28th Marzo 2006, Napoli finished 22 Aprile 2006.
As promised, a brief synopsis of my impressions of our visit North.
Now you have to understand that Italy is divided up into regions. However historically, politically and economically it’s still very much generally divided into the North and the South. Naturally each region has it’s own attractions (and detractions), cuisine and specialities. Naples of course is famous for its pizza, the Margherita (named after Queen Margherita as the Royal Court baker invented it especially for her) is the local style pizza base topped with tomato and mozzarella with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, olive oil, a couple of basil leaves and salt. Pizza doesn’t come any simpler (except maybe the Marinara which is just the tomato topping with oregano, no cheese) or any better.
The tomatoes used to top pizzas in Naples are of course grown locally, and it’s the volcanic soil that produces the best tasting tomatoes in the world (according to locals, and I’m afraid I have to concur). The mozzarella is fresh and should be made from buffalo milk. Typically a pizzeria in Naples has a choice of about 15 – tried and tested and guaranteed, in accordance with the sign outside saying ‘Vera Pizza’ which is the local stamp of approval demonstrating that they adhere to high standards e.g. dough preparation, use of wood fired ovens and spinning the dough, never rolling it out.
Each region will have different dough and toppings, interpretations and specialities. In the north they use a lot more cheese (cheese is heavily used in northern cuisine). While up north we dined at a pizzeria and the menu had about forty different types of pizzas to choose from. The northern pizzeria’s menu listed a Margherita pizza (you know, with the tomato & mozzarella which in Naples would generally imply buffalo milk mozzarella) and another pizza with tomato and mozzarella from buffalo milk.
This puzzled Gigi so he questioned the waiter and while the explanation was straightforward and in accordance with the menu description Gi still didn’t quite believe that they offered both versions. You see, to a Neapolitan, a Margherita with mozzarella made from cows’ milk is something of an enigma…why would you even bother? So, despite himself he ordered the regular Margherita (to those playing at home I’ll explain why a vegan is eating cheese later) and it came out absolutely smothered in cheese, mozzarella but obviously made from cows’ milk (come to Naples and we’ll run the difference passed your taste buds) and nothing like a Margherita made in Naples.
The other difference is that in Naples you still only pay about €3 for the famous traditional Margherita, but the ‘fancy’ version on this pizzeria’s menu was priced at double the price of the ‘regular’ Margherita made on cows’ milk. Anyway, that’s the pizza issue out of the way.
Friuli is a region that is close to the northern borders and in fact shares a border with Slovenia. The locals occasionally go across the border to buy fuel. The capital is only about 3 hours away by train, but curiously when I asked Gi’s relatives if they’d ever visited the answer was an emphatic ‘no’, they only go for petrol. Now for an Aussie this is quite odd, probably because we don’t share a border with anyone (excluding the Antarctic) and travelling three hours in any direction is something we’d do for a Sunday afternoon drive.
But I digress. Being so far north means that historically there has at times been control over various parts of the region by other countries eg Austria. My history knowledge is limited (just bits I picked up from tourist brochures) but needless to say you can see, hear, taste and smell the influence from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The dialect, the street signs, the food, the local style (fashion and architecture), the look of the people (taller, more blonds and red heads, paler skin) and the way things are organised and conducted are all very different to Naples, and the south generally.
Now, Germany, Switzerland and Austria are all well known for being well-organised, punctual, structured places where the people are sometimes overly dictated by the clock. And some others say (not me of course, as I have a Swiss and an Austrian exchange daughter, and a German AFS host sister by default, not to mention other AFS friends from these three fine nations) that the people from these places also lack imagination, are uptight, perhaps superficial and closed. These are of course all generalisations but it’s these influences that you can see in the north of Italy too. If there’s one thing to be said for Naples and it’s people it’s that they have imagination (essential to survive in a city in the state that Naples is in), they are relaxed, passionate, emotive and live in the moment (to their detriment, but that’s just my opinion).
Perhaps I should start back at the beginning though. You get off the train in Udine, the capital of the Friuli region, and only 15-minute drive from the village of Lavariano where Gigi’s relatives live. You come out of the station and notice the lack of dodgy looking people and that you haven’t been harassed by anyone on the walk out to the footpath. In contrast if you fail to notice the dodgy people hanging around the central station in Naples you are either blind or dead. Similarly in Naples within minutes of debarking you will be approached about a taxi, whispered to about illicit substances, subtly shown stolen laptops, Ipods, watches and mobile phones.
During our visit the sky was mostly grey. Naples does have grey sky days but even in winter you are struck by the days when the blueness stirs you, causing you to look up, gaze at the volcano set against the expanse of azure and declare “What a beautiful day!” While up north we had one afternoon of blue. Grey skies provide little inspiration for photos!
The streets of Udine are clean, almost immaculate and the cars appear to be parked according to the car park markings. The cleanliness of the street is something you notice because Naples is treated like one big garbage dump. Even the freeways have piles of rubbish on the emergency stopping areas, as it’s easier for locals to drop their garbage on the way to work. Or they just toss it out the window while driving along…this makes for an interesting spectator sport providing it’s not your windscreen in the line of fire.
The car park ..well up north it was pretty much as we’d expect it to be in Australia or London. Clearly marked spaces on the ground, park within your space ensuring you don’t hit any other vehicles or block anyone – vehicle, pedestrian, driveway. In Naples all of those unspoken agreements of the street go out the window. Parking is only limited by your imagination and physics. The other thing is that the first person reigns supreme so you park at your convenience, even if it blocks three other cars, or the whole footpath, or even the street. Bumping the car in front and the one behind is also acceptable as you try to create space. Parking is a local frustration, and considered something of a street sport. But in a city of six million cars, with as many cars, motorbikes and scooters where regular underground or high-rise car parking stations a rarity it’s no wonder that parking is an impossible practice.
So, in accordance with the AFS motto it’s not that things are better or worse in the north and south, it’s just that they are different. Oh, and my beloved vegan just can’t resist the buffalo milk mozzarella cheese of his childhood home.
As promised, a brief synopsis of my impressions of our visit North.
Now you have to understand that Italy is divided up into regions. However historically, politically and economically it’s still very much generally divided into the North and the South. Naturally each region has it’s own attractions (and detractions), cuisine and specialities. Naples of course is famous for its pizza, the Margherita (named after Queen Margherita as the Royal Court baker invented it especially for her) is the local style pizza base topped with tomato and mozzarella with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, olive oil, a couple of basil leaves and salt. Pizza doesn’t come any simpler (except maybe the Marinara which is just the tomato topping with oregano, no cheese) or any better.
The tomatoes used to top pizzas in Naples are of course grown locally, and it’s the volcanic soil that produces the best tasting tomatoes in the world (according to locals, and I’m afraid I have to concur). The mozzarella is fresh and should be made from buffalo milk. Typically a pizzeria in Naples has a choice of about 15 – tried and tested and guaranteed, in accordance with the sign outside saying ‘Vera Pizza’ which is the local stamp of approval demonstrating that they adhere to high standards e.g. dough preparation, use of wood fired ovens and spinning the dough, never rolling it out.
Each region will have different dough and toppings, interpretations and specialities. In the north they use a lot more cheese (cheese is heavily used in northern cuisine). While up north we dined at a pizzeria and the menu had about forty different types of pizzas to choose from. The northern pizzeria’s menu listed a Margherita pizza (you know, with the tomato & mozzarella which in Naples would generally imply buffalo milk mozzarella) and another pizza with tomato and mozzarella from buffalo milk.
This puzzled Gigi so he questioned the waiter and while the explanation was straightforward and in accordance with the menu description Gi still didn’t quite believe that they offered both versions. You see, to a Neapolitan, a Margherita with mozzarella made from cows’ milk is something of an enigma…why would you even bother? So, despite himself he ordered the regular Margherita (to those playing at home I’ll explain why a vegan is eating cheese later) and it came out absolutely smothered in cheese, mozzarella but obviously made from cows’ milk (come to Naples and we’ll run the difference passed your taste buds) and nothing like a Margherita made in Naples.
The other difference is that in Naples you still only pay about €3 for the famous traditional Margherita, but the ‘fancy’ version on this pizzeria’s menu was priced at double the price of the ‘regular’ Margherita made on cows’ milk. Anyway, that’s the pizza issue out of the way.
Friuli is a region that is close to the northern borders and in fact shares a border with Slovenia. The locals occasionally go across the border to buy fuel. The capital is only about 3 hours away by train, but curiously when I asked Gi’s relatives if they’d ever visited the answer was an emphatic ‘no’, they only go for petrol. Now for an Aussie this is quite odd, probably because we don’t share a border with anyone (excluding the Antarctic) and travelling three hours in any direction is something we’d do for a Sunday afternoon drive.
But I digress. Being so far north means that historically there has at times been control over various parts of the region by other countries eg Austria. My history knowledge is limited (just bits I picked up from tourist brochures) but needless to say you can see, hear, taste and smell the influence from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The dialect, the street signs, the food, the local style (fashion and architecture), the look of the people (taller, more blonds and red heads, paler skin) and the way things are organised and conducted are all very different to Naples, and the south generally.
Now, Germany, Switzerland and Austria are all well known for being well-organised, punctual, structured places where the people are sometimes overly dictated by the clock. And some others say (not me of course, as I have a Swiss and an Austrian exchange daughter, and a German AFS host sister by default, not to mention other AFS friends from these three fine nations) that the people from these places also lack imagination, are uptight, perhaps superficial and closed. These are of course all generalisations but it’s these influences that you can see in the north of Italy too. If there’s one thing to be said for Naples and it’s people it’s that they have imagination (essential to survive in a city in the state that Naples is in), they are relaxed, passionate, emotive and live in the moment (to their detriment, but that’s just my opinion).
Perhaps I should start back at the beginning though. You get off the train in Udine, the capital of the Friuli region, and only 15-minute drive from the village of Lavariano where Gigi’s relatives live. You come out of the station and notice the lack of dodgy looking people and that you haven’t been harassed by anyone on the walk out to the footpath. In contrast if you fail to notice the dodgy people hanging around the central station in Naples you are either blind or dead. Similarly in Naples within minutes of debarking you will be approached about a taxi, whispered to about illicit substances, subtly shown stolen laptops, Ipods, watches and mobile phones.
During our visit the sky was mostly grey. Naples does have grey sky days but even in winter you are struck by the days when the blueness stirs you, causing you to look up, gaze at the volcano set against the expanse of azure and declare “What a beautiful day!” While up north we had one afternoon of blue. Grey skies provide little inspiration for photos!
The streets of Udine are clean, almost immaculate and the cars appear to be parked according to the car park markings. The cleanliness of the street is something you notice because Naples is treated like one big garbage dump. Even the freeways have piles of rubbish on the emergency stopping areas, as it’s easier for locals to drop their garbage on the way to work. Or they just toss it out the window while driving along…this makes for an interesting spectator sport providing it’s not your windscreen in the line of fire.
The car park ..well up north it was pretty much as we’d expect it to be in Australia or London. Clearly marked spaces on the ground, park within your space ensuring you don’t hit any other vehicles or block anyone – vehicle, pedestrian, driveway. In Naples all of those unspoken agreements of the street go out the window. Parking is only limited by your imagination and physics. The other thing is that the first person reigns supreme so you park at your convenience, even if it blocks three other cars, or the whole footpath, or even the street. Bumping the car in front and the one behind is also acceptable as you try to create space. Parking is a local frustration, and considered something of a street sport. But in a city of six million cars, with as many cars, motorbikes and scooters where regular underground or high-rise car parking stations a rarity it’s no wonder that parking is an impossible practice.
So, in accordance with the AFS motto it’s not that things are better or worse in the north and south, it’s just that they are different. Oh, and my beloved vegan just can’t resist the buffalo milk mozzarella cheese of his childhood home.
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