Amazing Italy:
Visiting Villa Morosini with Maria Cristina Buoso
by Maria Teresa De Donato
Our journey in Amazing Italy with
our dear friend Maria Cristina, Author and Blogger,
continues with other precious pearls of her Region: Veneto.
I wish you all a good
read!
MTDD:
Hello, Maria Cristina, and welcome back to my Virtual Cultural Salon.
MCB: Thank
you, Maria Teresa, for the invitation. It is always a pleasure to be your
guest.
MTDD: Maria
Cristina, after getting to know your city, Rovigo, quite well, we moved on to
examine other areas and tourist attractions of your region.
Today,
shall we continue with the tour of the Villas?
MCB: Yes.
Today, I would like to introduce you to Villa Morosini.
MTDD: Very well!
What
can you tell us about this Villa, and why, in your opinion, is it worth
visiting?
MCB: Villa
Morosini, also called Ca' Morosini, is located about one kilometer from the
center of Polesella, in the province of Rovigo, along the left bank of the Po
River, and is one of the most important and beautiful villas in the Polesine
area. It was built in the seventeenth century and renovated in 1700. Pietro
Morosini commissioned it, later becoming his son's summer residence, the Doge
of Venice Francesco Morosini, known as the Peloponnesiaco. The
construction project is attributed to the architect Vincenzo Scamozzi.
MTDD:
What are its most notable architectural features?
MCB: In
the facade, this Villa integrates elements typical of neoclassical
architecture, pronaos with pediment, with those of Baroque architecture,
pediment, and fastigium. The large staircase was originally on the Po River and
directly connected with Venice. The successive raising of the barrier to
protect the plain from river flooding changed the Villa's perspective, which
today seems partially hidden by the embankment. After a careful restoration,
Villa Morosini has become a permanent home to an important art gallery, and
there are often cultural events also at a national level.
It is possible to admire
the original "living room" where Peggy Guggenheim entertained herself
with the most famous Venetian artists of the time. We can also find the works
of Mario Cavaglieri from Rovigo and admire the suggestive stucco room.
web photo
MTDD: Very
interesting. Thank you, Maria Cristina, for all your research and the
information you provide to our readers.
MCB: Thank
you. It is always a pleasure. For those who wish, you can find more information
on the following websites:
https://www.giornatavillevenete.it/villa-morosini-il-tesoro-lungo-il-fiume/
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Morosini_(Polesella)
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MTDD: Shall we conclude today with one of your delicious local recipes? And if yes, which one?
MCB: Of
course! Today, I propose Venetian Carnival Fritters.
Recipe
Venetian
Carnival Fritters
They are soft; they have
a leavened dough with pine nuts and raisins; it is an ancient recipe, and they
are called fritole in the dialect. Pine nuts were not used in my house
because they were expensive and there was no money, so only raisins. The file
recipe is ancient; it dates back to the sixteenth century when Bartolomeo
Scappi, the personal chef of Pope Pius V, wrote the "official"
version. Until the end of the nineteenth century, these fritters were prepared
by real professionals gathered in a corporation - the fritoleri - and sold on
the street or in shops that sold sweets and wine, the malvasia. There are now
several versions ...
Ingredients
for 35-40 pancakes
500 g of strong flour
25 g of fresh brewer's
yeast
150 g of warm milk 80 g
of butter
2 large eggs at room
temperature 80 g of granulated sugar
50 g of grappa (or white
wine)
120 g of sultanas 100 g
of pine nuts (if you don't want to use them, that's fine, too)
1 vanilla pod
(alternatively, extract if you don't use it)
Salt, peanut oil for
frying, icing sugar for decorating
Preparation
Dissolve the brewer's
yeast in half a glass of warm milk and pour into a large bowl in which you add
the lightly beaten eggs, the melted and cold butter, the remaining milk, the
grappa, the sugar, the vanilla seeds extracted from the pod and a pinch of salt,
flour. Mix with a fork to mix the various ingredients well and then help
yourself with your hands to work the mixture (alternatively, if you want, use
the planetary mixer, my mother and I did them by hand); then add pine nuts,
raisins soaked in water (I used white wine because we didn't use grappa);
squeeze and continue to knead by hand until you get a nice shiny and
homogeneous ball; let it rest for leavening in a covered bowl for 2 to 4 hours.
The dough should have doubled in size.
Use a spoon to help
yourself form pieces a little bigger than a walnut. Fry them in plenty of oil
at 170°. Drain them from the oil and sprinkle them with icing sugar or
granulated sugar.
Enjoy your meal!
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