Bologna the city of gluttony
Seven cities for seven deadly sins. Bologna: the gluttony
It is the more carnal vice, which is expressed with one’s own body and which involves the individual, without any interaction with the “other”: gluttony, the need or desire to pile on the pleasures of the table, eating and drinking.
Dante describes it thus:
“Such as that dog is, who by barking craves,
And quiet grows soon as his food he gnaws,
For to devour it he but thinks and struggles…”
Even St. Augustine talked about it in his Confessions:
“Although I eat and drink to satisfy my health, there is also an additional and dangerous satisfaction, which most often tries to precede, so that I do for it what I say and want to do for health. The measure is not the same in both cases: What is just enough to health is little to the pleasure, and often do not distinguish whether the care is essential in the body, which still calls for help, or misleading the satisfaction of the gluttony, which, requires a service ” (Confessions, 44).
Who is born and lives in Bologna is well aware of what is spoken previously, and fortunately he has learned to govern the vice of gluttony. But the poor unsuspecting tourists, or rather conscious victim of the gluttony vice, cannot escape! And between the arches of the old town around Piazza Maggiore, among taverns and restaurants, they take refuge to satisfy gluttony, hoping that the balance will lie with human pity.
Culinary tradition
Tagliatelle, tortellini, tortelloni, lasagna, mortadella, chops, passatelli, meat sauce, pork, crescentine, weed, vegetable stew, bacon, capon, chicken, cheese and of course to finish the Pinza, pastry cake with sultana, almonds, walnuts, pine nuts and quince mustard together with plum jam. Unable to resist these gluttony vices, and not by chance Petrarch called Bologna “the Fat”.
The Bolognese cuisine have distant roots: in the Middle Ages the city was already famous for the cooks and the tradition says that the tortellino were conceived considering the navel of Venus and that the tagliatelle were invented in the likeness of the long blond hair of Lucrezia Borgia, on the occasion of his marriage to Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara.
But the luck of the Bolognese cuisine was the University of Bologna, the concentration of flavors and traditions from places as disparate that have enriched the taste, and the Gluttony, of the local tradition.
Already on the fourteenth century there were over 170 inns offering to travelers, students and scholars who attended the old University, delicious and rich in taste dishes, with ingredients coming from the surrounding countryside.
Restaurants and eating houses in Bologna
It is very difficult to give precise details on where to go to eat in Bologna, in fact, it does not exist a unique street or district where are located the best restaurants. Perhaps, there are famous areas that the guidebooks indicate as the most rich of excellent restaurants. For example on Via Caprarie, where alternate restaurants with local cuisine and restaurants with other traditions (particularly Roman); or Via Drapperie, near Torre degli Asinelli, on the corner with Via degli Orefici that breed Vicolo dei Ranocchi and that leads to Via Peschiere Vecchie. We are in the historic centre, just a few steps from Piazza Maggiore.
In all the streets perpendicular to Via dell’Indipendenza, there are international restaurants and pizzerias as well as in the south of Piazza Maggiore, between Via 4 Novembre and Via Barberia. Around the Central Station, among Piazza medaglie d’Oro, Piazza dei Martiri 1943-1945 and the Montagnola Park, there are several restaurants offering local specialties and international cuisine. And if the satiety of Gluttony is not enough, and even the view will be filled with flavor, just a walk in the Herb Market or that of the fish. The first one runs through the arcades of Via Ugo Bassi and offers to view everything from fruits, vegetables, cheeses and sausages, while the second, just nearby, at any time of year offers tourists and citizens the best Fresh fish of the seas around the world.
Where to drink in Bologna
Of course, the culinary tradition goes hand in hand with the wine tradition, and the Emiliano-Romagnola is equally rich. Among whites, we can cite the Albana di Romagna, the Bosco Eliceo, the Pignoletto classic, the Trebbiano and the Pagadebit. Among the reds, the most famous are the Sangiovese di Romagna, the Lambrusco di Sorbara, Grasparossa and Santa Croce; and among those that may be both white and red, all the wines of the Bolognese Hills, Faenza, Rimini, Parma and the Reggiano.
That gluttony is with you, among the roads of this city, so “Learned”, so “Fat”.
Some of the most appreciated hotels in Bologna by our customers:
- Hotel Astoria – hotel close to Bologna central railway station – 3 star hotel
- Hotel Al Cappello Rosso – hotel in Bologna city centre close to Piazza Maggiore – 4 star hotel
- Hotel Fiera – hotel near Bologna exhibition centre- 3 star hotel
- Zanhotel Tre Vecchi – hotel in Via Indipendenza in Bologna – 4 star hotel
Photo by stuart_spivack
About the Author
Francy Hi! My name is Francesca I love travelling, getting in touch with new lifestyles, new ways of thinking and most of all always discovering news places around the world! I like reading travel books and magazines, art and food. These are my passions that I try to share with you.
0 Responses to Bologna the city of gluttony