We usually think of darkness, fog, rain, mist, night as things that conceal and foster mystery. That calculus is turned on its head in Venice, where night and weather reveal the mystery, the romance rather than obscure them.
Category Archives: Veneto
Ca’ Lojera
One of the great parts of the Lugana wine district is the lovely way these fantastic buildings and vineyards are integrated into a busy region close to big cities like Brescia and Verona. Lots of boats, a lovely lake, tourists from other parts of the EU, and some of the best white wines in the world. We took this at Ca’ Lojera as we wrapped a lovely day tasting and exploring.
Soave Olives
Massimo, il Chirugo! (Massimo the Surgeon!)
Our friend Massimo at Burano’s off-the-beaten-path but storied Trattoria da Romano never fails to impress with his craftsmanship tableside; one of the great things about Italy is the pride and professionalism undertaken by people in all walks of life, particularly in regard to the art that is food preparation and presentation.
Massimo is a fine example. Hungry? We are!
On The Wine Trails Of Italy: Monte Tondo
Sassi Italy Tours is really versed in guiding folks through “must see” Italy–the cultural heritage and art history treasures of Rome, Florence, Venice, Pisa, Pompeii, etc, thanks to Doug Sassi’s encyclopedic knowledge of the Renaissance and Italy itself–but now we’re expanding our repertoire. We’ve made contacts (friends we haven’t met, really) in Italy in places we think best represent its aesthetic and culinary palates and its unbeatable viticultural pursuits (a fancy way of saying where great wine is made!). This fall we’re going to explore a few of these places in depth and “interview” them to make sure our take on them as places you the traveler *need* to see is accurate; watch this space as we add the food and wine trails of Italy (well off the usual tourist track, no doubt!) to our list of places we know in depth and can recommend whole-heartedly to the discerning traveler who wants an artisanal Italy experience close to the land, the people, the things that make its countryside like no other in the world.
One of the places we’re going:
Soave
One of the fun parts of writing about Italy, Italian wine, Italian food, Italian people, and going over there regularly is that sensation that you’re never quite seeing it all. There’s so much to see just beyond the typical tourist track!
Our focus is seeing places we haven’t seen before and forging new friendships; one of the ones we’ve struck up recently is a winery in Soave that we’re going to spend some time investigating and reviewing and documenting for you; you’ll see here posts soon reporting back from new spots on the Italian wine and food trail that you need to know about. We like to know where we’re recommending clients to visit! Looking at other places to visit in the Garganega capital of the world I saw this lovely video on YouTube, and thought you might enjoy.
Linguine al’Astice
At one of our favorite places in Venice. Craving this right now. Bet your dinner doesn’t look this good :). Is that rubbing it in? Come get a plate with us! We have never had a client come here who failed to record this as one of their best meals ever, bar none.
Ghost Island in the lagoon
From the vaporetto on the way to Burano, a unique fixer-upper opportunity. Sassi Italy Tours now accepting proposals from qualified suitors to help adopt this island and restore it.
Che Male!
Sorry to see this; the world, like it or not, is changing, and some of that change is, and is going to be, scary and come in the form of some rather unusual and dramatic inclement weather. But people in this part of the world have always been fighting back against the advance of the sea, and know how to handle weather related adversary. I’m sure they will bounce back!
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