Dipping Ramandolo Straws (like biscotti)in Ramandolo Wine hospitality at the Ramadolo Club. (Ferruccio Dri and wife to the left;
Derrill and Kathy Kerrick to the right - 2008)
Ivano, I must get some words off to you, so many things happening.
We did make the trip to Ramandolo, very successful and very worthwhile. We did not get to visit your family nor a planned luncheon with the Mayor of Tarcento. We did stay at the Ramandolo Club http://www.ramandoloclub.it/ under the care of your cousin Ferruccio Dri, even in January it was truly delightful, we finished our trip early Saturday morning with a visit to the Church of Ramandolo, has a beautiful small Osteria( I had an expresso with 100 ml of grappa, a good way to get started and I was not driving).
Concerning polenta: I am truly shocked that there are people making polenta without stirring, but no more so than being served pollo Visentin with polenta that was bought in the market in a small block, sliced and browned with butter. A beautiful meal served by a favorite niece in Manzano, this is the heart of Furlan, the niece is of the same family of my wife. The Mother of my wife, mio suocera, family name of Visentin, came from a family of Farmers. During the thirties and early forties, they lived in a very large farm house, four families including 4 wives, 3 husbands, perhaps 16-22 children, one kitchen, and other similar singularly facilities, including a polenta making machine. This machine required manpower to rotate same, this came from the kids. My wife has some arm scars to prove that she did her turn and did not live there as a resident. Her Father, mio suocero, had decided long before that he was not going to be a farmer. Polenta was made once each day, in a quantity to meet the needs of this household for 3 meals. My wife remembers this as about a 2 hour project and everybody who has made really good FRESH polenta, knows there is a bubbling, or popping period when hot little balls of polenta pop out and if they land on fresh young skin, they will be remembered. By the time I arrived in 1947 the family had gotten down to 2 wives, one husband, and 4-8 kids. No polenta machine as polenta was being made 4-6 times a week, having been replaced with good white rolls.
I do not remember the Fieste de Patrie dal Furlan, this would be asking a lot, I am sure they celebrate at least 50 holidays each year.
Do any of the Americanized Furlani recall any talk about polenta machines??
Happy Easter e sempre avanti,
We did make the trip to Ramandolo, very successful and very worthwhile. We did not get to visit your family nor a planned luncheon with the Mayor of Tarcento. We did stay at the Ramandolo Club http://www.ramandoloclub.it/ under the care of your cousin Ferruccio Dri, even in January it was truly delightful, we finished our trip early Saturday morning with a visit to the Church of Ramandolo, has a beautiful small Osteria( I had an expresso with 100 ml of grappa, a good way to get started and I was not driving).
Concerning polenta: I am truly shocked that there are people making polenta without stirring, but no more so than being served pollo Visentin with polenta that was bought in the market in a small block, sliced and browned with butter. A beautiful meal served by a favorite niece in Manzano, this is the heart of Furlan, the niece is of the same family of my wife. The Mother of my wife, mio suocera, family name of Visentin, came from a family of Farmers. During the thirties and early forties, they lived in a very large farm house, four families including 4 wives, 3 husbands, perhaps 16-22 children, one kitchen, and other similar singularly facilities, including a polenta making machine. This machine required manpower to rotate same, this came from the kids. My wife has some arm scars to prove that she did her turn and did not live there as a resident. Her Father, mio suocero, had decided long before that he was not going to be a farmer. Polenta was made once each day, in a quantity to meet the needs of this household for 3 meals. My wife remembers this as about a 2 hour project and everybody who has made really good FRESH polenta, knows there is a bubbling, or popping period when hot little balls of polenta pop out and if they land on fresh young skin, they will be remembered. By the time I arrived in 1947 the family had gotten down to 2 wives, one husband, and 4-8 kids. No polenta machine as polenta was being made 4-6 times a week, having been replaced with good white rolls.I do not remember the Fieste de Patrie dal Furlan, this would be asking a lot, I am sure they celebrate at least 50 holidays each year.
Do any of the Americanized Furlani recall any talk about polenta machines??
Happy Easter e sempre avanti,
Lark
9 comments:
Thanks Lark for the report on your trip. Sounds like you really enjoyed your visit. As always "grappa' and polenta add to the joys of travel. BTW: I don't remember seeing and "Polenta-making" machines here in Califoria, although I'm sure they are in use. Sempre Avanti. ivn0
Thank you Ivano! I was so excited when I found you (on the blagga)! I was watching the Oprah
show and she said just type in your last name and see what comes up!
Actually our family name NIMIS goes way back. My sister has done years of research; we actually
sat in a church in Nimis Italy and they let us go through the old hand written records in books of
births, weddings, funerals. I guess that is the way a towns records were kept. We went back
to the late 1700's, they said a fire had destroyed the church prior to that.
I went back to your blog and the search block and typed in Furlan. I would just like to read all the responses like Ramandolo and the polenta "stir" and make my own comments. Is that
possible?
By the way; you are so lucky your father found his way to Santa Cruz; my father found his
way to western Canada! I grew up in winters that have reached 90 below zero with the wind
chill and lasted 6 months. (I got out of there when I was 22 and moved to San Francisco)
ciao per adesso !
Maria
Hey Maria Nimis... beautiful Name, welcome on board.... I am from Canada, known as the "Canadian Furlan". We are from the warmer side of Canada the Niagara Peninsula bordering New York state. I've been to Nimis numerous times and tasted the wonderful Ramandolo wine... and I will be back to see Nimis and will definitely visit Ferrucio Dri, Ivano's cousin.
Ciao e Mandi
Doriano
Oh now I have really started something!!! I have a photocopy of a huge book about Nimis. It is
645 pages and starts with stories in the 1200s. Overwhelming! written in Italian, and so descriptive
that you think the author was there! His name is Bruno Fabretti, google him.
I pulled it out today; page 374 is stories during WW II describing enemy carnage in the area of
Torlano (now part of Nimis) Albino Comelli is called a martyr, a whole chapter about him!!
In the WW I section is a list of men & women who died when the Cossacks bombed them.
A lot of Comellis on that list! An Ivo Comelli was on that list!
Lots of fotos of landmarks, I have been to alot of them and I have similar fotos!
This book could occupy countless hours!
Your historian would be in heaven, although he may have already found it.
cio for now
Maria
Maria: Sorry about the above caption. I "clicca" the button to fast. Anyway thanks for the info.
Sempre Avanti. Ivano
Hey Ivano,
Speaking about Polenta and good eating,guess what I saw on the evening news - kids in the kitchen
making there own lunch. I don't mean hamburgers but a real meal , like pasta , ravoli etc.
Why is this news worthy? Because it is the Pacific School , in Davenport California , that's why. Also the San Francisco
Chronicle had a nice story about the Swanton Strawberry Farm (used to be the old "Rancho Grande" in the old days). The Farm doesn't use
any pesticides on the products they sell.
Sempre Avanti! Reno
Right on Reno. Davenport and 'la costa' are getting healthier and healthier. You can even breath fresh air now that the Cement Plant has closed down. ivno
Furlan lenghe ( In Italiano, FRIULANO LINGUA)
I have had several, in fact many, spirited conversations concerning rather or not, Furlan lenghe, is a language or a dialect. many people believe that a dialect is a means of communication that has no written basis. The Furlan lenghe is certainly well written, I have my Italiano-Friulano dizionario, five by seven size, 300 pages, and cost 18,000 Lire, back in the seventies.
There is a fairly large book store in Cividale that deals only in Furlan lenghe books and papers.
The Catalan language, used in the Barcelona area of Spain is a very close twin sister to Fuerlan. I have friends in Barcelona that have visited Friuli and have talked with Furlani just as if they were in Barcelona.
Let's hear some reactions about; Is the Furlan lenghe a language or a dialect? and on what basis;
I only married a Furlan, many of you have the genes from ten gerations back, cosa ditta tu?
Best regards, LH
Hey Lark this is the Canadian Furlan. Welcome back on the Blogga. And to answer your question regarding Furlan, is it a dialect or language? Absolutely a language!! Furlan has been given autonomous status in Italy as one of 6 languages spoken in Italy other than Italian. That is why the region of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia has autonomous status within Italia. And as you and many others have noted all road signs in Friuli are both in Italian and Friulano. I have numerous documents regarding Friuli's status as well as the celebration of Friuli as a country "La Patria del Friuli" in 1077. I suggest viewing this site for more detailed historical information http://www.provincia.udine.it/friuli/Pages/FiestedalFriul.aspx.
In addition I am currently the secretary of the Fogolar Furlan in the Niagara region and have been for the last 25 years. As a club we receive numerous documents and information from the province of Udine via the Ente Friuli Nel Mondo. There is absolutely no question Friulano is a language on it's own. As a matter of fact it is on the decline due to the major influx of immigrants into Italy from the Eastern European countries, most significanly after the fall of Berlin Wall and Communism. And as I have stated so many times, our customes in Friuli are not stereo-typical to the remainder of Italy. We are a different breed totally. Take care have a great summer. I am in the midst of my final days at school. The students are in their final days of exams and weather is hot and humid.
Ciao e Mandi
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