News from Florence

Little Tommy. One of the stories that has gripped the entire country for the past month or so, has been the abduction of 18-month-old Tommaso Onofrio from his home in Parma. No ransom note was ever received, deepening the mystery surrounding the little boy’s disappearance – and the fact that he suffered from epilepsy, a condition requiring daily medication added to the family’ anguish and fear over his fate. Sad to say their worst fears were realized when on Monday the authorities reported they had found little Tommy’s body not far from the family home. Three persons have been arrested. According to one report, one of the kidnappers claimed that after they had grabbed the little boy from the family they sped off on a motorcycle with the toddler between them. Soon after however, the little boy fell off and started crying and they strangled him because he wouldn’t stop. Many people here are calling for the reinstitution of the death penalty for those who commit capital crimes against children.

2006 Elections. Of course the Berlusconi-Prodi contest is the hot topic right now, particularly in advance of the upcoming elections this Sunday and Monday. While arguably Berlusconi’s government is one of the longest-lasting in Italian history since the end of the Second World War, it has also accomplished very little. So far it appears that “Bush’s boy in Rome” is about to say arrivaderci. Italy is the largest debtor nation of Western Europe and they had zero growth in 2005. Lots of unhappy folks with the permatanned guy who looks like he wants to sell you a used car, but hey it runs great and only one owner. . . Even Sicily, one of Berlusconi’s strongholds five years ago has swung away from his very tinny, tarnished star. Still, this being Italy the whole thing is probably way too close to call.

One can only hope of course Il Cavaliere will soundly beaten at the polls by Il Professore and thus forced to return to a life of scamming only certain parts of the Italian population rather than everybody at the same time.

Travel tips in Florence – “walking” and the “mosaic laboratory”

Walking. Sound pretty basic, I mean you know how to walk right? So why am I taking up your precious time by writing about it?

It is chaos to try and navigate the streets in Florence and you take your life in your hands if you spend too much time looking up and don’t pay attention to the pavement. Streets designed for half the traffic and far less people have to also contend with bicycles and thousands of motor scooters, all of which seem to be right on whatever street you are walking heading right at you.

You dodge a car, step into the street around an elderly couple, swing back onto the sidewalk to get out of the way of a herd of motor scooters (“herdus motoricus”) and promptly place your new Ferragamos into an enormous pile of dog poop (the Florentines as the Senese will tell you are masters of producing hidden dog poop). So what to do? Turn around, go back to your hotel and go to bed until it’s time to go home.

“Scherzo, scherzo” (SCARE-tsoh, “just kidding”), you came here to see Florence, right? And driving is out of the question.

So the best thing to do is get a good map – the Tourist Information office on Via Cavour has them for free but the colorful and handy Flex-maps are much more durable -- if you can find them (the Paperback Exchange on Via Ochio has them). Go sit down at a bar or café, preferably outside and decide where you want to go and what you want to see while you’re here. Then figure out the best way to get to those places and throw that away and figure out what’s the most roundabout way to get there – that’s the way to go. There will be fewer people and probably fewer cars as well along the way.

So, I suggest if you are walking on a narrow sidewalk -- which are just about any of the sidewalks in Florence -- and walking against traffic, then when confonted by someone walking against you, step into the street since you can see oncoming traffic and those walking toward you obviously cannot.

Whatever you do, stay away from the market at San Lorenzo (unless of course you need to see 300 vendors all selling the same belt and jacket), keep to the side streets and take a little more time to stroll the backstreets. You never know what surprises await you.

Mosaic laboratory. Tucked away from the crowds at Santa Croce and down via de’ Macci is the unique little “I Mosaici di Lastrucci”, which lists itself as a Mosaic laboratory.

We had been here once before in early February and returned with two friends on Friday. 31 March. The woman who had shown us around the small but very inspiring workshop and showroom was as amiable as we remembered, a genuinely friendly person who obviously enjoyed awing her listeners with describing these most impressive of ancient skills. Seeing these old skills and tools put to use in was indeed awe-inspiring and all of us agreed this place was clearly worth the stop; indeed make it a long stop in your journey. “I Mosaici di Lastrucci”, Via dei Macci 9, ph. 055.241.653, very close to Santa Croce. Open most of the day and into the evening.)

Food notes – “flatbreads”

Most people know about foccacia, the wonderful flatbread that is now pretty much everywhere and which has a wide variety of uses -- but few know about the wonderful flatbread they have in Florence called schiacchiata (skah-CHAH-tah). This bread, like foccacia is baked in large sheet loaves and is somewhat flatter than foccacia. The Florentines use it to create pannini (sandwiches) by slicing the entire loaf crosswise and placing cheese or ham or ham and cheese in the middle and then warming it on a griddle for you before you “portare via” (take it away). They also top it with potatoes and fresh rosemary or tomatoes or a grilled vegetable and I find the plain schiacchiate is just wonderful with soup or with a nice soft cheese such as Toma or Taleggio.

There are significant differences in the dough between the two breads. For example schiacchiate typically has olive oil on top while foccacia usually incorporates olive oil in the dough. And while foccacia is softer (“morbido”) schiacchiate is a usually a bit crustier. (Although the “Snack Bar” on Via dei Servi, across from our apartment offers two different schiacchiate, one of which is referred to as “morbidono”, softer.). But don’t take my word for it, try it yourself!

Restaurant of the week – “Cantina Barbigianni”

If you’re looking for a restaurant try Cantina Barbigianni on Via S. Egidio for dinner only (no lunch). We ate there on 31 March. The food was creative, delicious and priced mid-scale. Service was great and a very nicely, well-priced wine list; also a small but good selection of wines by the glass. (Via Sant’ Egidio 13r, ph. 055.248.0508, www.cantinabarbagianni.it. Open for dinner only, 7-11:30 pm.)

Wines of the week – “Sicily”

If you are looking for wine while here in Florence you can't go wrong with Sicily. We have recently tasted two inexpensive yet delicious reds from Sicily:

Our white wine pick is “Ljetas” by Calatrasi (San Cipirello, Sicily), a combination of catarratto, chardonnay and viognier grapes. Priced at: 5.30 euros (available at Osteria d’Ortolano, Via degli Alfani, Firenze.)

Our red wine pick is “Poggio Bidini” by the cooperative at Acate, Sicily, and is a wonderful example of the delightful nero d’avola grape. Priced at: 6.90 euros(available at Osteria d’Ortolano, Via degli Alfani, Firenze.)

Please note that we pay for everything we eat and drink, and all our recommendations and suggestions are based on personal experience.

Email me if you have any questions, problems or inquiries and I’ll see what I can do. The service is free so of course there are no guarantees. But then travel, like life, isn’t guaranteed, is it?

Wish you were here,

Steve