Siobhan Daiko's Blog, page 17
April 14, 2014
Asolan afternoon
The view from the garden bench reminds me that we haven’t been to Asolo for a couple of weeks. The town is what drew my parents to this part of Italy in the sixties, and persuaded them to buy an old farmhouse nearby for their retirement. Every day, I stare at the ancient military fortress, La Rocca, on the farthest crest to the right. It whispers to me of the time when, from the 14th to the 17th centuries, the fort represented part of the defense system of the Venetian Republic.
We set off at midday and park in the main square by the Caffè Centrale,which is owned and run by Lele and Ezio, my late step-father’s cousins.
In the Piazza Brugnoli, we look up at La Rocca from a different angle to the one at home, the sky so blue and cloudless it seems to go on forever.
Passing a taverna offering panini , pasta, and delicious wine, we stop for a bite and a sip before heading down the hill.
A shop selling Easter goodies catches our eye
and we continue on past Eleanora Duse’s house (see my post of 18 March 2013), heading to the small church of Santa Caterina of Alexander, which was built, not in its present form, but a smaller building, in the 14th Century. The frescoes by the altar give an indication of the original shape with a sloping roof.
We sit in quiet contemplation. I’m due to write a scene in my time-slip historical novel In My Lady’s Shadow which will take place here, and I can’t wait to get started.
On our way back up the hill, we stop for a coffee with Luisella, a friend who works at the Hotel Villa Cipriani
It’s the first time we’ve been there since Mum died, and we feel sad as we remember her loving her visits to the hotel. But the beauty of the day and the setting consoles us, and soon we head back to the car, up the Via Canova.
Driving home, we catch sight of the wisteria on a building to our right. Spring has sprung, and we’re looking forward to getting out and about for more romance and adventure next week.
March 17, 2014
Red Wine and Petrarch in the Euganean Hills
We didn’t make it to the Carnival in Venice this year. It was too wet, and we would have needed fishermen’s long rubber boots to negotiate St Mark’s Square. So, we decided to visit Arquà Petrarca instead. Only an hour and a half’s drive from where we live, the village is in the heart of the Colli Eugani, the Euganean Hills, 81 long-dead volcanoes clustered together, thrusting above the agricultural plains below, about 20 kilometres south of Padova.
Famous for being where Francesco Petrarca, the inventor of the sonnet, lived out the final years of his life, the village has retained much of its medieval atmosphere. Once we’d parked the car, we walked up the cobbled street to visit his house.
Pushing open the heavy wrought-iron gate, we inhaled the scent of damp earth in the garden. Actors, representing Petrarca and his daughter, Francesca, read verses from the Canzoniere
Laura, Petrarch’s muse (whom he met in Avignon), or rather an actress, spoke to us from the loggia. She could easily have been a character in my WIP, In My Lady’s Shadow.
Up the steps, and we strode through rooms named Metamorphosis, Venus, Cleopatra, and Visions, lavishly decorated with scenes from Petrarch’s work.
In one corner we found the poet’s small study, now enclosed by glass, where he died, aged 70, in front of an open manuscript.
Downstairs, in the small museum, we viewed autographs of famous past visitors, including Byron, and the grizzly, embalmed remains of Petrarch’s cat.
Afterwards, we sauntered down to the main square, to gaze at Petrarch’s elaborate tomb, standing in front of the church. (A recent peek into the sarcophagus by the Italian authorities revealed his body was still inside, save for his right arm, stolen centuries ago by a drunken friar in pursuit of relics.)
Having paid our respects to the bard, we wandered through the streets, passing shops selling local olive oil, honey and wine, until, in need of food and drink, we stopped at the Enoteca d’Arqua.
There, we enjoyed a glass of Calaone, rosso dei colli euganei, and bruschette
.
A gorgeous sunset pinked the sky as we made our way home. A small adventure, and how’s this for some romance, translated from the original Italian, of course?
It was the day the sun’s ray had turned pale
with pity for the suffering of his Maker
when I was caught, and I put up no fight,
my lady, for your lovely eyes had bound me.
February 14, 2014
Frittelle for tea in Pagnano di Asolo
In the Veneto at this time of the year we indulge in fritelle. The ones described in the reblog below, and also these.
We had them for tea at a friend’s house yesterday in Pagnano di Asolo
Round, yeast-risen fried pastries, filled with pastry-cream or zabagione, they aren’t good for the waist-line, but are oh so delicious.
It’s carnival in Venice from tomorrow until the 4th March. Time for another adventure with some romance? I’ll keep you posted…
Originally posted on Green Holiday Italy:
1.
Tortellini
in broth are an excellent choice for the cold month of February. It is a dumpling-shaped type of pasta stuffed with a mix of pork, prosciutto and mortadella (heat-cured pork sausage) from
Emilia Romagna
. There has been centuries-long rivalry between the cities of Bologna and Modena as each claims to be the birthplace of
tortellini
Fritelle for tea in Pagnano di Asolo
In the Veneto at this time of the year we indulge in fritelle. The ones described in the reblog below, and also these.
We had them for tea at a friend’s house yesterday in Pagnano di Asolo
Round, yeast-risen fried pastries, filled with pastry-cream or zabagione, they aren’t good for the waist-line, but are oh so delicious.
It’s carnival in Venice from tomorrow until the 4th March. Time for another adventure with some romance? I’ll keep you posted…
Originally posted on Green Holiday Italy:
1.
Tortellini
in broth are an excellent choice for the cold month of February. It is a dumpling-shaped type of pasta stuffed with a mix of pork, prosciutto and mortadella (heat-cured pork sausage) from
Emilia Romagna
. There has been centuries-long rivalry between the cities of Bologna and Modena as each claims to be the birthplace of
tortellini
February 8, 2014
Chocolate fondue in the Dolomites
We set off in the car, and Victor has got the maps out to point out landmarks along the way. He’s been cooped up with me for days in the non-stop rain of this incredibly wet winter. I’ve been writing so haven’t minded too much, but my dear husband has cabin fever and needs to get out. My brother is staying up in the Dolomites with his family and has invited us for lunch. It’s a two hour drive. The rain is sheeting down, and I think we’re crazy to even attempt it.
I know it will be snowing in the mountains, and I don’t like driving in the snow. ‘The roads are kept clear,’ my brother has promised. He lives and works in Hong Kong, and I’m longing to spend time with him. We follow the Piave river to Feltre. It’s an easy drive so far. Then it starts getting more difficult as we head higher and, through the low clouds, we can see the snow-topped peaks towering above us.
Four long tunnels later, we reach the start of a real climb, and the rain has turned to sleet. As we get higher, it’s snowing and then, practically a blizzard. How can they ski in this? We have directions to the restaurant where we’re to meet up. Two and a half kilometres above the resort of San Martino di Castrozza. But the wheels of our car won’t grip and I lose my nerve. Victor doesn’t drive – he has a hearing problem that affects his coordination – so he leaves it to me.
We return to the centre of San Martino and I get out my cell phone. Brother will come and fetch us.
As we wait, we take a picture of people clearing the snow from their rooftop. We find out later that the roof above the local cinema has fallen in and now everyone is scared the same thing will happen to them.
The road up to the Malga Ces Hotel Restaurant doesn’t seem so tricky in a four-wheel drive, and I take this photo of Victor before we go in.
A lunch of mixed grill 
followed by chocolate fondue. Yum! 
Best of all, though, is being with family. While we eat and laugh together, I forget I have to drive back down the mountain. But soon it’s dark and we need to go. The snow is sticking on the road as we inch our way to the river valley, where the blizzard turns to rain. We’ve been stuck in a rut these past few weeks, we say. It was good to get out and have an adventure. We won’t wait so long for the next one.
January 4, 2014
Back in the Veneto for New Year’s Eve- La Festa di San Silvestro
After a family Christmas with our son and his girlfriend in London we left wet and windy Britain for our second home in Italy, just in time to celebrate the New Year. As our plane touched down in Venice, the festivities had already begun.
We’d left our car at the airport, and, an hour or so after our arrival, we were back in the house, opening a bottle of Prosecco and gazing out at fireworks exploding in all the towns and villages below us.
We remembered past celebrations when we would gather together with the family for a huge feast. Were we a lonely twosome? Not at all. We were glad to be back in the Veneto countryside after the busyness of London. Our home in Chepstow, South Wales, is similar in that respect. I suppose we’re country mice at heart, even though we’re looking forward to more romance and adventure in the coming year. This pic of Santas on the Grand Canal might just inspire us…
Happy New Year to you! May 2014 be filled with light and joy as you strive to achieve your desires in peace and good will.
December 8, 2013
Christmas Market in Bassano del Grappa
We’d heard about the Christmas market in Bassano del Grappa, so, this week, we decided on a mini adventure back to the town I blogged about on 30th May. As usual, we parked in the Viale dei Martiri then wandered down this side street 
passing a the window of a bakery so well-decorated it could have been a fashion store. 
Wooden huts lined the centre of the Piazza Garibaldi, the first selling figurines for Christmas Cribs, or presepe 
A stall selling all sorts of goodies caught our eye, and we treated ourselves to a bottle of extra virgin olive oil.
Gorgeous decorations, but we’ve got stacks of them so resisted buying any more…
Bassano is famous for its ceramics, and this stall tempted us into getting a spoon rest.
Couldn’t resist these olives
or some Pecorino cheese… 
Here’s Victor, carrying our purchases. 
The Cannoli in the Pasticceria Siciliana went down a treat.
We walked them off has we headed past another side street
to get some panettone
We wanted to have a ride on the carrousel in the Piazza Libertà, but it had already closed for the night.
On our way back to the car, we strolled past a stall selling chocolate spoons, hammers, chisels, paintbrushes and pencils. Could we resist another purchase? Impossible!
Victor and I will be visiting our son in London over Christmas, and won’t be back here until the New Year. This will be my last post of 2013. I wish you all a blessed holiday season and every happiness in 2014.
November 5, 2013
A bitter-sweet birthday in Venice
From mid September until she left this world on 23rd October, just one week before her 86th birthday, my mother has been ill in hospital. She had a wonderful life up until the last year or so, full of romance and adventure in Hong Kong and Italy. I’ll miss her for the rest of my own life.
But yesterday was Victor’s birthday, and we decided to get away and spend the day in Venice. We took the train and walked from Santa Lucia Station to the Rialto Bridge, stopping to take pictures in the various squares, and of the small canals that criss-cross the sestieri.
A shop selling lithographs of the 1500s, the era of my WIP, caught our eye, and I bought one for Victor. It’s too big to reproduce in its entirety, but here’s a section of it. 
I also bought one for myself, as it could be a scene from In My Lady’s Shadow.
Rain had set in for the afternoon, but we didn’t mind as Venice is stunning whatever the weather. We walked to the Campo S. Silvestro (this pic was taken on a sunnier day), where legend has it Giorgione had his studio at no. 1091. 
We strolled past a street sign Calle amor dei amici (Love of the friends Road). I’m posting this because I don’t know what I would have done without the love of my friends over the past few weeks. 
We crossed a bridge and reached Campiello and Campo San Toma. A few yards away is one of the best chocolate shops in the city: Vizio Virtu (Vice Virtue), and we couldn’t resist popping in to buy a selection. Nothing like chocolate to lift your mood…
By then, we were feeling decidedly damp and tired, so we hopped on a vaporetto for a ride back down the Grand Canal to the station. We passed the Cornaro Palace, belonging to the family of the lady in my novel (centre of pic), except in 1500 it would only have been a two storey structure. 
On the train back to Castelfranco, we reflected on the many occasions we visited Venice with Mum. We’re about to start a new phase of our lives without her physical presence, and it will take time to adjust. She will always be with us in spirit, though…
October 10, 2013
Buffet lunch and history at the Villa Razzolini Loredan near Asolo
I haven’t posted for over a month as life has got in the way. My mother is seriously ill in hospital, but before her illness she came with us when we were invited to the 80th Birthday of Eva, the lady who sang at our wedding, a buffet lunch in the barchessa of the Villa Razzolini Loredan
near Asolo. The villa dates from the 1700s and is constructed in a style typical of those built by Venetian patrician families on the mainland.
At the same time, a historical re-enactment of medieval life was taking place in the grounds of the villa and, after lunch, we strolled around taking pictures.
I felt as if the characters in my WIP had come to life and it was a jolt to return to the 21st Century when we clambered into the car and made our way home. Mum really enjoyed seeing old friends and the romantic setting will stay with me forever.
September 5, 2013
To Castelfranco for a Cappuccino and Research
Castelfranco Veneto is only a half hour drive from where we live and our nearest train station. Yesterday afternoon, we went for a coffee in the main square before strolling around and imagining what the town would have been like in the early 16th Century when viewed by Giorgione, the enigmatic artist and hero of the historical sections of my work in progress .
Not much is known about his life, which is why I feel at liberty to invent a story about him and his muse. We do not even know if this is his self-portrait, but I like to think that it is.
His statue also suggests a charismatic hero
even if quite often there’s a pigeon sitting on his head.
Giorgione would have known the tower in the castle walls. 
We walked through the gate underneath
and into the old town to visit the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and San Liberale and Giorgione’s altarpiece in the Costanzo chapel.
It’s a painting done on wood and represents the Virgin and Holy Child with St Francis on the right and a St Nicasius of the Order of the Knights of Malta in armour on the left. Tuzio Costanzo commissioned the work as a memorial for his son, Matteo, who died a young soldier. The C ostanzo coat of arms is on the base of the Virgin’s throne. Tuzio had been in service to Queen Caterina Cornaro, the lady of my novel, in Cyprus, and lived with his family within the town walls. The painting shows the local landscape in the background, typical of Giorgione’s style.
We strolled through the narrow streets
then back onto the main square, taking in the imposing old buildings
and the magnificent castle walls
Only the passage of time has changed the scene with how Giorgione sketched it over five hundred years ago.
With heavy sighs, we returned to the 21st Century and a visit to the supermarket for our weekly shop. What would Giorgione have made of the abundance of food, modern packaging, canned music and electronic tills?
