PISA
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| A Medieval Map of Pisa |
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| An Old Poster |
In April 1956, we drove with our little Cinquecento from
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| From Genoa to Pisa |
The origins of Pisa are unknown. I found only three sources concerning the ancient history of
During the years of late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, Pisa went through periods of strength and decline. But over the centuries, the city became a great maritime power and together with other Europeans, they helped to shape the course of history. The citizens of Pisa became very wealthy and embellished their city with beautiful Romanesque churches, Gothic palaces and Renaissance monuments, so Pisa , gradually, became the capital of culture. Also, during this period, the golden era of the city, many artists, writers and poets found sanctuary and settled down in Pisa .
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| Santa Maria Della Spina |
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| An Old Photograph of Borgo Stretto After World War I |
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| Piazza de Cavalieri |
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| Toscanelli Palace |
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| San Matteo's Church Museum |
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| A Ceiling Fresco Depicting The Glory of St. Mathew, by the Melini Brothers |
Today
To be more specific the Pisa Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is a symbol of Romanesque architecture designed by architect Buscheto in 1604 and shows the influence of many styles and cultures, with many Byzantine and Islamic components, which prove the power and wealth of the Maritime Republic of Pisa, at the time.
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| The Pisa Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta with the Leaning Tower |
The Baptistery was initially built in 1152 by architect Diotislavi and was entirely revised by Nicola and Giovanni Pisano around the mid-thirteenth century. They added Gothic elements, a lodge and a Cupola.
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| The Baptistery |
The graveyard is an ancient monumental Cemetry, by Giovanni di Simone, that began in 1277. It is a rectangular building with Gothic arches.
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| The Monumental Cemetry of Pisa in Perfect Symmetry |
The
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| Piazza dei Miracoli - A UNESCO World Heritage Site |
My husband and I fell in love with Pisa . We were also fascinated by the case torri (tower houses), tall, narrow medieval constructions that could be seen all over the town.
According to author Geraldine Kaylor in her post “Medieval Skyscrapers of Pisa”, which can be found in her inspiring blog www.traveloyster.blogspot.com, Galileo was born in 1564 in one of these architectural gems. Geraldine continues that most of the case torri were built during Pisa ’s heyday, around the 1200s, by wealthy merchants as their residences, in the commercial district of the town.
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| A Child' Falls From A Casa Torre |
The city was then enclosed by a high, strong wall, fortified with buttresses, remains of which can still be found.
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| Medieval Pisa |
In Galileo’s time, Pisa was occupied by Florence and had, therefore, declined in strength and wealth. Then, many case torri were lowered in height or even demolished, as they were considered by the Florentines as defensive constructions.
But as the population increased, more and higher tower houses had to be built. As Geraldine reports, Pisa became a walled “city of 10.000 towers” which, apparently, was a gross overstatement “of a medieval chronicle”. But it proves excess. Also, an altarpiece of St. Nicolas, a 12th-century church depicts the church dwarfed by the case torri.
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| Th Case Torri Towering Over St Nicolas In Pisa |
Both, Italian and foreign students compete for places in the Pisa University System with its three elite Schools: La Scola Normale Superiore di Pisa, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies, and the
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| The University of Pisa With the Botanical Gardens |
Each year in June, the whole city is transformed into a pageant with concerts, exhibitions and fairs. The highlight is the Luminara dei San Ranieri when every building in Pisa is illuminated with 70.000 (!) candles. Also, thousands of floating candles transform the
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| June Nights in Pisa During the Luminara dei San Ranieri |
In a nostalgic mood, I give you below, few recipes for the lovely Tuscan dishes my husband and I enjoyed in
TUSCAN BREAD
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This wonderful bread is prepared with the two step bread-making process. A yeast starter is made with a small part of the yeast, flour, and water, which should be allowed to ferment for a few hours or overnight. This is called a yeast preferment or sponge or bread starter or mother dough. Moreover, this bread is saltless.
Yeast-Starter:
¼ tsp instant dry yeast
166.6 ml (2/3 cup) lukewarm water
170 g (1 1/3 cups) plain flour
A pinch of sugar
Dough:
1½ tsp instant dry yeast
333.5 ml (1 1/3 cups) water at room temperature
487.5 ml (3¾ cups) plain flour
Olive oil
About 2 tbsp corn meal
Hot water in a fire proof bowl for steam-baking
The previous night, combine all the yeast-starter ingredients well together, cover and allow to stand, at room temperature, overnight.
The next day, mix the yeast-starter with the dough ingredients in a bowl and then knead the dough for about 10 minutes on a floured surface until smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a shape of a ball, brush all over with olive oil and place into a greased bowl. Cover with cling-film, a towel and a small blanket and let prove for about an hour, until doubled in bulk.
Punch the dough and knead, on a floured surface, for 10-12 minutes. Then, shape the dough into a round loaf or 2 smaller loaves. Place it/them into a baking tin lined with oiled baking parchment, and sprinkled with corn meal. Cover the loaf/loaves with cling film, a towel and a small blanket, in a place free of drafts, and allow to rise, for about an hour or until doubled in bulk.
Slash the bread in a tic-tac-toe method and bake in an oven preheated to 200 C (400 F) for about 15 minutes, placing the fire proof bowl of hot water on a lower shelf. Then lower the heat to 180 C (350 F) and bake 20 or 25 minutes more or until the loaf/loaves become rich golden brown.
This lovely bread lasts fresh for about a day or two.
CECINA
TUSCAN CHICKPEA SOUP
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| Chickpea Soup |
This is hearty chickpea soup of the Mediterranean Poor Cuisine, of which we are all so fond.
500 g (1 lb) skinned chickpeas, soaked overnight
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
2 tender celery stalks, trimmed and finely sliced
1 heaped tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
3 large tomatoes, halved, seeded, grated, skins discarded
1 small sprig rosemary
250 ml (1 cup) or more chickpea cooking liquid (please see below)
500 g (1 lb) beet tops or chard, leaves only, trimmed, coarsely chopped, and blanched
Tuscan bread, sliced and toasted (please see recipe above)
Grated Pecorino (a regional protected product) or Parmesan or any cheese of your choice
Lemon wedges, optional
Lemon wedges, optional
Strain the chickpeas and cover with fresh cold water and bring to the boil. Stain once again and rinse the chickpeas thoroughly. Cover with hot water, add salt, and bring to the boil, skimming off any foam if necessary. Cook the chickpeas until soft but not falling apart and strain and reserve. Also reserve 1-2 cups cooking liquid.
Sauté the onion and celery in olive oil, over medium heat, sprinkle with salt and freshly grated black pepper, the Cayenne pepper, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft. Reduce the heat and stir in the tomato paste and garlic stirring constantly for two minutes.
Pour in the fresh, grated tomato add the rosemary sprig and cook for 12-15 minutes. Stir the chickpeas and a little of their reserved cooking liquid and cook for 10 minutes and discard the rosemary sprig. Spoon in the blanched greens and cook until piping hot. Taste and season accordingly.
Place a slice of toasted Tuscan bread in each soup bowl or plate and cover with a ladleful or two of chickpea soup. Serve sprinkled with grated cheese and drizzled with lemon juice, if using.
OSTERICHE ALA ITALIANA
BAKED OYSTERS WITH AROMATIC BREADCRUMBS
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| Ostrea Edulis |
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| Baked Oysters With Aromatic Crumbs |
One could alternately, prepare this dish with clams.
36 fresh oysters, shelled or use frozen oysters
Butter for the dish
60 g (2 oz) butter
6 thick slices of bread, blended into fine bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp fresh thyme
30 g (1 oz) Parmesan grated
A pinch-¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
60 g (2 oz) butter cut into tiny pieces
Preheat oven to 200 C (400 F) and butter a pyrex dish that will hold the oysters in one layer, liberally.
Melt butter and add bread crumbs and garlic and toss and stir over medium heat until the are crisp and golden brown. Remove from the fire and stir in the parsley and thyme until well combined.
Place 2/3 of the crumb mixture, evenly over the buttered pyrex dish. Place the oysters next to each other, in a single layer, over the crumbs. Mix the remaining crumbs with the grated Parmesan and Cayenne pepper well together. Spoon the crumb combination over the oysters, dot with tiny pieces of butter and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until the bread crumbs are golden and the juices bubbling. Serve immediately.
ABBACHIO ALLA CACCIATORE
BRAISED LAMB WITH ANCHOVY SAUCE
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| Sage and Rosemary |
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| Browning the Lamb |
3 tbsp corn oil
1 kg (2 lb) boneless lamb shoulder, visible fat removed, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp plain flour
125 ml (½ cup) vinegar
500 ml (2 cups) hot chicken stock
1 small sprig sage
2 anchovy fillets, strained, rinsed, dried and finely chopped
Pre-heat the oven to 300 C (400 F). Sauté the lamb in corn oil, in batches, until brown all over and transfer with a slotted spoon to a fireproof casserole. Pour off all but a thin film of oil from the frying pan and set aside.
Rub the sautéed meat with garlic and chopped rosemary and season with a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Sift the flour over the meat to coat it evenly. Place the casserole in the top part of the oven and brown the lamb for 6-8 minutes. Remove the casserole from the oven and lower the temperature to 180 C (350 F).
Heat the frying pan and pour in the vinegar to deglaze. Add the hot chicken stock, mix well together and bring to the boil and pour over the meat. Add the sage sprig, cover the casserole, place it on the middle shelf of the oven, and braise for about an hour, until the lamb is tender. Add more hot chicken stock if required during the cooking period.
Just before serving, discard the sage sprig, ladle 1-2 spoonfuls of sauce into a small bowl and stir in the chopped anchovies. Pour the anchovy mixture back into the casserole with the lamb, stir well together and cook for 5 minutes more. Serve from the casserole or a heated deep serving dish with steamed rice or mashed potatoes and a green salad.
STRAWBERRY ICED DESSERT
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| A Delicious Dessert |
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| Strawberry Syrup |
Prepare this dessert in spring when fresh strawberries are at their best.
250 ml (1 cup) strawberry syrup* (please see recipe below)
300 g (10 oz) fresh strawberries hulled, blended and sieved
A pinch of salt
7 sheets of gelatin, separated and soaked in iced water
One 395 g (13 oz) tin sweet condensed milk
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
Grated rind of 1 orange
250 g (½ lb) thick Greek yogurt, whipped smooth with
1 liqueur glass Grand Marnier
500 g (1 lb) thick cream, whipped to the soft peak stage
A few fresh strawberries for garnishing
Simmer the strawberry syrup with the soft strawberry pulp and salt for about 2 minutes and remove from the fire to cool a little. Squeeze the soaked gelatin sheets, add to the hot strawberry mixture and stir until thoroughly dissolved.
Meanwhile combine the condensed milk with the lemon juice and orange zest, add it to the gelatin mixture and stir well together. Also, stir in the yogurt/liqueur combination and cool completely.
Softly, fold in the whipped cream, in portions, and mix well together.
Line a loaf tin with cling film and pour in the strawberry mixture. Level the surface, cover completely with the overhanging cling film and freeze for 4 hours at least. Place the dessert in the fridge for one hour before serving. Reverse on a serving dish and garnish, attractively, with fresh strawberries. Serve with a small jug of strawberry syrup.
*Here is the recipe for Strawberry syrup:
STRAWBERRY SYRUP
This is a very useful ingredient to have in your pantry. Many desserts can be prepared with this delightful syrup, also it can be poured over ice-creams and desserts. Use the same recipe for raspberry syrup adding a little more sugar perhaps.
500 g (1 lb) strawberries, hulled, blended and sieved
Sugar, please see below
½ tsp lemon juice to enhance the flavour
1 liqueur glass brandy (I use Metaxa Brandy)
For every 250 ml (1 cup) of strawberry pulp, use 187.5 ml (¾ cup) sugar, place in a saucepan, stir and bring to a gentle simmer. When the syrup thickens, add the lemon juice and brandy and cook for 5 minutes more. Cool, place in a prepared jar, seal and store in the fridge.
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