They are the municipal police, Polizia Municipiale, as opposed to the state police, the Polizia, or the much more scary Carabiniere, who are part of the armed forces.
De Cecco is a good pasta, and the one we use. It’s well respected in Italy. For the spaghetti, exactly 12 minutes at a gently rolling boil works for us.
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Don’t overcook it (more vigorous and lid off is better, with plenty of water), do not forget to use the pasta water in the sauce, never let it dry, use good olive oil and only best sweet tomatoes.
Goes without saying, for best results water needs to be Acqua Panna Toscana!
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Ok, I’m set!!
Perhaps because of the water.
My first reaction to your second picture was ‘I’ve seen that before somewhere’.
I then remembered the David Bomberg picture (cropped below).
On further comparison there are a lot of differences but the feel is the same.
The Bomberg is Jerusalem, not Italy, so quite different. But it reminded me of Bomberg, who I love, so a nice thing 
Tony
We are off to Bologna in June with a friend who works in the wine trade who knows a lot about Italian wine. He has already made all the restaurant bookings in advance, so if you want I can email you with any thoughts and recommendations after we have been?
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defo al dente as it will cook on after draining plus quality olive oil. Sauces are a trade secret I am told. If I told she would have to kill me.
So …………………..
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That would be fantastic Keith!
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Absolutely don’t assume that the best food is in the most expensive or exclusive restaurants. The first time we went to Firenze we had a meal in the food market - very basic surroundings, but delightful food. That opened our eyes, and we have since sought out such locations, and never been disappointed. Then a few years ago we spent a week in Ischia: while there we had a fascinating and very enjoyable meal at a Michelin star restaurant - but the culinary highlight of that week, and by far the most memorably tasty even though very inexpensive, was from a café high up on Monte Epomeo, where I had bruschetta and my wife had the local speciality rabbit dish.
We drove to Tuscany and back last summer, for the third time since we met. New places we visited on the way were Reggia, where we had an utterly fantastic lunch of cold meat and cheese, and Modena. Bought 36-month aged Parmesan in the former, which is definitely a step up on the usual 24-month available in the UK, and rosé aceto balsamico in the latter which was not cheap but worth every penny. Only a drop or two needed.
Mrs Ebor bought a Bialetti coffee capsule machine in Milan which she loves. Shame you can only buy the capsules in Italy!
Montepulciano and Pienza were also highlights. San Gimignano, sadly, feels more like a Disney theme park every time we go. Lovely memories of 20 years ago, not so much now.
Absolutely right. Best food is from non tourist every day places. Look for the queue or at least we did in Naples
As an aside we had one of the most sublime eating experiences of our lives maybe 20 minutes outside Verona last year at this family run restaurant in the hills. But you do need a car or taxi to get there.
My friend tells me he used to take Rose Gray (one of the founding partners of the river cafe) there years ago, and the simply prepared food with local fresh ingredients inspired her in her cooking. Highly recommended.
Matera was used in the opening sequences of James Bond film,no time to die
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Enoteca della Valpolicella in Fumane is a place I know very well, I use to go there a few times during the year.
A reference of the Italian excellence in my opinion.
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I’m fortunate to visit Italy most years, one of my best friends lives in the countryside south of Rome near Velletri. It’s lovely to be able to explore this part of Italy with local knowledge. There are some really wonderful little restaurants tucked away in the countryside that you never find on your own.
A highlight of this area is the Museo Piana Delle Orme. It is a private museum mainly featuring artefacts from the agriculture of the area and WW2. It’s quite an extraordinary place on an old farm and well worth a visit if you are in the vicinity.
I believe they had a backlash in Italy during Covid where they published a scientifically proven way to make perfect pasta with less energy.
Boil vigorously for 2 mins.
Turn off heat
Put on lid
Rest in hot water for remaining cooking time plus 1 minute.
Didn’t go down well at all. Hit domestic sales severely for a while. Nevertheless I tried it and it works perfectly as claimed and always do it now to save energy.
To be honest, I find most of Europe to be equally utterly charming and horrid in equal measure including the UK. It’s all about where you go and how you view it. But you can tell a lot about a culture by the care taken to food preparation. Cooking is a form of pride and love and in my view the greater the respect a country has for the culinary arts, the more spiritually (not politically or technologically) civilized and enlightened.
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If you come around West Veneto, a coffee might be a nice idea.
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