PREFACE

When my friends come back from Venice and tell me about their trip, I often discover they have not tasted the ‘ma-gni-fi-co’ baccalà mantecato, the sardines in saor, the seppie al nero … I wanted to write this book to introduce you to the culinary world of Venice, so on your next visit to La Serenissima, you can stroll through its markets, taste its real cuisine and the incredible variety of seasonal vegetables grown in saline soils, and discover the treasure that is the seafood of the lagoon with its legendary flavour. (La Serenissima was the name for the Republic of Venice, an independent state until the late eighteenth century.) This cuisine will surprise you. Its wealth and variety reflect the numerous relationships the city has developed over the centuries with the populations of cities such as Rome and Byzantium, and a variety of cultures: the Jewish traditions and those from trading posts in Istria, Dalmatia … My recipes are drawn from tradition and from secrets shared by Venetian friends and restaurateurs, whom I name and thank at the end of the book. This book is an easy way to keep the memory of all those flavours alive once you get back home. Just make sure you use quality ingredients for maximum flavour.

THE HISTORY

Venice is a magic city, an ‘inverted forest’, as Tiziano Scarpa suggests in his book Venice is a Fish. It is built on millions of tree trunks connecting a group of small islands (imagine: over a million trunks hold up the Madonna della Salute church). Born to defend itself against invasions and for trade—firstly through the sale of salt, then spices—Venice became the key launching point for all the conquests in the Mediterranean. Venice is a fish: look at its shape. A fish that has travelled far, bringing back riches and knowledge to become a dominant economic power for centuries. Then came the decline. Venice went from being a trading city to a city of pleasure and gambling, where Carnevale lasted six months (see the memoirs of Casanova).

THE CITY

La Serenissima is unique. It reveals its true nature to we twenty-first-century land-dwellers who lose ourselves in its alleyways far from the crowds. Venice soothes us and makes us rediscover slowness and beauty. It awakens our senses and takes us on a journey. And when the wanderer gets hungry, Venice is there to invite you to its table, call you into its bàcari (wine bars) and restaurants, where it is recommended you give in to pleasure and indulgence. To ‘go to the bàcari’, the Venetians say ‘andare a bàcari’. This is a social activity you develop a taste for very quickly! I suggest you practise it several times a day to steep yourself in the atmosphere of Venice. Each one has its own particular ambience, which has a lot to do with the owners and their regulars. The spectacle is all around you. The atmosphere is warm. It’s where people meet—friends and strangers. Venice is a magic city for the curious-minded. It’s up to each individual to choose ‘their’ Venice.