On Tuesday we returned to the Church of San Domenico. We were there during our first week, but the main attraction of this church was under repair. This attraction is a set of clay statues made by Niccolo Dell'Arca in 1463. This series, called Lamentation over the Dead Christ, depicts 6 figures standing around the body of Christ, lamenting his death. The figures are carved in dramatic postures, their faces etched with expressions of grief and torment. San Domenico is a beautiful church with plenty of sculptures.
Afterwards we checkout out one of the first Christmas markets set up in town. The booths sold sweets, decorations, miniatures for nativity scenes, and gifts. Then we stopped for a gelato at Gelateria Chocolate before coming home. My gelato flavors were called Perfume of Sicily and Grandmother’s Cookies. Cinzia had Symphony of Autumn and Chantilly Mousse.
That evening we made reservations at Trattoria Dal Biassanot. Recall that we ate there once before and wanted to return. It’s a wonderful restaurant. I had the house pasta, which was rigatoni with a cream sauce of prosciutto crudo and black truffles, followed by bollito misto – the regional dish of mixed boiled meats. This plate included beef tongue, another unidentified cut of beef, an unidentified piece of poultry, and the famous zampone. Zampone is sausage made by stuffing a pig’s foot. It’s very flavorful and moist. The meats are served with a salsa verde and side of pureed potatoes. My dessert consisted of 4 tiny pears, some the size of big cherries, that had been cooked in wine. These were served with a zabaglione gelato in a warm sauce. Really amazing.
Cinzia was more adventurous. She started with pappardelle alla lepre (wide pasta with hare). Not rabbit. Hare. Her next course was braised baby goat with a white wine sauce. For dessert a ricotta cake (ricotta from Modena) with hot chocolate sauce and a glass of Moscato d'Asti (from Piemonte). They made a point of telling us where the items originated. She says that the Moscato d'Asti was the best dessert wine she’s ever tasted.
That evening we made reservations at Trattoria Dal Biassanot. Recall that we ate there once before and wanted to return. It’s a wonderful restaurant. I had the house pasta, which was rigatoni with a cream sauce of prosciutto crudo and black truffles, followed by bollito misto – the regional dish of mixed boiled meats. This plate included beef tongue, another unidentified cut of beef, an unidentified piece of poultry, and the famous zampone. Zampone is sausage made by stuffing a pig’s foot. It’s very flavorful and moist. The meats are served with a salsa verde and side of pureed potatoes. My dessert consisted of 4 tiny pears, some the size of big cherries, that had been cooked in wine. These were served with a zabaglione gelato in a warm sauce. Really amazing.
Cinzia was more adventurous. She started with pappardelle alla lepre (wide pasta with hare). Not rabbit. Hare. Her next course was braised baby goat with a white wine sauce. For dessert a ricotta cake (ricotta from Modena) with hot chocolate sauce and a glass of Moscato d'Asti (from Piemonte). They made a point of telling us where the items originated. She says that the Moscato d'Asti was the best dessert wine she’s ever tasted.