MY RAVENNA ARTICLE ON TRAVEL AND LEISURE !!!

Yes, it's all true, I was invited by the very prestigious Travel and Leisure tourism magazine to give some ideas and suggestions for a trip to Ravenna.

Here are some excerpts, complete with mention of my name!!!!

Mausoleo di Galla Placidia

Of all the UNESCO-listed monuments in the city, Mausoleo di Galla Placidia should absolutely be at the top of your list. “It’s a beautiful example of early Christian architecture: humble and simple on the outside but preserves so much richness on the inside,” explains Francesco Antonelli, a Ravenna-based guide with Imago Artis Travel. “Every centimeter of the interiors is ornamented with precious mosaics illuminated by a soft, mystical light that brings out the indigo shades of the starry sky of the entrance vault.”

Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

“Widely regarded among the most interesting churches in the region, Basilica di Sant'Apollinare Nuovo tells the story of a chaotic and turbulent history between the 5th and 6th centuries BC,” explains Antonelli. It was erected by Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great in the 6th century and was later converted into a Catholic church. Inside the UNESCO site, find historic mosaics depicting religious scenes.

go ahead and read the full article HERE

Take a look at my Ravenna tour here!

#travelandleisure #travel+leisure #ravenna #ravennatour #mosaics #unescomosaics

Spaghetti Bolognese ???

Spaghetti bolognese does not exist! With this mantra, Bolognese innkeepers and restaurateurs try to explain to the many tourists passing through that the real city dish is tagliatella with meat sauce! But behind this dish, however, there is a history that deserves to be remembered. In the beginning was the recipe for "Maccheroni alla Bolognese" by Pellegrino Artusi within the first edition of La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiare bene of 1891. It mentions a veal ragout traditionally associated with egg pasta. A few decades later, a cookbook was circulated in America, edited by Julia Lovejoy Cuniberti under the name Practical Italian recipes for American kitchens, which was essentially inspired by Artusi's work, but also recommended the Bolognese sauce dressing for "macaroni or spaghetti." For the first time, spaghetti was mentioned as a viable alternative to noodles: spaghetti Bolognese was born.

The rise of spaghetti in America is easy to understand: dry durum wheat pasta was easier to come by and the tradition of egg pasta did not exist, as continued in Bologna. Many restaurants in America appreciated this new combination, making it one of the most famous dishes in the world.

Recently, the Italian Academy of Cuisine filed by notarial deed with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce a very unique version of spaghetti alla Bolognese made with tuna.

This is a dish that has been popular at the family level since the early 20th century, when the commercialization of tuna preserved in oil and the commercial distribution of spaghetti also began to spread to the North of the country.

discover this and many other secrets in my #bolognafoodtour

Looking for "Mariola" in Ravenna, have you ever heard about this?

Let's find out togheter the reasons of this idiom in use in the city of Ravenna

photo credit Instagram @brunolekli

In the Civic Tower of the Municipality of Ravenna, in via Ponte Marino, a statue with a face now completely eroded by time and the bas-relief of a knight, who has his back to the statue, have been walled up since time immemorial. Popular tradition has called that faceless figure "Maria" or "Mariola" and since the Middle Ages this scene has inspired a saying that has spread throughout Europe (cited by Boccaccio, Cecco d’Ascoli and others ...)

What does it means?

"Searching Mariola" or Maria, or as written by Miguel de Cervantes in Don Quixote, "Buscar a Marica por Ravena" can have different meanings, from not seeing something in front of your eyes or going around wasting time , launching into a useless undertaking.

The man on horseback comes from a Roman sarcophagus while the veiled head has been the subject of a careful restoration which has made it possible to discover that it is not a female face, but a man, perhaps an emperor.

Despite this, the legend of Mariola continues.