I've finished my first week of classes (no classes on Fridays, finally!) and I will go into more detail about them in another post. I just wanted to talk about my first one on Monday, Current Trends in Italian Cuisine. My professor gave the class a small tour of Florence before coming back and making a delicious and quick pasta dish. She gave us a lot of historical information about places around the city, which I will pass along to you (to the best of my ability):
Italians come here to buy the candy-coated almonds that are traditional to have at weddings.
Caffe Gilli is a historical coffee and pastry shop located in the Piazza della Repubblica. There are actually qualifications to become "historical": the shop must be owned by the same owner or family, sell the same products, and be in the same location for at least 150 years.
The historical Giubbe Rosse restaurant, also located in Piazza della Repubblica, is not known for its food (apparently it has gone downhill). However, during the time of Futurism and Cubism, many famous artists, writers, and intellectuals frequented the caffe. Artists still hang out here and sometimes they have poetry readings.
The Piazza della Repubblica was completely redone when Florence was the capital of Italy, and they also removed the ghettos that surrounded the square.
The Nerbone is a shop in the Mercato Centrale, which was moved from the Piazza della Repubblica when they rebuilt it. They made the ceiling glass to keep the feeling of being outside, as having an indoor market was very modern for its time. The ceiling is covered up now because they are doing construction on the second floor, which is where the fruit and vegetable stores will go. This shop has been here basically since the new Mercato Centrale was built, in 1872. Then, all the stores were grouped by what they sold because they were not afraid of competition (so customers could easily find the best price), but it is not as organized anymore.
Another store that has been here for a while (since 1898) is the Bar Bellini, which still has great coffee that is pretty cheap. One reason why their coffee is so good is because they open very early, so the cappuccino machines run longer and the coffee gets better.
On the right you can see trippa, or tripe. For those of you who don't know what tripe is, it is the stomach of animals. Tripe was considered poor people's food, because it is cheap and you get a lot of protein. Our professor said we have to try a tripe sandwich at the Nerbone.
Gelateria Perche No!... has been here since 1939 (you can see the year in the corner). They survived staying in business during the Second World War by creating gelato using very few ingredients, only egg whites and apple sauce. The interior remains in the 50's decor and their gelato is still "artigianale" or made with fresh ingredients. This is one reason why gelato is different (and better!) than American ice cream. Also, gelato uses less sugar and incorporates just enough air when it is mixed (not too much, which is why American ice cream forms crystals when it stays in the freezer).
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