Dreaming In Italian

This the largest covered market in Bologna. You can find just about anything that you’d like to eat here at good prices and good quality. I didn’t count the number of vendors but there must be at last 25 or 30. Vegetable, fruits, meats, cheeses, fish, bread, spices are all available from friendly vendors. There are also two areas that serve food for lunch pizza, panini, pastries and of course a coffee bar. There’s an additional area with fish that also is a fish restaurant. I have my favorite vendors. The herb (and lots of other stuff) guy is the only place I’ve found where you can buy bulk products; rice for risotto, polenta and even herbs (minimum quantity 10 grams – for about 50 cents).

The herb guy and I think that’s his father.

 Bulk rice, polenta, beans etc.

Next on the agenda pork chops for guests this weekend. So now I stop at the butcher shop where I bought a lamb roast for Easter and a chicken to make broth for tortellini in brodo (fantastic dish here). They seem to have good prices and always give advice about how to cook things.

     The butcher

The next stop was for tarallini. I always buy a couple of packages. I joke with the guy that I’m addicted to tarallini – and it’s true. Great with beer! So what are tarallini? They are these little thingies that are first boiled and then baked. They come usually in 3 flavors; olive oil, onion and peperoncini.

     tarallini

              My tarallini guy.

Now on to my favorite salumi person – Francesca who operated this little space with her husband. She says “Ciao Caro” or “Cara” depending on whether a man or woman. Kind of like a waitress in a small town that calls everyone “Hon”. She has good products and sucks everyone in with her friendly personality a lot of taste samples that she offers. So this time I was buying some of her mortadella, a Bologna specialty.

          Francesca in action

         Her husband took a photo of the two of us

On to my favorite cheese guy. He introduced Karen and I to quartirolo, a cheese similar to feta but not salted and made in Lombardia. Another time I heard him telling a woman about how to make simple pasta dish with ricotta so I bought some and gave it a try. One note: ricotta does not keep well so use it you’ll have to toss it after just a few days. Of course here you can buy only as much as you need. The last time I bought some of the fantastic, creamy gorgonzola that they have here. I’ll surely miss that when I return to California.

                    Mr Cheese 

The last stop was for some veggies. Today that included blood oranges, fennel, eggplant and tomatoes. I admit to not being quite as loyal regarding vegetables and fruit because sometimes a different vendor has better products of on type or another that I’m searching for but most of the time I buy them here.

          My preferred veggie stand

I must show at least one photo of the fantastic strawberries that they have here now. Mostly they are coming from the south – often advertised as from Sicily or Basilicata which must be a sign of quality. I’ve eaten them earlier during this trip but they were not as good. Now they are really in season and are just incredible. Don’t miss the change to eat a bunch of these if you are here in April of May.

        STRAWBERRIES!! – they deserve capital letters.

Now just a few photos of other locations in the market……………..

     Mostly fruit and vegetable vendors in the center of the hall – I think 4 rows of them if you count these as two.

The lunch area was mostly closed but you can see the longish pizzas prepped to the right

         Pizza crusts awaiting for action

       The fish market

            The other side of the room. I’ve yet to arrive here for a seafood lunch but hope to do so before I leave.

Well, that’s it. Definitely worth a stroll if you’re ever in Bologna. If in the spring, buy a little basket of strawberries, find a place to sit and eat the whole thing.

I usually do some volunteer work in Bologna. I work at a program called Scioglilingua at the wonderful library called Sala Borsa (borsa = stockmarket, it was once just that) and have done some translations for the city government (comune) of Bologna. My first assignment for the comune this year was to translate a tourist brochure about some of the old crafts/trades in Bologna. Much of the brochure was actually as much about the streets as the crafts themselves. I always learn a lot about both the language and about Bologna so I find this work very interesting and satisfying. Most of these streets are in the very center of Bologna which is, of course, the oldest part. Piazza Maggiore is really the heart of Bologna. A gathering place for celebrations of whatever sort and in the summer a place where they show outdoor movies on a giant screen in the evenings. But there was also a market for fruits and vegetables and, apparently cloth, for a long time up until 1877. One interesting detail, that I had never noticed before was a piece of marble near the base of the wall of a large adjoining building which has measures of length built into it. It served as a measuring standard to assure that the trade was fair – sort of like a yardstick built into the wall.

                                  Measurement for the old market on the wall on the side of Piazza Maggiore

There is a street call via Dapperie. Now one would think that this had something to do with drapes, i.e. heavy curtains, but no it derives from the word “drappo” which was once the name for woolen cloth that was especially used for men’s clothes. Now the street has salumerie, the two best fish markets in Bologna, a florist, a wine shop and perhaps the best bakery in Bologna.

                                                      via Drapperie

Via Drapperie – great fish

Another street called Clavatura was a street of metal workers, some of whom made locks. The modern word for locks is “serratura” but an older word was “chiavadura” a word from which came “chiave” (key). So this a morphed into Clavatura, the name of the street. Via Calzolerie comes from calzolaio (cobbler) and obviously was the shoe maker street. Via Caprarie comes from an old word for a specialized butcher shop, specifically for goats (capri).

                             via Clavature

Via Pescherie Vecchia was where they located the fishmongers (pescheria is a fish shop, vecchia = old). Now I could find only a single fish shop on the street but is has several shops for salumi, meat markets and lots of fruit and vegetable stalls. I highly recommend a visit to this narrow and colorful little street.

via Pescherie vecchie

Every once in a while I come across some word or phrase that is totally confusing. This was true when I was translating something about the Palazzo della Mercanzia, a striking building close to the famous two towers. It was the original headquarters of the guilds in the 14^th century. There was something in the description about the “alti merli”. Hmmm. “merli” translates as “blackbirds”. High blackbirds!? I not only searched the excellent online dictionary Wordreference.com but also did a general web search without success. I even went to the sight and looked so see if I could see anything on the building that gave me a clue – no success. So finally I emailed Monica, my “boss” at the comune and she sent me a picture. Then given that info I found an online specialized dictionary that provided translations of architectural terms (isn’t the web wonderful!). So “high blackbirds” is really the term for “battlements”. The battlements were where archers could be reasonably protected while shooting arrows at those poor souls on the ground.

Palazzo della Mercanzie – note the very old portico on the left

There are a bunch of interesting (and some not so interesting) facts in the brochure. I’m looking forward to the next one and now have found a second translation opportunity with an Italian non-profit based in Milan.

I have watched the TV show, Striscia la Notizia (The News Slithers) almost every time that I have come to Italy. The subtitle for the show is the La Voce dell’Invadenza (Voice of Intrusion). Usually I can’t really follow the dialog but it is clear that it’s a send-up of the news. It exposes all kinds of abuses. Just this week I particularly remember a part of the program was about a woman who was essentially approving driver’s licenses in exchange for cash – as I recall about 1200 euros. I’ve also seen others about hospitals or other public facilities that have been allowed to deteriorate and another where autos were able to skip a required inspection for a simple cash payment. Usually one of the “reporters” for the show, sometimes in outlandish attire interviews someone that is responsible for one form of corruption or another. This includes corrupt practices and swindles as well as politicians. They give awards – the Golden Tapir – I guess for some really over the top absurdity.

One character

                                 Another character doing an interview

                                                                      The Golden Tapir award

One of the features of the show which they initiated in 1988 when the show started is the pair of “veline” at the start and close of the show. These are always “showgirls” who dress, um, attractively and do a well choreographed dance. There is always one blond and one brunette. They have a contest every summer to select the next pair of veline for the coming season. Kind of like the Miss America pageant with different talent requirements. Another feature of the show besides the eye candy is that they always have a puppy that comes sometime during the show and curls up in a little bed near the two hosts of the show. Cute.

And now….LE  VELINE!!!

http://dai.ly/x38io25

Sales, sales, sales! We arrived in Bologna on 23 February and the next day the first order of business was to get the phone service clarified for my phone and buy a SIM card for Karen’s. Then to combat jet-lag and start getting re-acclimated we went for a long walk. Wow, everything is on sale. Fantastic. The weather is unusually mild for winter here so maybe this is the time to buy a nice leather jacket to replace my aging and timeworn one that I left back in Oakland this year.

Some signs are more subtle and artsy than others

So I went to what has become my favorite shopping street, San Felice, and perused the offerings. I saw one leather jacket, an updated take on a classic motorcycle jacket. Marked down by 40% – not bad at all. I tried it on and asked the sales guy to take a photo so I could check with my fashion advisers. I looked at other options both on that street and a couple of others.

The motorcycle jacket that I liked – alas problems with the fit.

So I went back the next day and first went to the store across the street that also had some nice looking jackets. One very much appealed to me, even more than the motorcycle jacket. The guy offered me an even greater discount. I crossed the street and tried the original motorcycle jacket that caught my eye. The fit was not really quite right so I tried a different style which I also liked. Then back across the street with full intent to buy the one that I really loved. Unfortunately it was just too tight. He assured me that it would stretch out. It probably would stretch some but I feared being stuck with a very stylish but not very wearable 200 euro jacket. So I went back and bought the compromise one that I also like a lot for 174 euros. It’s German made (not china), nice leather and should serve me well for years.

The one that I bought – ooh, that hair – should have checked the mirror first!