Amore Italiano

     

        This is it, the moment when I will reveal to you the theme that is missing from my recap. Well, the first one at least. For one whole week, my aunt and I shared photos (that we found online) of all things ITALIAN! Some background for you: I have not one ounce of Italian in me, I am absolutely in love with everything about this country, and in NYC, the San Gennaro festival occurs every September. So clearly, I have been choosing themes that are relevant to current happenings. Therefore, the start of a massive festival/feast in Little Italy caused me to pick Italy as our theme. The festival lasts for about 11 days and happens every year. I believe it is a religious celebration but many people go for the fun, the booths, and most importantly the food. The food is where it's at. Now I personally love the festival but I also chose the theme because I absolutely adore all things Italian. I took the language in high school and remember almost none of it. I wish I spoke it fluently though because it is a beautiful one. I own DVDs of Italian films and have some Italian music in my library. My favorite part of the book Eat, Pray, Love was when she was in Italy (a fact that applies to the movie as well - the book is way better though). Under the Tuscan Sun is a favorite of mine as well. The country itself is beautiful, so I'm told. I've never had the pleasure of going but it is definitely on my bucket list. I am fully aware that it is just like any other place and has bad areas as well as good. I just don't care. And who can talk about Italy and not mention the food? It is all bellisima and molto deliziosa.

   

 Why am I taking up a whole post to tell you about this theme? Well, I'll tell you. I can not gush about all things Italian enough. I will post many pictures below to give you a visual but I figured I would also tell you a bit about the country/culture which I love so much. I am not going to save the best for last. I am going to jump right into the food. Can you imagine life without pizza? It has become such an American staple and yet it is not American at all. We have, as is usual, Americanized it for sure. Yet it is a concept purely Italian. There is an establishment in Manhattan that sells authentic Italian pizza.  

You can only buy a whole pie and the line is generally down the block, but it is absolutely worth the wait and the cost. They use fresh mozzarella cheese and tomatoes on every pie and I swear there were basil leaves melted under the cheese. It is absolutely mouth wateringly delicious. It is a New York pie, to be sure, but it is the first pizza in the city and was created by an Italian immigrant. It is the closest thing you are going to get to the original anywhere in the city. Then, there is a restaurant on the lower east side that makes their pasta from scratch daily. Who, other than an Italian, would do that? The Italians eat pasta like Americans eat fast food. The spice palate of the Italians is just so delectable. Often you will find fresh herbs; basil, oregano, parsley, and garlic. God, the garlic. And the cheese! The French are big on cheese and bread, but the Italians don't hold back in that arena either. There are so many dishes and foods that should be mentioned but there just isn't enough time. I will, however, not end this post without talking about gelato and tiramisu. An ice cream that is softer and smoother than anything you've ever had. It just melts on your tongue. And who can say no to coffee and rum baked into layers of moist cakes and velvety creams? Thank whatever god you believe in for the Italians and their contributions to the culinary world. I know my stomach is grateful every day.

   

While Italian food is delightful, it is not the only reason to love Italy. The country itself is rich with history. A visit to the country and one can see sights such as the leaning tower of Pisa, the Colosseum of Rome, the Vatican, or the Sistine chapel. Italy was the birthplace of an entire era; the renaissance. In fact, the renaissance is believed to have begun in Florence. Many changes rippled through all of Europe during this time but it is most notably a time of great artists. Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello (all the turtles! HA) were among the many artists that worked during this period. They created many masterpieces that are still admired to this day. The renaissance wrought a great deal of change to the entire world. The primary area affected at the time was of course Europe but think of where we would be today without the influences of Galileo, Da Vinci, or Copernicus.  

The entire way we viewed the universe would be different. Also, while the renaissance was a time of scientific revolution, Italy still holds within its borders the most influential spot to the Catholic religion. The Vatican city is where the leader of the entire Catholic church resides. All major decisions are made at the Vatican and all priests ultimately report to the cardinals in Italy (well, after God of course). Every major country can claim some contribution to the way we live. Mostly this is because America is a melting pot of cultures, but throughout history decisions were made everywhere that carried influence around the world. Things would be different if Hitler never ruled Germany or if the Spanish didn't invade America. Italy, at least in my opinion, has had the most influence of them all. The things/people/ideas that came out of that country have had an impact on every other area. On top of all that, the country is full of beauty.

   

 Italy, as I said, has its bad parts just like the rest of the world. But I'd rather be in a bad area of Rome than a bad area of the Bronx. At least in Italy it's still beautiful and you can hear the musical language, even if it is curses. This is the opinion of a foreigner and thus probably isn't shared with people who actually live there, but that's ok. I have seen so many pictures of Italian countrysides and cities and canals. Even what is believably dirty water in the Venice canals is appealing to me. The rolling hills of Tuscany, the glorious ruins of Rome, etc. I am enthralled by them all. Having never been to Italy though, I must say that the most beautiful thing about the country to me has to be the language. It is one of the five romance languages and while similar to Spanish and Portuguese it has a beauty all its own. Here in America, we say hello so simply. There are ways to shorten it; hey, hi, yo, what's up, etc. In Italian you say buongiorno or ciao. They say sogni dolci instead of sweet dreams. Obviously things are lost in translation and reading random words in a blog post can not accurately convey how exquisite this language truly is. If you ever want to know the true beauty of the language, watch a movie in Italian. My personal favorite is La Vita E Bella, or Life is Beautiful. It is available in English but it really does lose something. Another good one is Cinema Paradiso. Both can be purchased easily and have subtitles so you can actually understand what is happening. I also think the little Italian that is spoken, and rather Americanized, in movies where people travel to Italy is adorable. 

   

 Clearly, I could go on forever. I will stop gushing my love of Italian all over you though. I just can't get enough of this wonderful country. It's history, culture, cuisine and language are extraordinary. So you can see why I chose to do a week of photos of Italy and why I had to use an entire post to tell you all about it. I will say goodbye, or to be cute, Ciao Bella!!!