On September 17-19th I went to visit my family in Ravenna. Ravenna is a city on the east coast of Italy and is 2 hours slightly northeast of Florence. It was the capital of the Western Roman Empire from 402-476BC and is famous for it's beautiful mosaic churches.
On Friday afternoon Carmen, Danielé, and their daughter Marika came to pick me up in Florence. This was the first time I met them in person (I keep in contact with Marika as well as her brother Manuel on Facebook) and they were extremely kind and welcoming. I met Carmen and Marika in front of Santa Croce and they were so excited to see me. They had big smiles on their faces and gave me a big hug, and kisses on the cheek. After we greeted one another we walked to their car where I met Danielé and we began our two hour drive to Ravenna. The drive was very interesting because it was the first time I really struggled with the language barrier. Carmen and Danielé speak very little English, and although Marika speaks English pretty well, she still had some difficulty understanding what I said, or translating Italian to English. On top of that, I had only had four Italian lessons at that point so I barely knew anything and was basically helpless. Despite the difficulty, we were still able to communicate and had a nice conversation on our way there.
When we arrived in Ravenna it was around 5:30pm. Their house is located in a suburban area of the city and is setup very differently from a typical American home. It is two stories and the entire family lives there. Danielé, Carmen and their two children Marika and Manuel live on the top floor, and Carmen's parents Alfonsina and Antonio, and her brother Davide along with his wife Sabrina and son Mattia live next to each other (but separately) on the bottom floor. Here is a picture of my family:
Top row: Alfonsina, Antonio, Marika (16), Manuel (20), Carmen, Daniele
Bottom Row: Davide, Mattia (5),
The first thing we did when we got to their house was say hello to Alfonsina and Antonio. When we walked in the door I was immediately greeted by Alfonsina. She was just as excited to see me as Carmen and Marika were when I met them in Florence. She gave me a big hug and a kiss and although she speaks even less English than Carmen and Daniele, I had no problem detecting the word "mangia" as soon as it crossed her lips. She ushered me into the kitchen, sat me down at the table, poured me some water and brought out a tray of delicious mini pastries. I ate one, but of course she insisted that I eat another... and another. I had three and each one was even more delicious than the one before. After a few minutes of chatting with everyone Carmen, Davide, Marika and I headed up to their part of the house. They showed me to my room (Manuel was kind enough to let me stay in his room for the weekend) and I took a nap.
When I woke up it was time for dinner. We all gathered at the table, including Manuel who had just gotten home from work, and began eating. For our first course we had risotto with a really yummy seasoning and for our second course we had a chicken cutlet. Both were delicious and were a nice change from my typical diet of salami, bread and brie. For dessert we had a type of fruit I had never had before. It was called giuggiole. It’s a small fruit that tastes like a mix between a grape and an apple. I liked it so much that Daniele picked a bunch from their tree and gave me two bags of them to take home. After dinner I went out to a bar with Marika, Manuel and a bunch of his friends. Even though no one except Manuel and Marika could speak English everyone was very friendly and I had a good time.
On Saturday morning I woke up and we all sat down for breakfast together. We had an assortment of delicious pastries as well as some crispy wafers with nutella spread on top. After breakfast Marika took me on a tour of Ravenna. We took a bus into the city center, walked around for a little bit and then made our way to the church of San Vitale. The church was very dark inside and had a very ancient feel to it. It was also the first church I had seen that was filled with mosaics, and it was absolutely beautiful.
The next church we went to was Sant'Apollinare Nuovo. This church was much brighter inside and felt more modern than San Vitale. It was also filled with mosaics, but only along the side panels. It was beautiful as well, but not as breathtaking (in my opinion) as San Vitale.
After visiting the church we went to Marika's high school to visit her friends who had just gotten out of class. (Yes, they have school on Saturday's, but Marika ditched so that she could show me around.) When we arrived I observed a scene that was very different from what you would see outside of a typical American high school. All of the kids were gathered in front of the school smoking their cigarettes, drinking bottles of beer, and riding around recklessly on their motorbikes. It was absolutely crazy! I couldn't believe that they were allowed to do these things!
We chatted with Marika's friends for a while (they were all very nice and were amazed that I was from California! lol) and then headed back home for lunch. Carmen made a dish which Ravenna is famous for: cappaelletti. Cappaelletti is a type of pasta noodle that is filled with cheese. Our cappaelletti had a tomato sauce on top and was very good. For the next course we had caprese and for dessert we had cherry gelato. As usual, it was all very yummy.
When we finished lunch it stopped raining (it had been raining on an off all day) so Daniele, Carmen, and Marika decided to take me to a little beach town 20 minutes away from Ravenna named Milano Maritima. Apparently it is a city where celebrities visit and many rich people live. The city was very green and had tons of beautiful pine trees that lined the streets. Marika told me that the type of pine tree is called "pinamaritima" and that it is unique to the area. There were a bunch of cute little houses and many roundabouts that each had a little park with a different theme located in the middle of it. We drove around for about 20 minutes and got out of the car once in order to walk down to the beach. It was filled with brightly colored lounge chairs and umbrellas, and there were even a few children’s playgrounds. The water was much darker (not turquoise blue like Cinque Terre) and very choppy. I’m not sure if this was because of the recent rainy weather or because it is the Adriatic Sea (and not the Mediterranean), but it was very different from the other beaches I have seen in Italy. We enjoyed the beach for a few minutes, and then headed home.
After waking up from a nap after a long day of site-seeing, it was time for dinner. Carmen made yet another dish that is famous in Ravenna, called piadina. Piadina is a type of flat bread and is usually filled with a variety of meats, cheeses and fillings. Carmen made piadina with three types of fillings: spinach and cheese, prosciutto and cheese, and tomato and cheese. All were very yummy, but I liked the prosciutto and cheese piadina the best. For dessert we had piadina with nutella. The combination of the salty bread with the sweet nutella was delicious!
When we finished dinner we went downstairs to enjoy the company of the entire family. Here I met Carmen’s brother Davide, his wife Sabrina and their son Mattia. Davide and Sabrina were very kind and Mattia was absolutely adorable. He is five years old, very playful and he loves Lady Gaga. He even sang a few lines for me! For the next few hours we all just sat down together, talking, laughing and enjoying one another’s company. Even though I couldn’t contribute very much to the conversation, I felt very relaxed and at home. I couldn’t stop smiling and thinking about how much I was enjoying myself. It truly felt like a home away from home and I didn’t want to leave.
Sunday was my last day in Ravenna... and it started off on a high note. We had the BEST breakfast I have had since arriving in Italy. It was called bomboloni. Bomboloni are basically doughnuts filled with nutella that have sugar, powered sugar, and cinnamon sprinkled on top. It was absolutely DELICIOUS. I had to take a picture. My family was laughing at me when I took it, but I had to document this amazing meal!
I only had one, but I wanted to eat them all! lol. Thankfully there were 5 left over so Carmen was kind enough to send them back to Florence with me, and my roommates and I shared them for breakfast on Monday morning.
After breakfast Marika and Manuel took me to visit the marina of Ravenna. Because the weather was poor we only drove around, but I thoroughly enjoyed our drive. Pine trees were everywhere. They grew in such a way that they made arches over the streets so as we drove around the marina it was like driving through a tunnel of pine trees. It was so green and beautiful. I loved it.
When we got back, Marika and my Uncle Davide took me to the most famous church in Ravenna: Sant'Apollinare in Classe. Out of the three churches I had visited in Ravenna, this one was the most impressive. The entire front of the church is one large mosaic and all the gold color is real gold! Considering half the dome is made of gold tiles, it must have been one expensive project!
After we visited the church we went to the city center (where Marika and I had been the day before) to see Dante Aligheri's grave. For those of you who don't know who Dante is, he was a famous writer who wrote the Divine Comedy which includes Dante's Inferno. I read this book in my AP English class in high school so it was kinda cool getting to see where Dante is buried.
When we got back to the house it was time for lunch. For special occasions Alfonsina, Antonio and their grandchildren (Manuel, Marika and Mattia) gather for a nice lunch prepared by Alfonsina. They considered my visit a special occasion so we all got to enjoy a nice lunch together. For the first course we had Alfonsina’s homemade lasagna. Now, I am not usually a big fan of lasagna, but this was the BEST lasagna I have EVER had. It was absolutely DELICOUS. Layered in between the spinach lasagna noodles was a perfect amount of cheese and ground beef. The combination of flavors was amazing and each bite melted in my mouth. I was so happy she gave me a large portion because I didn’t want it to end! After I finished my lasagna I was starting to get full, but not surprisingly there was still more to come. For the next two courses we had caprese and an assortment of cheeses and meats. Alfonsina served me a large portion of caprese and kept encouraging me to have some more meat and cheese. I had to ask Manuel multiple times how to say “I am full” in Italian, but it was useless because she just kept telling me to eat more! After finishing what was on my plate I was stuffed, but the meal still wasn’t finished. Alfonsina brought out some cantaloupe for dessert and told me to wrap it in prosciutto. This is something I love at home, and I didn’t want to be rude, so of course I did as she said! By then I felt like I had just finished a Thanksgiving dinner, but Alfonsina made a pot of cappuccino which I wanted to try, so I finished off my feast with a splash of liquid heaven.
After I finished my meal and thanked Alfonsina profusely I waddled up to the second floor and grabbed my things because it was time to head back to Florence. After we all said goodbye and took a few pictures together, (and Daniele picked me some grapes from their tree!) Carmen, Alfonsina, Marika and I hopped in the car and began our 3 hour drive. Because the traffic is very bad on Sunday afternoon’s we took a different route than we did on our way to Ravenna and drove through the mountains on a long and windy road. Normally I wouldn’t like this very much, but the drive was breathtaking so I didn’t mind. The mountains were covered with beautiful green trees, the sun was shining, and the sky was blue and dotted with puffy white clouds. I wanted to capture the beauty so I took a little video:
When we finally arrived in Florence I said goodbye to my family, thanked them for an incredible weekend and then headed back to my apartment. As I was walking back, arms full of the goodies they had sent home with me (grapes, giuggiole, piadina, and bomboloni) I couldn't help but reflect on my amazing weekend. Every minute I was with my family in Ravenna I could feel the love around me. The hugs and kisses, the frequent family get together's, the home made meals, the smiles and laughter, the kindness they showed one another (as well as myself): everything they did was overflowing with love and it felt so amazing to be a part of it all. It definitely reminded me of my family at home. It made me feel so thankful that we treasure these concepts of love and family as much as they do in the Italian culture...because I know I wouldn't be the same person without them.
