I lived in Italy, in Trieste, Venice and Padua, for about 20 years, and became residente, though my legal/fiscal residency is now back in the UK.
The bureaucracy can drive you crazy, but I don't think you can have the creativity of a continuous renaissance in a rigorous environment.
I still spend around 3 months per year there, partly just because it's so pleasurable, and partly to keep my knowledge of the language and science scene up-to-date.
I really enjoy the Mitteleuropa literature I discovered in Trieste (Svevo and others) as well as the rich language of the writing from the South. I also find the sounds of the various dialects a great delight.
At home in England, I tend to cook Italian dishes, since I appreciate their simplicity and wholesomeness.
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Some of my favorites
| risi e bisi | olive oil, rice, peas, beans, garlic | fry garlic in olive oil, add already cooked peas and beans, add rice, cook 20 mins | serve with veil of olive oil |
| ros-bif inglese | 2 kg best beef, white wine, olive oil, 6 cloves garlic, abundant pepper and salt | insert half-cloves into meat and rub with salt, oven cook 220C (25 mins per kg) for half the time, invert for rest
5 mins before end, remove, prod with fork, pour on white wine, return to oven | rest meat 1 hour, slice cold |
| bean soup | soaked (24 h) borlotti or lamon beans, 1 cup olive oil, 2 chopped onions, sprigs of rosemary (tied up), abundant pepper, 3 cloves garlic. | pressure cook. when soft, retain some beans to give soup consistency and for cold bean salad. press through sieve (to discard skins)
add salt and whole beans, and veil of olive oil to serve | spoon out some beans to use as cold salad |
| hop risotto | hop tips from hedgerows, garlic, olive oil, water | fry garlic in olive oil, add finely chopped hop tips, add risotto rice, after 5 mins add water | good with beetroot |
| raspberry sorbet | 200 g fruit, juice half-lemon, cup sugar | dissolve sugar, heating in 250 ml water, whizz fruit then press thru mesh with sugar solution, freeze | refreshing on a summer's evening |
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