By Dominick Hiddo
photo credit: Dominick Hiddo | project: Clean Food
Last year, Italy changed my life. I mean, overall, everything changes our lives. The food we eat. The books we read. The music we listen to. The work we do. The decisions we make, the people and the circumstances. Everything affects our lives and our lifestyles. But I will say that my deeper exposure to the Italian culture really took my understanding of La Dolce Vita to a whole new level. After my trip last year, I made a conscious decision to study the culture and lifestyle of the Italian people. And part of that took place when I came home: of course with Kaite's help. Also, I started taking classes in efforts to study Italian. But as you can imagine, you can't really study and speak a language until you begin to digest and understand the culture surrounding that language, and I'm not only talking about the food: I'm sure many of you bi-lingual and multi-lingual people know this very well. But I'm just learning all about this. Katie's family in Italy doesn't speak much English. So, learning about the language and the culture became a priority for me last year, and especially this year. But as you can imagine, studying Italian for a few months would not be enough to immerse me fully in the country and all of its nuances just yet. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful launching pad for what I was set to experience this year.
Upon walking off one of the greatest airlines ever created (Emirates: they. just. get it), I was immediately greeted with "Buonasera, Buonasera" (good evening). It was just after 4pm and Milan was alive and vibrant. But the interesting part for me--the signs written in Italian--I actually understood some of them! The conversations being had in and around me at the airport in Italian (be it about lost luggage or directions to the closest bathroom), I understood some of it. I have to say, I felt pretty spectacular. In that moment and in my mind, I was basically Italian: so chic. But then we stepped outside of the airport, and then everything sounded different. The train operators spoke a little faster. The Milanese spoke to each other in a type of Italian that was slightly different from what I was used to hearing. And I realized immediately that like many languages, there were dialects and varieties of how the language was to be spoken. And if there were language varieties, then there were food varieties. And if there were food varieties, then there must be cultural and lifestyle varieties. I was a little overwhelmed at first. But I made a commitment to just take it all in and learn as much as I can about this beautiful land and culture that was super welcoming and receptive to me. And everyday during this trip, it got better and better. And here's why!
Oh, The Language
The Local Locali
So we're out to dinner. Katie and I, and two friends from Florence. I'm the only that's not fluent in Italian in this group. Nevertheless, I was ready to hold my own. And I did! All through dinner, I understood most of the conversations. I felt pretty good about myself as I was constantly testing my ability to understand people through conversations, through food, and through their lifestyles. After dinner, we all followed tradition and went on a little walk (passeggiata). During our walk, we ran into one the friends brother's, and his friends (this is where it gets interesting). "Piacere, Piacere". "Nice to meet you, Pleasure to meet you", all around. Then after the pleasantries, the conversation evolves. The tones change. The style of speaking changes. Then the body language starts to come out. Hands start flying. Shoulders start gyrating. And all of that just trumped the spoken language. The words from everyone's mouth sounded as if they were mumbling or speaking some illustrious code. Everyone was responding and laughing at the apparent humor of the conversation that was like another language within the Italian language. And all I could do is sit back and watch with awe and a smile. It was a local city thing. Very different from the small towns. These guys that we ran into in Florence were like "the Bros" of Florence. You know what I mean. You know, "the Bros": (drink, party, pick up chicks, smoke cigarettes, eat great food, drink great wine, dress super fashionable, all super beautiful, and all beautifully tanned). This was a local of the locals moment. And I loved it. This was bigger than the spoken language. I knew this was something I wouldn't learn in Italian class. And I probably wouldn't learn it back home in the US. Back in Covigliaio (Firenzuola), the body language only came out when there were intense and passionate discussions about food philosophy, "how-to-cook-food" philosophy, cultural do's and don'ts, people in the neighborhood, relationships, and of course the beauty of Love: you know, normal things. When and why people gestured and gyrated their bodies, I haven't quite figured that out yet. Depending on the town, some people did it more or less than the other. It was another local thing.
Hiddo | project: Clean Food |
Up north in Liguria, in particular in the Cinque Terre, seafood (like lobster and anchovies) and anything involving pesto sauce seemed to be the local fare. And since there were quite a bit of grape farms up in the Cinque Terre, many wines were produced not too far away in the nearby villages embedded in the mountains in and around Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, and Monterosso. And when they are produced locally, it tends to be much more inexpensive than a wine from further away. Italians don't believe that there is something better than what they have. They believe that what they have is the best: and is best for them. They don't necessarily feel compelled to source anything from too far away to fulfill a need. And this especially goes for food. We stumbled upon a restaurant in Manarola (Trattoria Dal Billy) that is a predominantly a seafood restaurant. They serve what is caught that day. And the best part is, they actually do the fishing. They do all the preparations. They own the entire process from start to finish. Nothing is sourced, not even the herbs and spices: and definitely not the tomatoes. Everything is from the Cinque Terre (or nearby): there are farms everywhere literally cascading throughout the mountains. In addition, they prepare pasta in the same tradition that their lineage of family has prepared it for generations. I was blown away. And not just by this restaurant. But by the entirety of Italy's pride in culture, in lifestyle and in food. Because whether it's strolling through Firenze at midnight and running into friends, or sampling some of the the world's best locally sourced and prepared foods, the Italian lifestyle is intricately woven together by a homegrown culture, language, and food that has given birth to that same lifestyle that we celebrate and revere here in America and around the world.
A Deeper Togetherness
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Katie with a casual hair flip after the long hike |
I always wondered where Katie got here erratic and eclectic personality. When we are going through airport security, she's wound up. When we are figuring out how to get to the Cinque Terre, she's wound up. When we are hiking the through the Cinque Terre (and with just reason as those hikes are super challenging and fear inducing), she's even more wound up. Her hands are flying. Her voice is super loud. Sound familiar? It's that Italian passione! And I understood it even more as I spent more time with her family. Unlike her, they don't need to be traveling or hiking to let the emotions and passion reverberate throughout. They make their presence known even in just a simple discussion: like the one about Salerno (south of Italy). And whether or not the pizza restaurant we love here in NYC is really from the south, and what it means to be from the south. This seemingly simple discussion raised red flags about politics and the meaning of being Southern Italian. For those of us reading this passively, I totally understand how this may not be a thing worthy of much regard. But in Italy, everything is discussed with passion and emotion. Everything is experienced fully with passion and emotion. And expect nothing less. It's still something I'm getting used to. Because in all honesty when life is filled with passion, you may never feel a lack of anything. It's a love so deep.
And, I think I need to go back so I can deepen that passion for life in me.
Ciao!