capital of today's great author cuisine.

Things to eat (and drink) absolutely in the Marche

Ascoli olives

Olives stuffed with meat wrapped in a crunchy breading whose recipe dates back to 1800. The preparation takes several hours and in Ascoli Piceno each family has its own version. The differences come from the choice of meat, from the use of spices or lemon, from breading and, of course, from the type of olive. Traditionally they are made with the "tenera Ascolana", one of the three Italian PDOs, but the production is particularly limited. To be enjoyed as street food or in the Italian mixed appetizer, ubiquitous in the menus of the restaurants of the region.

Il Ciauscolo

The Marche salami par excellence; spreadable, made with a mixture of pork, and worked with garlic and white wine. The Marches, against any territorial rivalry, are proud of it.

The Vincisgrassi

The ancient lasagna of the Marche countryside. Seven layers of pasta rolled by hand, dipped in homemade béchamel and an old-style ragù, where the flavor of the regattas dominates. It is the dish of Sunday, that of the grandmother. Born between Ancona and Macerata at the end of the eighteenth century.

The wild "moscioli" of Portonovo

The moscioli are “wild” mussels and are the gastronomic symbol of one of the most beautiful bays in the Adriatic, in the municipality of Ancona in the Parco del monte Cònero. On beaches with white pebbles as big as eggs, bordered by Mediterranean vegetation, gourmet kiosks are hidden amidst the scent of juniper and arbutus.

Fish soup: the sailors' soup

The brodetto was born as a poor dish, from the need to also use the fish less demanded by the market, less valuable and in small quantities, first of all by the sailors, who cooked it on board, with the few ingredients they had available.

The prized white truffle of Acqualagna

In autumn you should miss a white truffle truffle from Acqualagna. In the north of the Marche, but also on the entire Apennine ridge, it is possible to eat this delicious tuber. To taste with homemade tagliatelle, or in a simpler omelette, at the restaurant like at home.

The Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi and the unmissable reds

The most awarded wine in Italy. A white that behaves like a red and whose versatility is combined with both fish and meat. A leading wine for seafood cuisine, it has improved over the years and is exported all over the world. A particularly prized wine, as a limited edition is the Lacrima di Morro d’Alba, the red that smells of rose, and the Vernaccia di Serrapetrona, red sparkling wine particularly suitable for cold cuts or desserts.

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