Bergamo

 Bergamo is a city of two cities, the "Città Alta" (upper city) and the"Città Bassa" (lower city). Only 40km from Milan and a 30min drive to Lake Como, it oozes richness. I'm not saying it's a flashy or pretentious city, far from it. The richness is seen in the pristine, rose-filled gardens, the gorgeous historical villas, the art and ancient frescoes, the litter-free cobbled streets, the beautifully maintained historical buildings and churches, the depth of green in the trees and sweeping valleys, the array of colourful flowers, the yellows, reds and salmons of the homes and the care taken in preserving and displaying its archeological sites. Medieval Venetian walls surround the Città Alta but due to its altitude it is not prominent from within the city. The walls have 4 main gates that used to be closed at the curfew time signified by the simultaneous chime of the many bell towers adjoining the many beautiful churches. 

Bergamo is a delight for the senses. Surrounded by "Colli Verdi" the green valleys, there are a multitude of pathways along narrow, traffic free, cobbled roads, through forest pathways and up and down the ancient stairways. The valleys provide the feeling of being within nature, amongst native bush land, olive groves, vineyards and noble villas. I enjoyed exploring the many themed pathways, most involving 1-3hour itineraries. Every day I was able to explore a new walk from the Città Alta that had me surrounded by shades of green and an historical air. One of my favourite short walks involved a steep climb up to the crest of Via S.Viglio to the Castello where the path diverts left down via Castello. I love this street. Walking downhill, the road commences as a rather narrow two-way road with a few houses along to the right. The road becomes increasingly narrow until it literally transforms into the "scalinata", ancient stairways linking parts of the Città Alta with the Città Bassa. One time I witnessed a no doubt common occasion where a car was travelling in both directions. The driver heading uphill, with nowhere to go, rolled back down and moved within a whisker of the stone wall to allow the other car to pass. Even then, the cars were a millimetre apart as I helped by motioning 'vai, vai' (go, go). This is a common occurrence in many historical towns of Italy where roads were built not with cars in mind. A good source of information for walks from the Città Alta and Bassa and in the surrounding valleys is provided by the Comune of Bergamo who suggest a range of itineraries. Some information can be found at http://www.comune.bergamo.it/

As for food, Bergamo has rich cuisine and is often referred to as the city of a thousand flavours.  Some traditional dishes include 'Polenta e osei'. This medieval traditional dish consisted of polenta with cooked poultry with butter and sage. Now, in the cake store windows of Bergamo, a sweet representation of this traditional dish presents as a yellow dome-shaped cake with chocolate or marzipan birds sitting on top. The cake is coated with creamy, sugary and marzipan icing (known as pandispagna) with sponge and almond cream inside. 'Torta di Donizetti' is a cake named after the famous Bergamasc composer. It takes a few different forms but generally is a vanilla cake with dried fruits mixed through. 

An amazing fact that Bergamo doesn't promote very well is that Stracciatella gelato was actually invented in Bergamo by the owner of La Marianna in Città Alta. This is where you will taste the best gelato of Bergamo using fresh natural ingredients and no preservatives or colouring. The story goes that in 1961 Enrico Panattoni of La Marianna spent an afternoon experimenting with new recipes. He mixed a creamy milk based gelato with melted fondant chocolate which formed irregular chunks when mixed into the gelato. He decided to name it after the most requested dish in his adjoining restaurant,  the "Stracciatella alla Romana" which is a vegetable and meat based soup with streaks of egg. We all know Stracciatella icercream but unfortunately at the time Enrico didn't think to trademark the name so its origins are virtually unknown. I'd also recommend the flavour combination of yogurt and lemon, divine! 

Casoncelli alla Bergamasca is a type of ravioli with a meat, nut, cheeses filling served with butter and sage sauce. Scarpinocc de Parr is another filled ravioli style pasta from the outskirts of Bergamo in a town called Parre. The shephard's shoe-shaped pasta is filled with cheese, breadcrumbs, herbs and spices rather than meat. Both of these pastas feature frequently in deli windows and on traditional restaurant menus. Traditional Bergamasc salamis, cheeses and wines also take pride of place in their traditional cuisine. Bread shops abound (panifcie) with very good quality breads, focaccia and fruit filled loaves. A visit to the famous pizza by the slice store in Città Alta is a must with their seasonal toppings to suit all tastes. 

Although many restaurants have strictly traditional menus, an example of  a restaurant that stands out as firm followers of the slow food philosophy is Da Mimmo in Città Alta. This family run restaurant labels its dishes on the menu as either traditional Bergamasc dishes, those that use DOP ingredients, dishes using products from Colli dei Bergamo (locally sourced) and those using slow food foundation registered ingredients. Examples of slow food presedia ingredients used include Stracchino cheese from the ancient valleys of the Orobiche. The term "Stracco" meant 'tired' referring to the shepherds and animals after their long travels between pastures in the valleys. Dating back to the 900s a soft cheese was hastily made from the warmed milk from tired cows. Taleggio cheeses are said to have evolved from this method of cheese production. The slow food foundation recognises and protects this ancient cheese production. Another ingredient used particularly in their wood fired pizzas are cobari or cobarini tomatoes which are grown in the Lattari mountains near Naples and are considered one of the best for making the tomato salsa for pizza. Grown in volcanic soil in traditional methods, the lack of acidity makes them perfect for a rich, sweet sauce. Other products are strictly grown in the Bergamo region, are organic and are used seasonally. This restaurant provides diners with a true taste of local products and traditional cooking.

The Slow food Foundation of Bergamo promotes a range of restaurants and food producers in the Città Alta, Città Bassa and surrounding valleys. Visit this website for the updated list: 

http://www.slowfoodbergamo.it/category/ristoranti/

Elena Arezio lives in the hills of Bergamo and is a qualified interpreter and Italian language teacher for English speaking travellers. She offers amazing packages for visitors to experience an authentic Italian way of life while learning the Italian language. Her packages include accommodation (bed and breakfast style), structured Italian courses, historical and cultural tours of Bergamo, shopping excursions, day tours to surrounding towns and cities like Milan, Brescia, Verona, Mantova, Lake Como and Lake Iseo. She is able to tailor make a package suitable to individual needs while also providing the experience of living like a local in her home. Her contact details are: elena.arezio@gmail.com

A Walk in Ancient Verona

Verona, with its proximity to Austria, was often seen as the gateway to Italy and therefore held major interest as a city worth acquiring. Its colourful history tells a long tale of the many conflicts and changes in governance, ownership and power. The city's bridges, forts, towers and walls all combine as evidence of the lengths that were taken to protect Verona. In World War II, it was one of the most bombed cities, destroying most of the bridges that cross the mighty Adige. Still today, there remains the walls that contained the ancient city. The walls around the city do not form a complete ring but instead were constructed in parts by the Romans, the Venetians and then the Austrians. Most tourists may only ever see the section of the wall closest to Verona's gorgeous Arena and, due to the obscurity of its other sections, may not even realise there's so much more.  Travellers who wish to escape the afternoon crowds in the bustling historical centre can enjoy a 2 hour walk along the wall on the green slopes in the hills skirting the city. This walk always gives me the sensation of walking back in time through a medieval setting well removed from modern day Verona. 

Departing from the Ponte Nuovo bridge, cross to the opposite side of the river and head towards the more attractive Ponte Pietro. Turn left at Via S. Chiara and continue up until you reach Via Gio in Valle where you make a left turn and then right into a cobbled street called Vicolo Scala Santa. Here you will immediately feel the transformation from busy roads to peaceful cobbled laneways lined with colourful buildings. Take the steps at the end of the street towards the gated buildings situated at the top of the hill. Turn left to pass by the front of the building to a stony path to the left. Now you'll have the ancient wall on your right as you head up the rant her steep climb. Never fear, the climb is over and done with within minutes and the now grassy path simply arcs in a circular fashion along the wall. The stone wall has is lined with a variety of trees and at the right times of the year you'll share the space with butterflies, flowers and birds. Every now and then you'll see the holes in the wall used by archers and for other weaponry as time passed. Also at strategic points along the way are small towers and rooms that were used to contain supplies. Around half way there's a fork in the path and a picnic table nearby. On the weekend a group of locals may gather for a picnic there but during the week it's normally peaceful. In fact, on most occasions that I have walked this route, there's no one else in site. 

If you are short of time simply continue along the path that will eventually take you to the road. It's then a simple matter of following the road around its first bend and then taking the stairs that cut through the hill back down towards the township. You can't go wrong from here as you turn to your left to head back in the direction of the river where you'll come out close to Ponte Pietra. 

If you have an extra 30 minutes, I'd recommend turning left at the picnic table fork to divert off the path and head towards the end of the trail where it meets the road. Continue up the road now heading in a straight line in the direction of Verona's centre to the Castel San Pietro. Here you will be rewarded with panoramic views across Verona. The rich colours combine to create a wonderful painting and the green waters of the river in the foreground and rolling green hills in the backdrop complete the romantic setting. After enjoying the viewing for a while you can either take the stairs down that head past the ruins of the old Roman theatre and back to Ponte Pietra. This is the tourist route so the stairs will be busy. The more adventurous and interesting option is to return back to the picnic table where you diverted from the path and continue your peaceful walk along the wall.

Oh Romeo, Romeo!

Oh Romeo, Romeo

Verona, often referred to as 'Little Rome' and widely celebrated as the home of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliette is a beautiful base for exploring the Veneto region in Northern Italy. The majestic Adige River with its grey, green flowing waters flowing from the Alps snakes along one side of the city while a medieval Romanesque wall with its regular archways signifies the border of the historical town centre. Once a completely walled city, now Verona sprawls to encompass a population of over 250,000. On the tourist path you'll walk the cobbled streets around the impressive Verona Arena, the smaller cousin of the Roman Collesium. Every July through to September notable operas are staged in the arena that was erected in AD30 and has been well preserved at least showing a portion if the original towering walls. Incredibly, one weekend we were there in May coincided with a staging of Romeo and Juliette. We jumped at the chance of witnessing the iconic play in such an historic setting. Upon entering the underground entrance in a darkened passageway we scale the stairs and wait for directions. In front of us is the awesome view of the gaping Arena, it's stage set and floor seating in place, we head to our positions with cushions in hand. The atmosphere is buzzing with excited Italians munching panini in expectation. We are situated half way up the wall, the best seats I managed to obtain within a week's notice. The guests lucky enough to secure positions at the front are notably more well dressed. They are dressed to impress and part of our show. At 9:30pm when dusk turns to night, the show commenced with a spooky scene of hooded actors walking through the audience, in and out if the aisles. This created the impression of darkened village streets late at night. A feeling of unrest. The production took a modern slant to Shakespeare's masterpiece and the singing, dancing and acting was never short of excellent. I had one ear on the all-Italian production, and the other on my daughter constantly asking 'what are they saying?'. To be there was a tick-box experience and one never to be forgotten (although it was the first time in Italy that I've paid more than €2 for water, it was in fact €4 yikes!).

Back on the tourist path you'll also stroll through Piazza Erbe with its bustling daily markets and roundy cafés obscuring amazing architecture. You'll wander into Piazza dei Signori with its statue of Dante and you may even climb the stairs to the top of Torre dei Lamberti (84m high) for a birds eye view over the terracotta township. You'll visit the white domed duomo, church of St Anastasia (filled with a gaudy array if art and architecture) and the church of the patron saint St Zeno with it's soaring roof, crypts, tombs and art dating back to the 1400s. Also along the path you'll elbow your way through thick crowds to stand in the tiny square housing a bronze statue of Juliette outside the Casa di  Giullietta. No one knows for sure if the Romeo and Julluette story was ever true but the city unashamedly feeds the dream with monuments, food and even a building for Juliette's tomb. We all need a little romance in our life don't we? The Baci di Giuliette (Juliette's kisses) are small chocolate cookies sandwiched together with chocolate cream. A delight if eaten fresh. The white version has and almond flavour. Other foods of Verona include risotto sourcing rice from nearby Vialone Nano rice fields, polenta based on corn meal and considered a poor man's dish, and pandoro, the Christmas cake that is the most popular Veronese dessert. 

Wandering by restaurants and cafés you'll notice reference to donkey and horse meat on the menus. Although extremely foreign from our culture and a touch off-putting (okay, I'm being polite here), you just have to remind yourselves that this is an ancient custom sprung from times when such dishes were seen as luxuries and signs of wealth and power. Luckily, lake fish as well as sea fish and seafood also features widely on the menu due to the proximity to Lake Garda and Venice. 

Verona's streets become extremely full during the afternoons with large tour groups following sheep-like behind umbrella-holding guides so make sure you get out and about early to enjoy the city for the beauty that it certainly offers. 

Notable places to eat:

An old tower has been turned into a pizzeria/foccaceria with an amazing selection of meat and vegetable toppings, also catering for vegans. The stone milled flour and wood ovens produce a high quality bread and focaccia base. It's small, cosy interior is also a super trendy venue for a pre-dinner aperitif where they will happily feed you with plate after plate of focaccia cut into bite size pieces. 

Pizzeria La Torre - via San Pietro Incarnario

Bread by Renato Bosco

Ristorante Maria Callas (great fish and seafood with gorgeous garden setting for alfresco dining). Via San Pietro Incarnario

Mimmo Pasticceria (beautiful cakes and treats)

Via Diaz, Verona

Hiking in Tuscany, Monte Croce

Olive groves and rolling hills lined with vineyards and dotted with pines and sweeping villas amongst landscaped gardens. This is the image most of us have of Tuscany. Soaring mountains, sheer cliffs alps? These are certainly features I didn't expect to find in this region. When I first arrived in Lucca I was struck by the surrounding landscape. The mountains of the Appenines and Alpi Apuane circled the city of Lucca, giving it an almost amphitheatre-like feeling. I immediately felt the urge to explore these mountains and I set about collecting some information to find out if is was possible. I visited the local tourist information office and they loaded me with an armful of brochures and maps. When sifting through these, it was difficult to make heads or tales out of the information and there certainly wasn't any mention of access, where to start and finish and whether there were guides who could take you. Without access to a car, I resigned myself to exploring the paths accessible from the city. These took me into low lying hills within 10km from the town. These were peaceful and beautiful but I knew they were not the "real thing". 

I was lucky enough to find a wonderful Lucchese girl who I met a few times a week for Italian conversation lessons. She happened to mention that her boyfriend was passionate about mountain biking, hiking and the beauty of the mountains. She told me he was very interested in taking people on the amazing hikes he had created through the alps. I immediately jumped on the opportunity. Within a few short days I met Tiziano and in broken Italian and English on both of our parts, we had our date set and he was to pick me up in Lucca in his silver Fiat.

With Ruby, my 11 year old daughter in tow, feet adorned in hiking shoes and my backpack filled with water, lunch, first aid supplies and an extra thin layer of clothes as a precaution off we set to the piazza where we agreed to meet. Blessed with a near-perfect Spring day with temperatures forecast for the mid 20s, I was simmering with excitement. The scruffy bearded Tiziano greeted us at the prescribed time and we clambered into the 2 door car. Within minutes from Lucca we were heading along the Serchio river, through Bagni di Lucca towards the hills. A sharp left turn had us winding up nail biting narrow roads with nothing but a sheer drop towards the river on one side and the steep mountain on the other. Not much traffic uses this road but it is a popular cycling route so Tiziano took it easy and sounded his horn at almost every bend to alert oncoming cyclists. After a squirmish 30 minutes of lefts and rights we reached the town of Pioppo, a tiny village where our walk was to start. Nothing more than a few cars parked at the base of a cluster of houses formed the town. 

With backpacks positioned and a quick stretch to wade off the stiffness from the 1 hour journey, we set off behind an old abandoned stone hut along the path that circled behind the village and towards the start of a pathway marked 135 by the CAI (Club Alpino Italiano). The path headed through fields of tall grass sprinkled with Spring wild flowers and then into forest land full of beech, chestnut, pine and ash trees. The path was rocky and blanketed with dried chestnut tree leaves. The peace was only interrupted by the sounds of our scraping feet, mumblings of "Bellissimo" and the sweet call from a single cookoo bird somewhere in the surrounding trees. The view was of rolling hillsides dotted with farms and valleys with faraway mountains. Every now and then a stone hut-like shrine would appear along the path. Some of these were completely empty and others had religious symbols or memorials inside. Ruby decided each one could be her home. She was quite happy to live there. 

The path started to climb and a few bends of the path were a little tricky to navigate but generally the iconic red and white striped signage was visible enough to lead us in the right direction. Soon the climb evened out to a junction where a small group if Italians were enjoying a picnic lunch under the shade of the trees. We had walked about an hour by this stage. Our path at this point switched to the 108, leading us towards the summit of Mont Croce. After a few more minutes we rounded a corner where the trees opened up to reveal a jaw dropping view, an introduction of what was to come. There to our right was our first glimpse of Pania della Croce mountain. I now understand why it is the most famous and most photographed scenes amongst the alps. Blue skies and fields carpeted in daffodils and assorted wild flowers added to the spectacular display. We could see clearly the path ahead of us. A sheer climb up grass covered steep slopes lead to a summit marked with a cross. Already a cluster of hikers could be seen as dots on the mountain top. A dirt goat track marked our way and it was heavy breathing for the next 45minutes. It was a thrilling journey with the magnificent views literally surrounding us. 

On reaching the summit and taking the obligatory photo next to the cross, we sat on the thick tufts of grass amongst the flowers to enjoy lunch at the best "restaurant" possible. The Michelin star panino I made was happily washed down with spring water and you couldn't wipe the smile off my face as I gaped at the view. It looked postcard perfect and un-real. A 360 degree view of the sea in one direction (albeit obscured today by low lying sea mist), valleys with numerous townships positioned in crevices, the Appenines and the Alps all could be seen from the summit.

Heading back down the mountain was actually more challenging. The dirt and rocky path was extremely steep so small quick steps were needed for balance and to control the speed of descent. The flowers on the hillsides gave them a look of being carpeted in snow. We were extremely lucky with our timing as Tiziano explained the the flowers only last a few short weeks. 

 

The 108 path can be followed the entire way down but it does exit at a lower lying village and would require an extra uphill climb to our starting point. Instead, Tiziano discovered a unmarked route that circles back to our starting point. First, we needed to pass through a rocky canyon on a very narrow ledge that required the use of a chain (ie a chain is secured to the cliff face and you hold it for support as you walk along the ledge). Once across the ledge we left path 108 which forks to the right and we headed left. After about 15 minutes around a bend we found..... nothing! The path had fallen victim to a recent landslide and it simply stopped. We could see the path continue again about 10m away. Between us and the continuing path was a 3m drop consisting of chunky rocks. The rocks appeared climbable so I indicated to Tiziano (who was looking a little baffled) that I thought it was possible to cross. I instructed Ruby to follow Tiziano and we carefully and slowly positioned our hands and feet to first manoeuvre down and then climb back up the rock fall. It all added to the adventure and all was fine. Once we made the crossing the path exited the canyon and we were back amongst the forest of trees. A further 45 minutes of track traversed the valley and swung us back yo our starting point.

The difficulty (ascent of about 500m) distance and duration (about 4-5 hours) of the walk was perfect for walkers with reasonable fitness and the absence of knee issues. When we were lunching on the summit, an 86 year old white haired lady also arrived at the summit. What a great effort! I would highly recommend this magnificent experience to nature loving and active travellers to Tuscany. In my view, you haven't seen Tuscany until you've experienced a hike in the Alps (along with the chianti, San vinto, Vernaccia wines, the pecorino cheese, the prosciutto and the bucellato). 

With dizzy heads and weary legs on our drive home I asked Tiziano if he was tired and he replied, a good tired. I totally agree!

Eat Gelato and Smile!

Being well known for my sweet tooth and a firm non-subscriber to the sugar free movement, one of the joys of being in Italy is exploring the vast world of gelato. As tourists to this Bel Paese will attest, there is no shortage of gelato in Italy. But for every amazing gelateria, there are many more vendors of mass produced, chemical, flavour and colour added pretenders to choose from. But don't be phased, when you stumble across a good Italian gelato, it can be an unforgettable experience. A joy, a revelation, a celebration. 

It's all about quality for me. When visiting a new city or town in Italy, I almost subconsciously scan the streets and lane ways for gelato options. Firstly, I search for words like 'naturale', 'biologico', 'artigenale' all alluding to organic, natural gelato that is made on the premises. Sometimes the smallest, most unassuming shop or cafe has the best quality product. Then I might take a glance in the window. What does it look like? Are there tubs of gelato piled high in perfect domes with smarties sprinkled on top or perhaps with the odd Hawaiian mini beach umbrella poking out? Does the pistachio look bright green, or green at all for that matter (a dead give-away for articial colouring)? How does the mint look? Is it bright green? Is there strawberry in winter? Are there endless flavours? All of these things can ring alarm bells so move on, you'll soon find a better option. 

In Lucca and Pisa in Tuscany, the better option is definitely De'Coltelli. The tiny shop front in a small narrow lane way in Lucca has hand written notes scrawled on the window indicating the day's flavours. There are a selection of 2-3 granitas, perhaps 6-8 gelato flavours and maybe 5 sorbet choices. Freshly whipped cream produced from locally sourced milk is offered as a complimentary addition for flavours like chocolate or coffee. Typical flavours include almond (almond granita or gelato made solely from Sicilian ground almonds, no almond essence), pear and pepper, kiwi grown locally, cassata (vanilla with candied fruits), chocolate with orange rind and salt, blood grapefruit (one of my favourites!), carob, pistachio made from raw pistachios (not roasted), torrone made from crushed hard nougat, ricotta with honey and pine nuts and of course coffee, vanilla and chocolate all made from fresh ingredients. While the basis of sorbets and granitas is  fruit, sugar and water (usually 50% fruit, 25% water and 25% sugar depending on the ripeness of the fruit), fresh whole milk and carob 'flour' is added to gelatos and sometimes egg. Carob acts as a natural thickener and stabiliser for the gelato and replaces the need for any artificial additives.  

 

We were lucky to be invited to their factory, or I should say workshop, in Pisa where we were greeted warmly by Gianfrancesco Cutelli and his staff. In a small room at the rear of their store 4 or 5 machines were housed. One machine was around 70 years old and was used as a vertical mixer for granita production. For gelato production, a more modern machine with horizontal mixers was used to enable more air to be added to the mixture, giving the gelato a creamy texture. The other machines were solely for heating (for pasteurisation) and cooling the mixtures and the remaining processes were all manual, by hand. We saw whole fresh kiwi crushed and added to water and sugar ready for the production of sorbet. We tasted the raw ingredients, all of which were of the highest quality, locally sourced (where possible) and organic. Each flavour available was generously offered to us for tasting and not once did I feel that giddy, nauseating sensation of a sugar peak. The flavours were perfectly balanced, not overly sweet and flavourful. With every mouthful I tasted the fruit or key ingredient, not the sugar. 

During the next 5 months as we work our way through Italy, I will be sure to visit the best gelaterias Italy has to offer. Here are some of my favourites so far:

Lucca and Pisa: De'Coltelli: via San Paolino 10 Lucca / Lungarno Antonio Pacinotti 23 Pisa

San Gimignano: gelateria Dondoli: Piazza della Cisterna 4

Florence: Perche no: via dei Tavolini 19

Rome: Gelateria del Teatro: Lungotevere dei Vallati 25 / Fior di Luna: Via della Lungaretta 96

Mirabella Eclano: Gelateria Aloha: via Nazionale Pianopantano

Siena: la Vecchia Latteria: via San Pietro 10