A day in Ferrara, Italy

Ferrara is a delightful city that straddles its influences and history between Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Lombardy. Not to mention, the Este family ambitions reached farther into history than this otherwise small city should have. Ferrara is most notably not on the Via Emilia, the Roman super highway that cuts across Emilia Romagna. This landlocked city connected itself to the canal system that was the commercial network of Medieval Europe. The Este family controlled and influenced smaller cities and their strategically important farmlands. They were able to fend off the ambitions of Bologna, Venice and for a while, the all powerful Papacy. Today in the seaside cities of Ravenna and Comacchio, or even landlocked Lombardy cities (formerly connected via canals) one can find Ferrarese products in the stores and on dining tables. Notable examples are the spider looking Coppia Ferrarese bread as well as the Cappellacci di Zucca, a Ravioli filled with sweet squash.

The Este family had a weird history as they had control in the city by a “claim of control” but not by traditional ownership. Rather than sitting back and enjoying the yearly tax, Ferrara consolidated power over the farmlands that would otherwise reasonably end up in the hands of adjacent Bologna and Modena. Their ambitions led to clashes with the Venetians and even the remains of the Roman Empire’s grip on the Peninsula when the Byzantines set up the in Ravenna. The powerful family became so important that the notoriously ambitious Borgia Pope arranged a marriage between his famously beautiful daughter Lucrezia and the Este family heir.

There is a ridiculous Bolognese tale that on one of Lucrezia Borgia’s travels, she stayed at an Inn. The owner took the opportunity to catch a peek of the nude beauty by looking through the keyhole of the room. Unfortunately for the peeping tom, he could only see her belly button. But, even her navel was a sight to see and this inspired him to create the famous Tortellini pasta.

The City

The Castello Estense in the center of the city points to a time of extreme distinction between those who controlled everything and everyone else. Economically the situation is very much the same in our own time, but we do not have a fortified castle reminding us of this fact. The castle is an art museum in its own right, hosting frescoes commissioned by the late Este owners as well as revolving exhibitions. Among this, one also has the opportunity to step into the subterranean dungeons that once held criminals or simply unfortunate rivals of the regime. In the summer of 2016 there was an awesome electronic music festival held around and inside the castle grounds. It was surreal to walk over a moat to see some of the most modern music with state of the art light shows in a castle, conveniently located downtown.

Outside the castle there is spooky statue resembling the Evil Emperor in Star Wars. This is Girolamo Savonarola . A Dominican friar from Ferrara, who landed in Florence and after some tumultuous times, ended up expelling the ruling family of Florence, and becoming the de facto ruler of the city through his religious spell on the populace. He instituted gangs of religiously furious youth in efforts to purge its sins. Sins mainly surrounding the city’s vanity, aka art! I wonder if he inspired the Game of Thrones High Sparrow character. He had the city in whip of religious fury. Many famous masterpieces were set ablaze in communal purges and artists such as Michelangelo fled. This fervor was finally crushed after the Church set its sights on destroying him and he was ultimately set ablaze himself; ironically confirming his sermons on the corruption within the Church and the Pope.

Jewish Ghetto and Cuisine

Once in the city, one will realize how much Judea-Ferrarese cuisine there is. There are a large number of restaurants serving Jewish recipes. Though it is not clear of how many, or if any are owned or run by said community. Regardless, it goes to show how ingrained this cuisine was and continues to be. Though the city has had a continuous community since the Middle Ages, the Jewish community was welcomed to settle in Ferrara by the Este during the 15th & 16th centuries. Sephardic Jews and Northern European Jews landed in the city, bringing their respective culinary traditions, making use of the local ingredients. Couscous with Faraona and Roasted Pear is a clear example of this. Another example is the Northern tradition of Goose Salumi and using goose fat instead of lard. It is interesting to note that many of the aforementioned small, agricultural cities controlled by the Este family, such as Carpi, had Jewish Communities until World War II.

Al Brindisi, The Oldest Wine Bar in the World

Al Brindisi was established in 1435, making it the oldest Enoteca in Italy, and most probably the oldest establishment continuously serving wine anywhere. It has a dive bar atmosphere that old Italian establishments do so well. Usually this means aperitivo food and old men standing around drinking spumante. The setting is a little cramped which makes the experience all so much better since instead of an underground cellar, the vintage Barolo sits in stacks mixed with Jazz memorabilia surrounding the guests. Additionally, this is a fantastic place to discover appellations of Romagna and grapes you never knew existed, by-the-glass.

Osteria 2 Gobbi

As if Al Brindisi didn’t have enough wine to swoon any oenophile, one of the best bars in Emilia-Romagna is next door. When I revisited Ferrara for the Music Festival, I wanted to bring my friend to the Enoteca. It was closed; so we did what any other normal guys with a thirst do and went next door. I had assumed that all the trendy dressed youth loitering outside were here because of the concert but I would not be surprised if it was the case every Saturday night. It reminded me of a mini version of Boston’s Deep Ellum or a super miniature of Brussel’s Delirium Pub. Their whole selection was freaking perfect. Italian IPA’s and Ritterguts Gose! The OG salty beer from Leipzig. Not to mention they had good Tequila and Chilean wine, rarities in Italy while trendy rock played in the background and the staff actually looked like they were having fun.

Faraona, Guinea Hen or Guinea fowl in English. It is similar to a chicken in flavor but more flavorful and looks different when alive.

Goose Fat has one of the highest temperatures before burning. The best french fries ever are made with this divine fat.

Deep Ellum is a fantastic bar in the Allston Neighborhood of Boston. A resource for benchmark German Beers and ahead of the curve in Mezcal education. All the while punk rock is blasting.

Delirium Pub in Brussels is a beer mecca composed of over 5,000 beers and an atmosphere that is wild, fun and the employees take part.

Originally published at http://aperitivoedition.wordpress.com on February 4, 2018.