It felt like a scene from a mafia movie when we were walking through the streets of the island city Murano. The island is internationally known for its exceptionally well crafted blown-glass and we were walking with the President of a glass-blowing factory we had just visited. He is pictured in the middle of the first three guys. The guy in the left of the photo is Francesco (a local Architect working with us) and Arthur, on the right, is our instructor from the U. The site for our studio project is near the island of Murano and so the President was very interested in hearing our ideas as well as offering his advice. After our conversation and a tour of the factory, it seemed like he was enjoying our company and spontaneously offered us a round of prosecco in their conference room. He then called a friend of his who owns a nearby restaurant and worked out an inexpensive price for a four-course meal we had for lunch! This picture was taken on our walk from the factory to the restaurant. The president had a god-father like presence.
Burano is an island within the venetian lagoon that has a colorful character. As a community, they voted that no hotels could be built on the island. Perhaps they noticed the impact that tourism has had on Venice and wanted to retain their identity. When the last vaporetto headed to Venice leaves the island, the day-trippers disappear and the locals take back their streets.
Almost once every week we have gone on a field trip throughout the Veneto region. We visit great pieces of architecture and landscapes that were built more than 500 years ago. But one of the main things that has made a lasting impression is the wonderful meals we share as a group. They generally last a couple of hours and consist of multiple courses and beverages. The culture here has certainly intertwined gastronomy ("the practice or art of choosing, cooking, and eating good food") into their daily lives.
My roommates and I hosted an Easter dinner for the other students and professors in our program. We roasted 17 pounds of lamb!
Here are some photos of an interesting meal we ate at a restaurant that gets the majority of their ingredients from within 15 kilometers. The first course was a variety of deep fried sea-food that was to be eaten whole... even the eyeballs! The second course was a duo of baby octopus and cuttlefish. The pair was in a cream sauce with asparagus grown in the restaurants garden outside. Within cuttlefish there is a black ink sack, which the chef artfully concealed so that as you began cutting through the fish the black ink would slowly mix with the contrasting color of the white cream sauce. For dessert was fennel ice cream and fresh strawberries... very refreshing!
