Italian Hockey

Yesterday, Vicenza's calcio (soccer/football) team was playing in home turf, but surprisingly (nay, SHOCKINGLY) some in our group didn't enjoy watching soccer. So instead, we went to Asiago to watch the town's highly-rated soccer team beat Val di Fasso's team to the ground. But hockey, you ask? Although it may not make much sense for a Mediterranean country to indulge in such a cold-weather sport, participation is largely limited to the northern parts of the country, where alpine culture is very much alive and the locals tend to classify themselves more German than Italian. Going north along the Italian peninsula, Asiago is one of the first major towns that truly display its historic affinity to German culture, with some communities even speaking Cimbrian. Hockey in this context does not look or feel out of place at all.

It was the first time that I went to see hockey, and the experience was good overall. But the best part however were the fans: insane! Shouting, whistling, chanting, these guys are passionate over a sport that I never would have imagined Italians would be bowling over. American spectators are by and large dedicated to their teams, but these guys have an almost maniacal obsession with every hit, every foul, and every point scored. There were no jitters here--everyone stayed glued to their seats throughout the game, including the children. The stands right behind the Asiago goal were the rowdiest, chanting nonstop throughout the game, and waving the team's colors whenever the team scored (or it looks like the players are getting tired). The one very big difference with American hockey however were the players. They screamed at each other, got pissed-off to the point of a shoving match, but no fist-fights. Frankly, that is one of the biggest draws of the sport, so it is a little underwhelming that no brawls broke out.

In fact, the fans, although spirited, also stayed relatively calm and respectful. When a player from the opposing team was carried away on a stretcher, he was applauded. (His departure on a stretcher wasn't what they were clapping about. I didn't really sense such nastiness with the fans.) When the referees and the opposing team came out, there was no booing. A nice environment such fans make, especially for people like me who get turned-off by American sporting events due to their tendency to devolve into drunken messes. Hopefully Asiago makes it to the championship. I wouldn't mind going back and cheering them on alongside their usual life-long supporters.

If you are interested in watching the team play, visit their website for game schedule.

Little Italy in the Philippines

Little Italy Rises on Philippine Hillside

A good article about Italy in the Philippines, bringing together two cultures that I know well. Not a community of Italian expatriates planting a small piece of home in the tropics mind you, but a community grown dependent on money remitted from Italy to the Philippines by Filipino contract workers abroad. As the Italian government tries to deal with its "problem" with its Chinese, Roma, African, and Arab immigrants, this is an interesting look at how immigration affects the place from where the foreigners originate. Not just a sob story about poverty and suffering, but a story of renewed prosperity and the resulting lack of productivity (I'm trying my best to find an alternative to laziness) by the community that has grown dependent on foreign money. It's not just a problem associated with workers who go to Italy, but it's quite interesting how bits of Italian culture get transplanted into a context which in retrospect isn't really much different from it at all. Filipinos go abroad, send foreign money, and come back with foreign ideas and ways--will such a system benefit the Philippines, or hurt it? We don't know yet, and frankly the country the inward flow of money is still too vigorous to be bothered by such questions.

OH NO!

Jersey Shore Heading to Europe

"The cast is heading to the birthplace of the culture they love and live by." Yup. Italy. Apparently, the land of fake tans, steroid use, drunk skanks, and trashy behavior. Yes, I'm sure Italians will herald the show as yet another shining example of Italian contribution to American culture, sending local guido and guida representatives to welcome the cast once they arrive.

* The show is on its fourth season!?

Roman Brescia

The reconstructed capitolium

I don't really remember where I first heard Brescia's name, but I do remember coming to Italy having almost a need to go to Brescia. And so I did--it was one of the first Italian towns I visited. Given, it isn't the prettiest. By and large, this prosperous industrial town is indeed industrial, the grimy buildings partnered with fascist-era buildings that now serve the uncaring population as car parks. But in its industrial spirit lies its appeal, and the beautiful city center almost comes as a shock--including a reconstructed Capitolium and partially ruined arena. Brescia's ruins are by no means comparable to Rome or even Verona, but their accesibility is their draw, the city almost built into the ruin and vice versa. The city museum is a detailed--too detailed even--record of Brescia from its bronze-age beginnings, through its stint as a prosperous Roman outpost in barbarian lands, to its modern reincarnation as one o the north's most industrialized cities. Its a museum chock-filled with artifacts, and it is pleasing to know that even a mid-sized town such as Brescia cared enough about its past to save every shard of pot and every piece of millenial leftover. Brescia is largely a nondescript town, as worthy of visit as it is of being overlooked, but its most fascinating aspect is the degree to which it has recorded its existence throughout the ages.

Ruins, right next to the sidewalk

Brescia's most famous resident, the Winged Venus

Excavated floors from local Roman villas

Charcutepalooza and Homemade Food

Maybe i can make my own Prosciutto Veneto...

Inspired by the Italian way of cooking and eating, one of the things I promised myself to do more this year is to make my food source be as local as possible. Not only buying local produce, making more out of the wild plants that grow in the surrounding fields and hills, and growing my own vegetables, but also making my own food: cured meats, beer, preserves, sweets, etc. I've already taken steps to fulfilling the brewing part, but I'was still trying to figure out how to get into the curing and preserving part--until today. After seeing a couple of posts from Over a Tuscan Stove about curing meats, I was led to Charcutepalooza, a site and community dedicated to learning ways to preserve meats. For me, there were no questions about it: I must participate. Henceforth, you will see periodic blog posts about curing meats from me, hopefully as success stories rather than horrific stories about food poisoning. Hopefully this works, because there will probably nothing better than eating my own bacon or duck confit...well, maybe if they were washed down with an imperial stout I brewed myself. Good luck to me!

Italian Beer Series: Birrificio Italiano Tipopils (Lurago Marinone)

A classic German pilsner, the beer is as classic as they go: a refreshing and hoppy drink with a medium 5.2% ABV. The aroma is nicely sharp and citrusy, and pours a cloudy pale golden color with a medium lasting head. The fruity taste is finished off by a pleasant hoppy bitterness. Mouthfeel is a bit watery and carbonation is felt but not overpowering. In a market saturated by pale lagers this one delivers enough character and complexity to be distinct but never crossing into unrecognizable. Great beer, except it suffers from what I am realizing is a problem with most Italian specialty brews: at 12 euros for 3/4 of a liter, it's too damn expensive. More on this pricing problem later...

Outdoor Switzerland

Before I saw these vids, I've always associated Switzerland with expensive Zurich. Now, I think a few hiking treks in Switzerland are in order...

(I am incredibly afraid of heights, but I'm incredibly afraid of a lot of things, and heights always seem to be the easiest to conquer)

The Swiss mountains look like the Dolomiti, but wilder and less developed. Now, I just need a hiking buddy and I'll be set...