What will we be doing?
Friday 30 May 2008 10.30 – 18.00 Rehearsals, Ridotto del Teatro Magnani (hall on first floor of the Opera House), piazza Verdi, Fidenza. Saturday 31 May 2008 10.00 – 13.00 rehearsal Teatro Magnani (opera house) The hall used to be the dining room of one of the “grand” hotels in Salso's heydays. It is next to the restaurant where we will go for Pizza on Friday evening, “La Porchetta”, shown on the link above. The hall is off the small roundabout just SE of La Porchetta. Time: 21.30 prompt!! The menu: The caterers are very flexible, and if there is something on the menu that you do not like, let me know what you would prefer. Vegetarians and those with specific dietary requirements will be catered for – I'll contact you directly once you have let me know. Antipasto: “salumi” (coppa, prosciutto, salame) and grilled vegetables First course: Tortelli d'erbetta – large ravioli filled with ricotta cheese and spinach, a local speciality Second course : slices of roast pork (another local speciality) with mixed vegetables and roast potatoes Dessert : tiramisù Coffee Payment
Sunday 1st June Festa del culatello Referring to my last concert, some of you said that the local “festival” we went to on Sunday was the best part of the weekend (?!!!). You'll be pleased to know that this year too, there will be one not far from Fidenza. It's the festival of the “culatello”, the absolute top of the range of Italian charcuterie – much more prized (and more expensive) than Parma ham and one of the locals' best kept secrets – only recently brought to the UK by Jamie Oliver. It's a three-day event, ending on Sunday 1 st June, in a small town called Zibello. The Sunday event lasts all day and gets rather crowded by the evening when there will also be dancing to a live band. There will be market stalls and lots of food stalls with seating at long tables in the town square. A friend who lives in the town can reserve a tables for us. We should aim to get there between 17.00 and 18.00 latest. If you are flying out on Sunday evening, you may wish to have Sunday lunch, rather than dinner, at the festival. Let me know! This type of event is something that you will not find in the travel guides and is aimed at the locals, the probable reason you all seemed to enjoy it so much. Let me know if you are interested in joining me and I will organise transport. Zibello is 34 KM from Salso and 25 KM from Fidenza. View on Google Maps Palio di San Secondo At San Secondo Parmense there is a medieval festival which dates back to 1523 and that lasts from 30 th May to 1 st June, with a tournament between the town's six districts (contrade) on Sunday 1 st June. San Secondo is 31KM from Salso, 22 KM from Fidenza. View on Google Maps Let me know if you are interested. If you'd rather explore on your own, there is another food festival in Modena and it will not surprise you to hear that it is dedicated to the city's balsamic vinegar. I doubt whether any of us has ever tasted the real thing as it takes at least 25 years to mature and 25 years ago no-one expected a global market for this product…only balsamic vinegar that has been matured for at least 25 years can be labelled “traditional” balsamic vinegar from Modena. Other products cannot use the word “traditional” on the label.
|