Eating a Venetian Countryside Lunch (Veneto Region, Italy) with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
In the guest house of Villa Valmarana in Vicenza, the paintings by Giovanni Battista Teipolo (1696 – 1770) reflect the pastoral life of the Veneto region outside Venice, Carnival season, scenes from the life of the Greek gods, as well as whimsical scenes of Chinoiserie and Gothic architecture. Italian majolica dish sets decorated the villa guest house as well.
Italians, like the French, make beautiful decorative art
objects and know how to display them.
The Italians do this by not crowding them with all the other beautiful
decorative art objects in the house. The
art objects probably are rotated as well according to season or holiday as the
Japanese do.
In the garden behind the main villa, my husband Laurent and
I walked under cool, floral arcades with a statue of Zeus at the end of
them. The interior garden between the
main house and guest villa had a rose garden and fountain. We sat on benches and could smell the scent
of antique roses on the hot, humid breeze.
From Vicenza, we drove out to the Berica Riviera. We ate lunch at a small restaurant where no
one spoke English. The menu was given to
us orally in Italian with a few non-verbal signs. I have read several Italian cookbooks, so my
restaurant Italian allowed us to order a hearty meal.
For the primi or first course, Laurent had tagliatelle with
ragu (beef and tomato sauce). I ordered
bigoli pasta, which are the regional pastas of the Veneto region outside Venice
and of Venice itself. The bigoli are thick, round strands of pasta that make
you feel very full after you eat them with ragu like I did. Our other sauce choices were sausage and
marinara.
For the secondi or main course, Laurent had prosciutto with
cantaloupe. I ate a ham hock with
rosemary. For the contorni or vegetables to go with these dishes, Laurent had a
large mixed salad. I ate porcini
mushrooms cooked in olive oil; I could have just eaten these they were so good.
On another Vicenza outing, we walked along the Corso
Palladio for 1 ½ hours. Vicenza is like
Venice on land our Italie du Nord Michelin
Touring Guide noted. Vicenza is a UNESCO
World Heritage site for its architecture by Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) and for
its city planning we read on a plaque at Palladio’s Teatro Olimpico.
In the downtown area of Vicenza, there are 22 Palladian
villas, churches, basilicas, and loggias all together. This area is pedestrian-only if you do not
count bicycles. Many of the buildings
have arcades, which makes touring in the summer heat more pleasurable.
Vicenza merits several visits, especially for lovers of
architecture.
By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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| Laurent Paget Photography |
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| Laurent Paget Photography |
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| Laurent Paget Photography |
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| Laurent Paget Photography |
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