I husbanded my time today; knowing that the key thing was to turn up for the 3:49 TGV to Rome. I started out walking past my favorite stalls between San Lorenzo and the Mercato Centale, where I’ve bought many a belt and football shirt (Kaka, Materazzi & Rinaldo being the latest.) I was actually looking for sweat pants, since the draw string in mine had broken and the skinny guy who’s our President advised the youth of America on MTV - “Brothers, pull your pants up.” But no such product was there.
So I went to two fabulous art shows, each of which had the same basis; to take a great and venerated work of art, clean it carefully, restore it in the modern fashion (Italian rules please) and set it in context where folk can come in and gawk to their hearts’ delight without fighting those awful lines at the Uffizi or Palazzo Pitti, etc. Smart huh? Why don’t we do it? The first stop was at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi where until March 1st one can see how they restored the Raphael Madonna del Cardelino (Goldfinch) now hung alone but in front of four other works, two by Raphael and one by Della Robbia.) Quite impressive for a work that was shattered in 17 parts after a mudslide.
The second was the pair of Donatello Davids at the Bargello, there until November 2009. I say pair, because the original, warts, chips and all, albeit cleaned up, is on a low base, easily seen at almost eye-level and just a few feet behind it is another (new) casting with the gold leaf and on a high base, just as it was originally. I know they’re the same, but I couldn’t stop looking at them juxtaposed; it may have been the most peaceful 30 or 40 minutes of my life and I almost stayed all day. It helps that there’s a series of videos playing a few feet away with really almost inaudible but terribly soothing music playing.
But food beckoned, specifically a place recommended by three different experts (one American, one French and one Italian) – the Trattoria Cibrèo (not to be confused with the food shop, café or restaurant of the same name, far less, the tripes sandwicherie cart in front – the block is sort of like that, that Zabar’s gradually took over.) The place opens at 12:50 on the dot, there’s a line outside at 12:45, like Mary’s Fish Camp and one almost scrambles for a seat (while I was warned there were only 5-6 tables, actually there are 8, seating 30 covers, and even if you lose out here, the bigger resto will accommodate you).
The front window is bedecked with Slow Food/Osterie stickers with one other from a fish award association. So I ordered the fish soup that came with a bread toast topped with shredded cheese but without the rouille (as in France). It was superb; tasty, dense and spicy. Then I had a most unusual dish; what must have been quenelle-like chicken liver mousse slices that had a really distinctive sharp taste with a sauce the color of mustard that wasn’t. At the side of the plate was a genuine cooked cock’s head with comb and it came with divine potatoes cooked with tomatoes and carrots. I ended with the flourless chocolate tart. With wine, water, a grappa but no coffee the bill was 33 E (no credit cards – sorry.)
I had a little time before my train departed so I ducked into a photography show dedicated to the photography process – I Macchiaoli, which I’d never heard of and was not impressed enough with their bright color patches, to pursue study thereof. The trip was full of hassles, largely in communication, but by 7 PM I was safely at the Congress hotel, located like a modern castle on a hill halfway between the Sacred City and Fiumicino.
One of my hosts put together a dinner at the Teatro del Vino in the 4 story Gambero Rosso Citta del Gusto (Taste Town), which also houses a cooking school (in full swing at 11 PM), a TV stage, bookstore and so forth. We started with different things: I really liked my bucantini (giant spaghetti the Romans favor) with a pancetta/tomato/etc sauce; others liked their gnocchi and tripes. The 5 of us then more or less shared several platters of cured meats, cheeses and smoked fish; all were top-rate products. With wine, lots of water, two delicious desserts and no coffee the bill was 33.70 Euros each.
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