Piadina Sinfonia

Ciao a tutti! / Sziasztok!

In my previous blog I foreshadowed that now that we can travel we will for sure – so we did. Me and my dear Finnish roommate escaped Faenza on the first occasion we had, booked accommodation and packed our backpacks for a hike along the seaside.

We decided to go to Cattolica on Saturday, do a hike though the natural park of Monte San Bartolo and end up in Pesaro where we can enjoy a nice meal and drink as well as a well deserved sleep in a nice little hotel near the sea. The next day we would have time to discover the city and return back home, however, the weather didn’t agree with our plans so we decided to do everything another way around. First we arrived in Pesaro, walked a bit while we found an H&M and bought some clothes (tip: maybe don’t buy new clothes when you plan a 19.3 km hike the next day with a backpack) after which we managed to check in and put our luggages down. Leaving our room we went straight to a restaurant next to the sea to enjoy some seafood and views, out of which only the former was possible. In the big fog we could have easily been on the edge of a mountain cliff (indicated by the wind as well), thus our decision to postpone the hike with a day was very well made.

PESARO

is the second most populous city in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino. Pesaro was dubbed “Cycling City” (Città della Bicicletta) by Italian environmentalist association Legambiente in recognition of its extensive network of bicycle paths and promotion of cycling. It is also known as “City of Music” as it is the birthplace of the composer Gioacchino Rossini.

As mentioned above, Pesaro is known as the “City of Music” because it is where Gioacchino Rossini was born. So to be true to myself I collected some fun facts about him for you to enjoy:

He was a celebrity of the opera world. While other brilliant composers like Mozart and Beethoven struggled to make a living out of their art, Rossini was wildly successful.
The apple does not fall far from the tree; his mother was an opera singer and his father was a French horn player.
Even thought he lived to the age of 76, Rossini celebrated his 19th birthday in the months before his death. He was born in a leap year on 29 February 1792.
His operas are amongst the most performed in the world. Only Verdi, Mozart and Puccini have more of their operas performed each year.
Rossini loved fine food. His name can still be found on menus in gourmet restaurants around the world. Tournedos Rossini is an eye fillet topped with a slice of foie gras, garnished with truffle and finished with a Madeira or port wine sauce. However, simple, local dishes like piadina (with mayo) has also taken his name.
At age 23, Rossini composed his famous comic opera The Barber of Seville in less than three weeks. (He claims 12 days).He was an opera-writing machine.
Between 1812 and 1822, Rossini wrote 30 operas, the majority of his lifetime output.
Despite being hissed at its premiere, The Barber of Seville is Rossini’s most popular work. It was in the top five most performed operas in the last season.
His first wife was singer Isabella Colbran and Rossini wrote many parts for her in his operas, including the title role in Semiramide.
At just 37 Rossini went into semi-retirement following his grand opera William Tell. He stopped composing operas but still wrote shorter musical works such as songs and piano pieces.
Even after retirement he continued to mentor emerging young composers, including Verdi who greatly admired Rossini’s work.
His last major composition, a setting of the Stabat Mater prayer, is considered a masterpiece but it wasn’t sacred music that made his name eternal.
Rossini’s tomb is empty. In 1868, he was buried in a grand stone tomb in Paris’ famous Père Lachaise Cemetery but in 1887 his wife moved his remains to the Basilica Santa Croce in Florence.

source: Victorian Opera

In the meantime, by curiosity, I looked up whether there are any ESC volunteers also in Pesaro and found a blog of Vicolocorto (later realised that they’re one of the biggest organisation of this kind in Italy) through which I managed to get in contact with Nico, one of the Latvian volunteers. Within a few hours we could agree on a meeting that evening, during which we got to know part of that about 20 people who do their ESC there. I found myself amazed by how similar, but in the same time different our experiences are.

The project itself of course has a huge impact on one’s life as a volunteer but the people it is shared with can have even bigger. In Faenza, we have a bit smaller, intimate circle while in Pesaro they can even play a football match between themselves if they want. During the red/orange zone days in the pandemic our group had the chance to really bond and get to know each other closely while there there are always new people coming so no chance of getting bored – both are great depending on what one is looking for.
Although, in a normal situation things are different; the National Agency usually organises trainings where you can meet others, but it is great to know how our ESC community is still connected and open. In recent days, we also had the chance to meet with volunteers from Forlì and Modigliana about which la baguette Mathilde wrote here.

But going back to our trip:

MONTE SAN BARTOLO

is a mountain located in Marche. The mountain forms part of the Parco naturale regionale del Monte San Bartolo, a regional park of Italy. The mountain is part of the coastal hill system in the centre of Italy which follows the beaches of the north Adriatic Sea.

There are many paths you can take, but we decided to follow the number 151 – Sentiero San Bartolo (Pesaro – Gabicce Mare) with some alterations.

Halfway through our hike we had a short lunch break in Fiorenzuola di Focara where everything was super full so we ended up queueing at a street food place. In spite of the waiting we didn’t regret going to Piadinzuola, a special piadineria where we could eat outside with a great view and a beer.

There I chose a piadina with pistachios and mortadella as well as some squacquerone to really make it worth.

It was really a full circle for me as my first trip after arriving in Faenza was to Cattolica/Gabicce Mare about which I wrote in my first blog and now, our first trip after long months of not being able to leave Faenza ended in the same place. I really enjoyed showing some already familiar things to my dear roommate and celebrating the end of our hike with a well-deserved gelato.

To read about this trip and our other one to Rome from Laura’s perspective as well as her weekend adventures to Bologna, Dozza and Imola check out her recent blog.

Ci vediamo dopo,

Györgyi – l’ungherese