Articles by: Bryan Solomon

The marvelous 16th-century Villa Giulia has been restored by a group of secret benefactors from Japan. In 2014, after having attended a special concert and made a visit to Villa Giulia the Japanese entrepreneurs they offered to fund the restoration.

The benefactors gave about 25,000 euros for the restoration of the “small miracle” that was ordered to be built by Pope Julius III that now houses the Museo Nazionale Etrusco. Kavalik Consortium began working on the project in September of 2015 and has now finished bringing the magical destination back to its former beauty. The mysterious group of funders denied to even be thanked at the official inauguration.

Some of the most important artists of the time participated in the construction and design of Villa Giulia, which began in 1550 and was completed in 1555. Villa Giulia has attracted some of Italy’s most famous individuals, including Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo, and other intellectuals of the period.

Recent visitors have been struck by the newly restored nymphaeum, the heart of the famous gardens that has a fountain designed and sculpted by Vazari and Bartolomeo Ammannati, caryatids holding up the Travertine marble balcony, and a mosaic dedicated to Triton.

Antonio Giglio, a restorer who worked alongside Alessandro Ferradini and Kristian Schneider, said, “The most difficult battle was against the vegetation. On one hand, we had to eliminate the algae with powerful biocides so that they would not grow back, while on the other hand, we wanted to save the plants in the niches.”

The nymphaeum had turned grey and become covered in moss and mold and also had structural problems, especially with the beautiful mosaic. This masterpiece from the Roman era that may have been part of a larger floor of a thermal building, had begun to lose its millennia-old black-and-white tiles due to the deterioration of structural support.

"We had been used to seeing the nymphaeum entirely of one color, since the floor had become black," said Alfonsina Russo, superintendent for archaeology, architecture and, landscape of the metropolitan area of Rome, Viterbo, and southern Etruria. "But one elderly employee spoke about it having had colors and some of the ancient drawings created doubts.”

After several deep cleanings, a wide range of colors emerged from the whiteness of the eight caryatids in the mosaic. The caryatids, Giglio noted, “Are not all the same.  We had seen them as very serious, but the four in the second row are clearly laughing."

While art historians may know the true reason, Giglio believes that "they symbolize the dualism between tragedy and comedy in classical art.” Giglio’s hypothesis is fitting because the nymphaeum was originally created as a “theater of water” for actors and musicians. 

Dreams do come true!  Galleria Ca’ Do’Oro will be hosting “Movie’n’Food – Taste of Cinema” on June 25th. This special event blends cinema and food, giving guests an unmatched experience of the eye and mouth.


Celebrating the best of Italian food the day before the Fancy Food Show of New York City, Movie’n’Food – Taste of Cinema takes guests on a journey through cinema, taste, and gastronomy, curated by Dress in Dreams of Elizabetta Cantone and Frencesca Silvestri.


The night will present the most beautiful and significant images of films where food is the protagonist.  Eight-minute video clips from cult films Ratatouille, The President’s Chef, Madame Mallory and the smell of curry, Eat Pray Love, Pretty Woman, The Gold of Naples, Lady and the Tramp, The Leopard and Big Night will be shown. 


Guests will also experience the amazing cooking of Chef Peter Parisi, the self-described “peasant chef” who grew up around famous chefs Alan Ducasse and Gualtiero Marchesi.  The internationally known chef is known for never wasting; using everything in the kitchen, including stems, skins, and even leaves. 


In addition to describing some of his most famous recipes, Parisi will prepare dishes dedicated to films and international stars.  He will prepare chocolate gnocchetti, drawing from the film Chocolat; coffee and ricotta pasta, a nod to Marcello Mastroianni; risotto with black truffles, inspired by The President’s Chef; Neapolitan pizelle for Sophia Loren; and much more for the event.


The event will also welcome an expert in Italian culinary culture and tradition, a specialist of New York City restaurants, and Ms. Francine Segan, a judge from the Fancy Food Show.  Many esteemed guests will be at the event, including Tony May, founder of the famous San Domenico of Manhattan, cinema and food journalists, and buyers from the Fancy Food Show. 


On top of all this, a number of Italy’s best food and beverage companies will be at the event. Venchi, the famous Italian chocolate maker of Piedmont, will present guests with mini-books on the history of chocolate.  Forever Cheese, who has joined Movie’n’Food at their Washington D.C. event, will present an array of cheeses from every region of Italy.  Urbani Tartufi, the world leader for its high quality production, will elevate the event with “his majesty the truffle.”


Kimbo coffee, the main sponsor of the event, will tell their Italian story of their growth from the traditional Neapolitan “cuccuma” to the new ecofriendly, organic blend coffee pods that can be found in most coffee machines.  Ferrarelle, the Italian water that is exported around the world, will serve Ferrarelle-Mojito cocktails and limited edition platinum bottles bearing the logo of the event. Società Agricola CIU’ CIU’ of Offida, will also supply exquisite white and red wines.


Gragnano DOC pasta, bearing the name Di Martino, created the “Il Primo Manhattan” competition, a challenge that had 200 Italian chefs in New York City contending for the title of best in New York City.  The final will be held on June 24th at Ribalta, the popular Italian restaurant owned by Neapolitan entrepreneur Rosario Procino and Chef Pasquale Cozzolino.  The winner will be announced at Movie’n’Food.


Movie’n’Food –Taste of Cinema  has traveled around North America, touring in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, Toronto, and now New York City.  The next stop on the continental tour will be Miami in October.

Italy has qualified for the knockout stage of the Euro Cup with their 1-0 victory against Sweden. Late in the match, Eder put Italy in front with a powerful strike as he created space amongst Sweden’s tough backline.

After an impressive victory against Belgium earlier this week, Italy looked much weaker and played with less direction than hoped.  

They played with less discipline today, unable to replicate the passing and movement that they played so well with against Belgium.  While they continued their dismal play in the second half, they were able to produce more promising counter attacks than in the first 45 minutes, showing that they recognized the need to step up.
 

 Italy head coach Antonio Conte’s main strategy was to limit Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s production, which Italy’s impressive defensive trio of Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, and Giorgio Chiellini succeeded in doing.  Aiming to be the first man to score in four different European Championships, the former Serie A superstar failed to convert on his few opportunities, the best of which came from a header on the left side of the goal that he failed to direct.

Sweden continued their European Championship with another disappointing performance, with poor setups for their attack and failure to convert by their star. While they dominated possession for most of the game, Sweden appeared too cautious to really threaten Italy, failing to register a shot on target for the second time this tournament. Despite the lackluster play, Sweden’s defense proved to be prepared for Italy’s attack and seemingly unbreakable until the late minutes of the game.

Now that Italy has booked their ticket to the second round, they will prepare for their match on Wednesday at 9 p.m. against Republic of Ireland and wait for the results of the Belgium and Republic of Ireland’s match this Saturday.

Republic of Ireland are expected to be more of a challenge than Sweden, who only rely on Ibrahimovic to generate any chance at scoring. With a guaranteed spot in the round of 16, Italy should play with a little less stress knowing their immediate future is taken care of.  If Ireland fails to beat Belgium Saturday, Italy will automatically win the group.

Chef Massimo Bottura’s Northern Italian Osteria Francescana was awarded the title of the world’s best restaurant at the World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards on Monday night.  Under the gilded domed ceiling of the Cipriani Ballroom in New York City’s Wall Street, Bottura said, “In the end… It’s all about hard work.”

Bottura’s award makes Osteria Francescana, a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Modena, the
first Italian restaurant to be ranked number-one on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants rankings.  Bottura moved up from his number-two spot last year, taking the top spot from the Roca brothers – Joan, Josep, and Jordi – of El Cellar de Can Roca in Spain.  When asked how it felt to be the first Italian restaurant to be number-one, Bottura responded, "In Italy we have three things that are untouchable – football, the Pope, and food. It’s something so important."
 

Osteria Francescana reinvents foods that are influenced by the flavors of Bottura’s childhood and classical culinary, as well as by music, art, film, and literature.  Bottura’s dishes give seasonal Italian ingredients a modern twist, with each plate telling a story.

 One of Osteria Francescana’s most famous plates is the Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano, a composition of Parmesan sauce, mousse, foam, crisp, and air aged between 18 and 50 months and served at varying temperatures.
 

At the press conference after the awards, Bottura confessed that fifteen years ago he nearly gave up his restaurant, only to be persuaded to continue by his wife, Lara.

He was further convinced to continue when a Michelin inspector, stranded by a road accident, came to his restaurant by chance.  

The restaurant was recognized and soon awarded its first Michelin star, and the couple never looked back.
 

Bottura’s culinary career began in 1986 when he decided to put his law studies on hold after he learned that a roadside trattoria on the outskirts of Modena was for sale.  He quickly bought and renovated the building and opened Trattoria del Campazzo a week later.  Bottura then apprenticed himself to Chef Georges Coigny, where he learned a combination of regional Italian cooking and classical French training.
 

Almost a decade later Bottura opened Osteria Francescana in the medieval city center of Modena.  His idea for the restaurant was to juxtapose culinary tradition and innovation with contemporary art and design.  Although operating with a deep understating of culinary tradition, Bottura continued to push culinary boundaries after he spent a summer at El Bulli with Ferran Adrià.
 

Shortly after Osteria Francescana was awarded its third Michelin star in 2012, Bottura temporarily closed the popular restaurant to refurbish and update the restaurant with contemporary art and avant garde cuisine.
 

Bottura is active outside his now number-one restaurant.  He is on the board of directors of the Basque Culinary Centre and has written four books, Aceto Balsamico (2005), Parmigiano Reggiano (2006), PRO. Attraverso tradizione e innovazione (2006) and Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef (2014).  He also served as Ambassador for Food in the Year of Italian Culture in the United States in 2013 and opened his first restaurant outside of Italy in 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey, called Ristorante Italia di Massimo Bottura.  At the award show Monday night, Bottura urged his culinary peers to join him in Rio de Janeiro during this summer’s Olympics as he opens a soup kitchen in the city’s favelas.

The influence of the list has become internationally recognized as the awards are considered by some as the Oscars of the restaurant world.  While most people may not eat at one of the top 50 restaurants (especially because some waiting lists can include more than 1000 people), if you eat out you will have eaten food that is influenced by these top chefs.
 

The awards are great for business, as the awards annually create mass demand for reservations for restaurants named to the list.  The impact extends outside of financials, as immediately after the list is published chefs from around the world apply to work at these top institutions.   
 

The awards began in 2002 and is organized by Restaurant, a British magazine.  What started as casual office brainstorming in the London offices has grown into a worldwide vote.  Divided into 27 regions, nearly 1,000 votes are casted by international chefs, restaurateurs, gourmands, and restaurant critics each year.
 

Bottura explained that, "There is a community that has been created around 50 Best... We are not in competition with each other."This year’s awards were the first to be held outside of London, as Charles Reed, group managing director of William Reed Business Media, owner of the brand, explained that the list is global, not London-centric and they have to show that by hosting the awards around the world.  The list clearly reflects how it has become a global list, as the top 50 included 23 different countries from six continents.