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Veneto, Italy

A culinary adventure with Oldways

By Dave Krugman

May 4^th, 2020

A postcard perfect arrival

Upon flying into the lagoons of Venice, Italy, we went to our hotel to drop off our luggage, ducking into the waterfront building while a heavy rain fell. As soon as we checked in, the skies burst open with color, and a gloomy day turned into a glorious tapestry.

The bright orange atmosphere faded as the sun ducked behind the horizon, and pastel pinks and blues filled the skies with a second wave of color.

As night approached, lights popped on and I focused on longer exposures, to show the smooth silk of the patterns the water would make, in an old city where the roads were canals.

A welcome rain

I love shooting in the rain, and luckily it seems that wherever I go the rain follows me. I was glad to wander the streets while the tourists hid in the comfort of their hotels. the city felt more open, more natural and more authentic. When the weather is nice you can hardly walk through the streets because it is so crowded. The rain created a space that has been rare on my visits here.

Into the mountains

I love Venice- but more about that on another post. This assignment was all about the old ways of making the things we love- food and wine specifically. So after 24 hours in Venice it was time to head up to the mountains of the Prosecco regions, the birthplace of that dry bubbly wine, to see where the grapes are grown, pressed, and fermented. And what views we had! From the sides of the hills you could look down upon a pastoral scene, relatively unchanged for decades.

After viewing the vineyards and watching the process of creating the wine, we tasted all sorts of different varieties.

Castle Brando

Where better to stay in these snowcapped mountains than a Medieval Castle, with views like this out the window? I wandered the grounds and took in the vast landscapes, the wide pastures dotted with terra cotta roofs.

Dinner by hand

One of the best parts of traveling with chefs is the daily meals. This dinner at Casagrande was prepared by Kevin O'Donnell and Michael Lombardi. As I like to say, my camera eats first. I still have this entire meal sealed in my memory, it was truly a night to remember.

Another specialty of the region is various types of aged cheese. As someone who loves these sorts of pre-meal snacks, I was in heaven walking through cavernous warehouses, packed to the ceiling with wheel after wheel of incredible cheese.

Up to the peaks

Once we saw the cheese, we were able to actually visit the town where the milk originally came from. The rolling grass on the steep slopes of these mountains is a fertile grazing ground for the cows that they milk for the base ingredients of these wonderful cheeses. Tremendous landscapes unfolded below us the higher we rose, while the steeples of churches stretched for the skies.

Back down in the valley, we watched oil being pressed from olives and bottled at the source. It was the freshest olive oil I've ever had, and added levels to my understanding of what this flavor could be.

Onwards to Verona

Famous for being the backdrop for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Verona is a staggeringly beautiful city, with modernity tucked into the ancient alleyways. It looked a bit like the set of some fantasy movie, and it was a great thrill to wander along the rushing river, taking in the changing scenes.

Antica Bottega del Vino was my favorite wine bar we went to. It was cozy, rich with history, with delicious food and rare wines. I'd go all the back to Verona just to sit here again, and share a bottle with a friend.

Back to Venice in the Sun

Our flights left from Venice, so I spent some extra days back in the narrow mazes of these stone streets, finding new angles and playing with sunlight.

The Doges Palace

Venice was once the center of a great trading empire. It's location and ease of accessibility to ships concentrated a tremendous amount of wealth here. There is no better example of that wealth than the Doges Palace. Room after room of gilded ceilings, oil paintings forty feet across- it is simply impossible to translate the scope of this artwork on the internet, but at least with these images you can get a sense of what this place looks like. I was floored.

The right priorities

I love Italy so much, particularly for their attention to food and ingredients. Scenes like this can be found all across the city, the bounty of the earth, laid out like a still life painting.