Today we had a full morning’s itinerary in Casale. It began at the expansive market that sets up in front of the Palaeologus Castle every Tuesday and Friday. From food to clothing, there were some great finds for many of our group! Then we were off to City Hall where we… Continue reading
Today began with a visit to the cellars of Rocche dei Manzoni d’Alba – known for their Barolo. A guide took us through this vineyard’s wine making process while touring the cellars. The visit concluded with a tasting of a Valentino Brut spumante and a Barolo. We then went to… Continue reading
Sentieri student Chitra Natarajan was the winner of the drawing on 11/19 for a free festival pass to the Chicago Italian Film Festival at Music Box Theater. She along with all the other enrolled students for the Winter 2015 Italian Classes at Sentieri were eligible for the drawing. Thank you… Continue reading
Today was an excursion to the city of Genoa. We were given a guided tour of the city, which began at its ancient port “Il porto antico”. Still in use today we saw how the modern world of docked cruise ships, an Eataly store and Genoa’s aquarium existed alongside a medieval church… Continue reading
Today was a special excursion to Moleto, a small, medieval town. After taking in some wonderful views of the Piedmont countryside, we visited a villa in Moleto where we were invited to an aperitif in the cellar. From the cellar we were able to visit an “infernot”, a sub-cellar that always… Continue reading
The first Chicago Italian Film Festival is coming November 21-27, giving Chicagoans an opportunity to see the best the Italian film industry has to offer. The theme of the inaugural festival is “Italian Comedy: Then & Now”, with a lineup that of contemporary and classic Italian films. This year’s diverse… Continue reading
Today we visited the Salone del Gusto, taking place just outside of Turin. This event is Slow Food’s bi-annual convention where members and exhibitors come from all over the world. Turin is the home to the Slow Food’s founder, Carlo Petrini. The expo is divided into four sectors. The first… Continue reading
Today we set out for Turin (Torino) to stay the night before going to the Salone del Gusto. Upon arriving in Torino we began a 2 hour guided tour the just scratched the surface of the many interesting sites Torino had to offer. Among the highlights of this tour were… Continue reading
Today began with an excursion to Desana where we visited a rice farm called La Tenuta Margherita. After a presentation on the rice production process at La Tenuta we were served a three course tasting entirely rice based right down to the breadsticks. On the route back to Casale we… Continue reading
The day began with a cooking class. Chefs Patrizia, Roberto and Enzo showed the group how to prepare traditional Casale dishes: Vitello Tonnato (thinly sliced veal with a tuna vegetable paste) Agnolotti (stuffed pasta with veal) Millefoglie (layered vegetable bake) And almond cake with zabaglione. We enjoyed the fruits of… Continue reading
In the late morning the group set out for the town of Moncalvo – one time residence of the mistress of the King of Italy. “The Bella Rosin”, her namesake restaurant, is where we enjoyed our lunch: Cabbage and anchovies salad Cardoon flan with melted Raschera cheese “Gran bollito” –… Continue reading
The day’s activities began with a visit to the Paleologus Castle. There we visited a special exhibit by a private collector of all things Sergio Leone (famed director of the Spaghetti Westerns) on the 25th anniversary of the director’s passing. In the afternoon there was a truffle hunt, where, after finding… Continue reading
After arriving safe and sound, the coach bus took us from the airport to the Hotel Candiani, where we were welcomed in the courtyard with an aperitif. We then set out with a guide for a visit of the town. We saw the cathedral, the Piazza Mazzini and the Krumiri cookie shop where,… Continue reading
If you need a crash course before your trip to Italy, or want an introduction to the Italian language and culture, this is the class for you. A six hour course provides learners with a linguistic and cultural overview. Students will learn basic vocabulary and language structures that will help them… Continue reading
In 1986, Italian journalist and Piemontese native, Carlo Petrini, was outraged when McDonald’s planned to build a franchise at the base of the Spanish Steps at Piazza di Spagna in Rome. Worried that Italy’s rich culinary tradition would be decimated by the “fast life” he and others organized a protest of… Continue reading
The Most Historic Cookies in Piemonte They’re called Krumiri and they’re the symbol of Sentieri founder Daniela Cavallero’s hometown of Casale Monferrato in the Piemonte region. Made with only flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and vanillin, it seems that the famous cookies were invented almost by accident. After a night out… Continue reading
