Culture and Cuisine- Cremona, Parma, Mantova, Castello D'Aquarto

Whoops! I forgot to post this from before spring break... This is from an IES field trip to experience the "Culture and Cuisine of the Lombardy region". Sound official? It was very informative, and mostly interesting- A very educationally rich beginning to Spring Break 2010. We started out by experiencing all sorts of cultural gems in Cremona, visiting their Duomo, the street market, and a traditional violin maker. Check out the awesome forced perspective in the dome in the Cremona cathedral! It looks like you're witnessing an awesome party in the heavens.

Contrary to my expectations, the violin maker's lecture was very interesting. We learned the history of the instrument, the technique and craft-manship that goes into each instrument, and that Cremona is the place to go for a top-notch instrument. After that we saw a beautiful theater (be assured, The Most Beautiful And Important Theater In Italy, this one's claim to fame is in having the longest back-stage).

As interesting as the theater was, by the time the tour drew to a close we were all absolutely dying of hunger and decided a picnic in the park to be the most important next order of business. Please note this was one of the first sunny days we experienced in Italy- for proof see that the color of my skin matches my shirt.

That night we were treated to an amazing dinner at a local trattoria- a dinner filled with all things Lombardian- including Parmisiano Reggiano cheese, a special sausage (which I naturally passed on), local wine, and delicious home-made tiramisu!

The next morning, we hit the road early to fill up on some more culture. This time I was genuinely excited because we went to Mantova/Mantua to see the Gonzaga Ducale Palace. And what exactly is so special about the Palace, you might ask?! It's only home to the Mantegna's Camera Degli' Sposi!!!!!!!! Oh, you haven't been in a Renaissance art class this semester and heard about this room nearly constantly since the start of the semester? Well, let me tell you. It is a Very Important Frescoed room that demonstrates many principles and themes throughout Renaissance art. Now you know. And they wouldn't let us take pictures, so you'll have to take my word that is was cool. Actually, to be honest, it was much smaller than I expected, though being that close to something I had been studying for so long was surreal. It's a whole different experience to be able to see and feel the art in person, especially when the art is in its intended location.

Nearly as exciting as fabulous art, we decided to indulge in some fabulous local cuisine, Sbrisolone. Sbrisolone is essentially a buttery crumbly shortbread, baked in a nice foil tin that can be easily transformed into a ball when later playing in a waterside park...

As you might have guessed, the Sbrisolone was followed by a walk in a lovely lakeside park where we once more delighted in the fact that Italy could in fact be sunny. We even found some fun ruins to climb around on and admire the view from. Well, to be honest, I climbed around on the rubble (I am going through serious rock withdrawal), and Gina mustered up enough courage to make it into a picture.

The final day was mostly devoted to Cuisine, which is definitely a dominate part of the Culture of Italy, so I guess its all cyclical. Seriously though, especially in this region, it is often hard to tell where one ends and the other starts. Regardless, we ventured deep into the heart of Parma farmlands to see a Parmesan cheese factory. I can't remember the last time my nose was so besieged by so many unwelcome smells in such a short amount of time.

I could tell you in extreme detail the process of creating one of these big bad boys (meaning the wheels of cheese, to clarify). But unless you specifically ask me, I'll keep it short and sweet. The production of official Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is amazingly basic and natural. The only ingrediants in a wheel of P.R. is the cow milk (a combo of day-old skimmed milk and fresh whole milk), whey, and salt from the curing process. The cheese wheels undergo rigorous testing (or thumping rather) before they are graced with the P.R. Brand as depicted above. If the cheese doesn't pass inspection it is still sold off, but not as official P.R., rather as mere cheese. Once passing inspection, the cheese is aged for at least 9 months (like a baby- ha) and sold off to delighted consumers looking for some lactose free, low fat, delicious cheese. Now you know.

We then headed to a cute entirely medieval town called Castello D'Aquarto. The town was everything you would think a hilltop charming historic town to be, but my camera died, so you don't get to see it.

Sorry. Aside from the fact that is was a great example of Romaneque architecture and very cute, it's not really much to talk about, so I'll end it here.

Our brains filled with all sort of Culture, our bellies filled with Cuisine, we headed back to Milan, and I headed off to Portugal!

Ok, regazzi, Ciao for now!