Trattoria La Casetta - Brisighella

Vegetarian Appetizer

I tasted a fantastic vegetarian menu at the restaurant La Casetta in Brisighella, a lovely village near Faenza in Emilia-Romagna. People in Emilia-Romagna are known to be particularly friendly and generous and I have to say that it's true, I really had an amazing day!

Passatelli asciutti su fonduta e tartufo / Handmade pasta with truffles and cheese fondue

La Casetta is DogFriendly. Slurp!

Postcard from Brixen

The cloister and the Cathedral 

The old episcopal city of Bressanone / Brixen, in the middle of the Isarco Valley, is a little treasure with a long and complex history to discover.
My top sights are:
- the Cathedral, the next cloister and the Parish Church
- the Palace of Bishops with the Nativity and Diocesan Museum
- the Museum of Pharmacy
- the large and small arcades of the Middle Ages
- the Abbey of Novacella, a few km north of Brixen


To taste:
- Brixner Schuttelbrot (local bread). Taste it with cheese and a glass of wine.
- Milk and cheese (I love grey cheese, a strongly flavoured cow-milk cheese). Visit the local dairy co-operative Brimi (quite near to the centre).
- Canederli / Knodel, bread dumplings with cheese or spinach.
- Apples (apple juice and strudel - recipe)
- Wines: Lagrein, Vernatsch (Schiava), Gewürztraminer, Sylvaner, Kerner, Veltliner. Have a tour around the vineyard (Novacella and privates)
- Hugo aperitif - recipe.
- Herbs. Collecting herbs is a South Tyrolean tradition and nowadays you can still find original herbal remedies for your wellbeing.

Adler bridge and the Palace of the Bishop

Museum of Pharmacy

Vineyard of Novacella

Church of Novacella

Encaustic inside Novacella

Hassan Hajjaj presents VogueArabe at the Aria Art Galllery - Firenze

At Aria Art Gallery in Florence,  the Moroccan artist Hassan Hajjaj is presenting his solo exhibition: VogueArabe, composed from 12 of his works, realized in the past 10 years.

'As shown in the title, the exhibition presents an ironic and provocative call to Vogue magazine, its glamorous and glossy photo shoots, which often are set in their kasbah of Marrakesh or Casablanca. As Vogue uses European models, Hassan Hajjaj will show the public a series of portraits of Morrocon women, who are dressed in the clothes designed by himself.
The use of accessories, the reference to high-fashion brands, transcend the memory of Orientalism and the status of women - young, veiled and dressed all the same yet they have become icons from magazines to hip-hop culture - these are the stylistic features typical of the lastest works of Hassan Hajjaj. Kitsch and very colorful, subversive and extravagant works of Hajjaj which try to reflect on the way in which East and West see each other, and the cultural exchange that triggers between these two worlds.'
(open until May 5)