Italian Paper mache or Carta Cartapesta




A true family business passed on to the younger Baldari

Do you  remember ‘art’ projects as a child that involved strips of newspaper and paste made from flour and water?  The practice of the "cartapesta” (paper mache)  has been practiced as art form in Lecce Italy for centuries.  

Used as an inexpensive substitute for plaster, stone or wood; paper ‘carvings’ were popular for church statues and embellishments.   A multi-step process that is now duplicated by machines in competing countries, Lecce continues to celebrate skilled artists of cartapesta and Yle Sambati arranged my private visit to meet maestro Baldari in his city labororatorio.

stock photo

I was fortunate to meet the family Baldari who have created pieces of art for years and are famous for their skill.   Although it was very cold outside Sig Baldari was kind enough to show me how the paper was created, pressed and dried.
His mother demonstrated how to create a figure from the sheets of the handmade, angles or religious figures.   It was amazing to watch her work so quickly.

On a quiet street near the center of Lecce I entered a stone gateway to a large open court yard.   The space was set up as a small assembly line where the entire family worked to produce the paper and the figurine or ornament that would become a family or church treasure.

Here is a time that a video tells a 1,000 word.  

Italian School Children on a field trip

 

There are countless daily events that make me smile when I am in Italy!  

 

 

 Monuments, fountains, historic buildings are not the only remarkable things to see.

Always LOOK UP, LOOK down the side street and stop at a LOCAL store.

 

 

Southern Italy Travel Puglia Part I

  Southern Italy Travel

       The big 3, Roma, Firenze and Venezia, are the most visited cities in Italy but exciting alternatives await you in less know Southern Italy    Having never traveled south of Naples it was a new adventure to explore the Salento  the past two years. 


        Puglia does not receive much, if any coverage in tour books.   Cities in Puglia are smaller, towns along the coast cling to the edge of cliffs, and thousands of olive trees stand like soldiers along the country roadways.         What cannot be captured by a camera is the impossible

blue color of the sky early in the mornings and the glow of the honey colored stone that is intricately carved to embellish the countless churches
in Lecce.  

                                                                              
      You may need to consult a map to find the towns of Puglia:  Lecce, Gallipoli, Oltrano, Bari, and Brindisi, the Unesco World Heritage sites of Alberobello or Castel del Monte.  These are only a few of the many unique and welcoming towns and villages throughout Puglia.    
Closer to northern Africa than Europe, the history of Puglia may reflect this in the architecture and the cooking traditions.  The food of Puglia is based on the Mediterranean diet:  fresh produce, wonderful olive oil and wine.                                                                           


Cooking classes or entire cooking holidays incorporate the products of the local wineries, olive oil farms and local farmers.
This is not an area of only art and museums.   Travelers seeking an active adventure can dive in the Adriatic on the coast of Puglia, bike on the roads along the sea or into the interior or hike in the national park.   

                                           Photo courtesy of Yltour

I found Puglia to be a part of Italy where meeting the local tradesmen, master pastry chef, artisans, wine growers and olive oil producers to be the captivating part of a visit. 

Consider exploring Puglia with the help of a local expert who has spent many years creating ‘travel adventures for her guests’.   Yle Sambati established yltour.com to offer visitors to her native region  a complete exposure to The Salento.     A specialized tour will be created based on your special interests, budget, group size, dates or itinerary.

Contact Yle for your special travel 'wish'...

ylenia (info@yltourcongressi.com)                                                                                                 

Italy: shopping the market with Mamma

This is day four of my adventure in Lecce, Italy and I want to introduce you to Momma Anna.
I will be featuring Mama A every month.   Soon we will have skype calls with Momma where you can ask all the questions about Italy that are not in the tour books.

Why do men live at home until the are in their 30's?

Do you cook lunch for everyone EVERY day?

Mamma, how do I remove red sauce from my table cloth?

Start saving your questions for Ciao Momma, coming soon.

Mamma A took me to the local produce market that she shops in a few times a week.  FRESH food is mandatory.     I will post a visit to the supermercato with Yle later, but visiting the local market was far more exciting.   Vendors were calling to each other, lovingly presenting their wares and the easy banter with customers felt perfect.  Even while I took photos during our visit everyone was freindly and greeted me as if I were a regular!

selecting olives

s

today's cheese and 'cold cuts'

So much better than my local Kroger store!

Italy, shopping the market for lunch with momma anna

This is day four of my adventure in Lecce, Italy and I want to introduce you to Momma Anna.

We went to the market to purchase items for lunch.  Don't miss her video on home made pasta!

I will be featuring Momma A every month.   Soon we will have skype calls with Momma where you can ask all the questions about Italy that are not in the tour books.

Why do men live at home until the are in their 30's?
Do you cook lunch for everyone EVERY day?
Momma, how do I remove red sauce from my table cloth?
Start saving your questions for Ciao Momma, coming soon.

Italy, Food, Wine, Travel......what is not to like.

Room for only 12 but not the last supper.....

You do not have to be an Italian American to dream of visiting Italy

And you do not have to travel only as a tourist, visiting the BIG THREE, Rome- Venice- Florence.   Love to cook?  Love Italian food?  Then visit PULGIA, one of the secrets of Italy!     Combine this adventure with a unique immersion in Italian food and culture with the Food & Wine Lover’s Journey in Puglia...

Your instructor Kathy Ayer

Personal Chef,  Food & Travel writer, culinary Instructor, Kathy Ayer will be your guide through this wonderful adventure of food, lifestyle, culture and traditions of Puglia.     Ms. Ayer, with the help of Lecce native, Ylenia   Sambati of YLTours, created a special 9-day/8-night   food and wine tour.

Offered on September 1 through 9^th, 2012, Ms Ayer describes the event,  “ You will not only taste the many delicacies of the region, but you'll also cook them! “   This is far more than a ‘cooking class’, the lucky 12 participants will reside at the elegant-rustic Masseria Provenzanni,   http://bit.ly/NO8Ttk    located outside of the Baroque city of Lecce and close to the sea and experience the best that Puglia has  to offer.       

                                                                   

                                                                                               

Your stay is scheduled with cooking lessons, demonstrations, wine and olive oil tastings,   guided tours of many local towns and villages, home cooked meals, visits to the local market, gelato and pastry shops.  There will also be time to enjoy the beach or relax at the pool at the Masseria Provenzanni.    All your arrangements are provide as well as a local guide. 

“Imagine preparing local seasonal dishes at a winery and then dining on these dishes with the local wines.   Making handmade Pugliese pasta and traditional meals with an Italian mamma. Watching fresh cheese being made and digging into the still-warm freshly-made, creamy ricotta. Sampling seafood right out of its shell just minutes after it's been caught. Visiting a pastry shop to learn about the sweet side of Salento, with samples, of course. Walking tours of Baroque Lecce, the fisherman's village of Gallipoli, the seaside resort town of Otranto, the Trulli of the Itria Valley and the "white city" of Ostuni. These are just a few of the highlights of this trip, and there's so much more...” is how Ms Ayer describes this event.

Italian case a corte. Do you know what this is?

In Italy, have you heard of a court house?    Out friend Yle was telling me about a ‘court house’ in Lecce that would be perfect for my next stay,  ……….    

She explained a court house is the typical "case a corte" in Lecce with pietra leccese (lecce stone). 

 

Case a corte, houses with courtyards are typical of the Mediterranean area . They can be found in small villages and towns. They often have a large front door leading onto the courtyard with several houses around the courtyard.

Sometimes, they have a back garden. The main element is the courtyard where in the old days families and neighbors used to meet and socialize, telling stories and passing their traditional culture to the younger generations.

What towns have you visited that have casa a corte?    I have noticed in Naples where there are apartment buildings and little space for gardens, that families and entire neighborhoods use the street as their ‘living room’.   Everyone socializes out in the street with chairs and tables set up in the narrow lanes.  All the balconies are ‘perches’ for conversations across alleys.

2012 Language Immersion Tour in Puglia: August 19th – 26th :: Diario di una studentessa matta

Wish I could be part of the group planning this wonderful language adventure in Puglia this August
I have toured the "farm" they are staying in and it is the ultimate country luxury!

Think about joining Yle and Mellisa on this great adventue in Puglia, Italy

Review the wonderful list of event.  I have visited the
2012 Language Immersion Tour in Puglia: August 19th – 26th :: Diario di una studentessa matta:

Gelato! A food group all it's own!

Perhaps I LOVE ice cream because of my Italian blood.........and it is really gelato I am looking for every time I stop at an ice cream store.       When home in Italy each year  I taste gelato in every town I visit in Italy.   I have my favorite gelato stores and flavors that I visit every time I go home to Italy.     Yes it is different in EVERY town and EVERY store.   And I am sorry to tell my 23 million Italian American friends, nothing in the USA comes close to gelato in Italy!

Un’arte tutta italiana: il gelato, Yle

Creamy, swirls of gelato 

When clients ask me for a spring culinary experience I often suggest for them to assist in a GELATO demo and learn what Italians gelato makers do and how artisanal gelato is made. 

And when it is about making it (gelato) with some nice friends and learn this Italian art, the answer cannot be anything but positive. 

Last time I saw Luca, the gelato maker, he made me taste a gorgeous fruity gelato and that was at that time that I thought my clients would have loved it. On several occasions, during my USA visits, I have tasted gelato, but have been  disappointed by the quantity of sugar used in it.    In some cases I tought it was a bubble gum rather than a gelato and could not finish my serving.

What makes Luca’s Gelato so special, is actually the freshest products used for ingredients and the limited quantity of sugar he adds.           Actually having tasted sugar free and gluten free gelato, it is one of the best experiences and  I can recommend it.   Also, his gelato is made without preservatives and artificial additives  which made me prefer tasting this rather than others. 

In this area of Italy (Puglia)  people basically eat  healthy , so  planning a vacation for a vegetarian  is not complicated at all.      Well, as probably some of you have realized, I like all things genuine and simple. This selection does not only fit a lifestyle, but is also a guidance in my daily nutritional plan.   

It was a busy spring weekend devoted to the inspection of new lovely places to recommend for my one day or longer tour programs. I asked two friends of mine to join me in this foodie inspection and share with me the pleasure of having breakfast with a “just made” gelato. 

When I told them the factory was by the ocean, they were simply happy.         Our scheduled time with Luca was quite early in the morning and the light on the ocean at that moment of the day is simply gorgeous.