Amazing Italy:
Enjoying Rovigo and its cuisine with Maria
Cristina Buoso (Part 6)
by Maria Teresa De Donato
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Dearest friends,
a new year has begun, and friend
and fellow author and blogger Maria Cristina Buoso came to revisit us with more exciting
information about her Rovigo di lei.
So let's enjoy, even if only virtually, the city of her and some
other delicacies of the local cuisine.
Enjoy the reading!
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MTDD: Hello,
Maria Cristina, and thank you for being here with us again today.
MCB: Thanks to you, Maria Teresa. It is always a pleasure to be your
guest.
MTDD: Maria
Cristina, what aspect or event concerning your beloved city would you like to
talk to us about today?
MCB: Today, I wanted to tell you about the
Rovigo Fair.
The Rovigo Fair, known as Rovigo October, has been held for over
five hundred years and represents an important opportunity for commerce and
social gathering in the city.
I will mention some essential passages of its history because it
is complex and lengthy.
MTDD: Sounds excellent. Tell us everything.
MCB: The Rovigo Fair was born in 1482, the
year in which the city came under the control of the Serenissima before it was under the Este dominion, which
had exasperated the city with harsh and violent misgovernment. Thus, the
citizens turned to the doge Giovanni Mocenigo to voluntarily submit to the
authority of the Serenissima and hope for a less burdensome life.
For hundreds of years, it was
one of the most important fairs in the Veneto region, and from 1487, the date
was moved several times to favor Venetian merchants and to allow farmers and
traders to have their goods in time to bring them to the fair. In 1524, at the
'request' of the merchants of Venice, the date was set on October 20, starting
at 2 pm for eight days; it was also famous for the horses and cattle of
selected breeds owned by the nobles.
MTDD: How
was it organized?
MCB: The shops were in the middle of the
square and under the arcades; there were also musical events in the Lavezzo
Theater (today, Social Theater).
In 1669 the "free market" was established, so
called because that day was free from duties and gabelles, which exhibitors
paid for the spaces occupied (in dialect "Marti Franco"). They
decided that the day of the franc market should be the first Tuesday after
October 20.
In that historical period, the fair also had a critical
aggregation role for the Jews who lived in the city because it allowed them to
trade in those days like everyone else. Trade was forbidden to Jews for the
rest of the year.
In the following years and
centuries, there were many different changes: we went from bullfighting with bulls
through the city streets (around the 16th century) to the passion for
melodrama (in the 17th century) and many other peculiarities that I invite you
to read in the various links which I leave at the end as usual.
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MTDD: Have
there been any changes over time?
MCB: Yes. More recently, the fair has become
open to the whole family for various reasons. It was possible to buy goods at a
lower price than in the shop and find others that are difficult to see in the
different city shops. The children went on the rides while the parents got lost
among the stalls that started from the city's main squares to the court where
the rides were located. The fathers often stopped to admire the machinery
related to agriculture; there was a lot of movement and many people in the streets.
In recent years, the fair has
undergone other logistical and customary changes.
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The square where the rides are
located is now the headquarters of the new Police Headquarters, and these have
been moved in front of the Censer, a former sugar factory.
The stalls that started from
Piazza Garibaldi and reached the square where the rides were located have
disappeared. Many have moved to another area, and others have never come. Covid
has contributed, together with this year's energy crisis, to drastically
reducing the number of participants.
But it always remains a festive
appointment that everyone awaits, hoping to have fun alone or in company.
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https://rovigo.italiani.it/fiera-di-october/
https://www.ventaglio90.it/la-fiera-di-rovigo-un-evento-che-risale-al-1482/
https://www.rovigoinfocitta.it/marti-franco.-a-rovigo-the-tradition-of-october/
MTDD: Unfortunately,
the emergency has also caused many problems for the economy, and this is at a
global level. I am happy to know that, despite everything, Rovigo has kept this
ancient tradition more or less intact.
Moving on to something else... You are about to offer us another
succulent recipe from your city, aren’t you?
MCB: Indeed, you are correct! 😊
MTDD: What
are you delighting us with today?
MCB: With polenta infasolà.
RECIPE
Polenta infasolà (polenta with
beans)
Minor premise: polenta in
Polesine and Veneto is fundamental, and in the winter, it is combined with many
dishes. I have already told you a little about how vital polenta is in Veneto
and Rovigo.
This recipe is so typical that
it changes its name according to where it is made: in Venice, it is called sughi dei Fasioi (beans in Italian).
There are several variations; I'm going by heart...
You need more or less 300 gr. of dried beans for four people,
but you can also abound if you want (in my house, we never weigh them). 😊
These are usually borlotti beans: they are left to soak in water
for 12 hours (one night) or even 24 hours. In my house, usually a great night.
Now I'm writing you with two variations; you choose the one you
prefer according to your taste.
In the first version
Add bay leaves and garlic to the
beans; boil for about 2 hours with ribs and pork trotter.
At the end of cooking, the meat is removed from the pot and
stripped of its meat. The broth is used to make the "polenta infasolà."
The "Infasolà" polenta: the yellow flour is thrown
into the hot broth, bearing in mind that it is slightly less than the amount
envisaged for classic polenta; mix in the cauldron and at the end (about the
last 10 minutes), pour in several whole beans and pepper to taste. Then serve
the dish on a plate.
Add the meat removed earlier.
In the second version
Separately, put the chopped bacon (about 100 g) in a pan with
oil and half a chopped onion (you can also use butter if you want) and add
plenty of water, salt, rosemary and sage leaves, and the beans.
Once everything is ready (about
3 hours), reduce the water if it is too much and add the corn flour (about 3
ounces) and mix everything until it is ready (about 30/45 minutes). It is
excellent, both hot and cold.
Alternatively, you can add the polenta flour to the water in
which you cooked the beans.
You will undoubtedly find other versions on the net. I haven't
had it for years, and I've tried to remember it as best I can.
However, I prefer the first version, and you?
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Image from web
https://www.veneziepost.it/la-polenta-infasola-e-i-papaiti/
https://rovigo.italiani.it/la-polenta-infasola-la-semplicita-e-il-gusto-per-tutti/
https://www.dolcidee.it/ricette/dolcine/polenta-infasola
MTDD: Thank
you, Maria Cristina, for describing the Rovigo Fair and the recipe you
presented to us today.
MCB: Thank you, Maria Teresa. Our readers
will be able to enjoy the article and the polenta prepared in this way.
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