Verdi's Favorite

In 1826 four brothers, confectioners from the Swiss town Pontresina close to St. Moritz, came to the Italian port city Genoa. The intention was work and save up money to emigrate and seek their fortune in America. Being successful and much appreciated in their new, supposed to be temporary home country, the Klainguti brothers decided to stay in Italy and set up a pastry shop in Genoa instead. In 1828 they opened Fratelli Klainguti on Piazza Soziglia in the heart of the old town in Genoa. The brothers soon became a beloved part of the city, especially among high society.

One of the most famous pastries at Fratelli Klainguti is the Torta Zena. Made with layers of sponge cake and filled with zabaglione cream, flavored with Marsala and rum, and topped with marzipan it is a cake found in many pasticcerie in Genoa today. The name Zena derives from the Genoese name for Genoa. Another of the Klainguti inventions is a brioche they created for their most famous customer, Giuseppe Verdi, who was a frequent patron of the pastry shop. They even named it after Verdi’s opera Falstaff and it was so well received by Verdi himself that he left Klainguti a thank you note reading: “Dear Klainguti, thanks for the Falstaff. Superb... much better than mine!”

In the late 19th century Italian pasticcerie, pastry shops, began transforming and adopting to the new Italian café culture, serving coffee and alcoholic beverages as well as lighter meals. This was a shift that spread across Italy and Fratelli Klainguti were part of this change. 

The creation of the Klainguti cocktail is lost in history but it is very much a part of the Italian cocktail culture. Probably made sometime during the 20th century it has a lot in common with its Italian cousins featuring Campari, Italian vermouth (even though it is usually of the red variety), gin and Prosecco. You could say that the Klainguti Cocktail is like a Negroni Sbagliato where the bartender didn’t use Prosecco instead of the gin but instead used both. Where the cocktail stands out is with the addition of Cointreau a product that doesn’t generally feature in the true Italian classics. 

THE DESIGNER
The glass, which is actually a candy dish, was designed in 1925 by the Austrian designer Oswald Haerdtl. 

Hear the Sound of Pasta

This very original pasta from the southern Italian region of Puglia, the heal of the boot if you will, is called Orecchiette, “little ears”. It is believed to have originated in the 8th or 9th centuries when Puglia was under Norman-Swabian rule, or Normanno-Svevo in Italian. With the origins this far back in time however, it is very hard to be absolutely certain how the pasta came about. Similar pasta is found both in Provence in France and in the northern parts of Liguria, the home of the Trofie, but the specific shape and the pasta seems to be a very Pugliese thing. Locally, the pasta is said to be made to look like the roofs of the Trulli houses, a very particular type of round, hut-like houses found in Alberobello in Puglia and nowhere else in the world.

The pasta is made without eggs and it is shaped by pressing your thump print into the dough to create a small bowl. This sauce-cup makes a perfect vessel to catch the pasta sauce, traditionally a tomato sauce, “orecchiette al sugo.”

La Cucina Casalinga

TROFIE

The region of Liguria is basically the continuation of the French Riviera. Known for the picturesque villages called Cinque Terre, (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore), but also Portofino, San Remo and, of course, Genova. Genova rose to power as a maritime republic in the Middle Ages, dominating trade in the Mediterranean Sea thanks to its prowess in shipbuilding and banking. During the city’s prime in the 16th century Genova rivaled Venice, attracting many artists including Rubens, Caravaggio and Van Dyck. Still to this day the city is filled with more beautiful palaces than they know what to do with, and visiting the city you often stumble upon incredible 16th century frescoes in shops, restaurants and bars. Liguria is also known for its pasta. 

The pasta of choice in Liguria is the Trofie, a type of pasta originating in the Ligurian cities of Recco, Sori and Camogli m, on the so called Golfo Paradiso. This short pasta is made by hand rolling small pieces of dough,  creating tapered ends. Then twisting the pasta into its final shape. It is thought that it was originally made from leftover dough from other types of pasta, rolled by fishermen’s wives while waiting for their husbands to come back from sea. The name probably comes from the Ligurian verb strufuggiâ meaning ‘to rub’  or ‘to twist’ which is essentially the technique used for making the pasta. 

The Trofie didn’t make it to the port city of Genova until the mid 20th century but has since then been the go to pasta when making a Pesto alla Genovese in Genova always eaten with potatoes and green beans that are cooked together with the trofie. By the way, the best place to have a real Trofie col pesto alla Genovese is at the fabulous Trattoria da Maria in a back alley in Genova. Not fancy at all but this is a great place to have original Ligurian Cucina Castling.

Welcome To the World of Pasta

Here is the first in a brand new series of original artwork. This time we’re taking on the fabulous world of Italian pasta, one (or possibly more) from every Italian region, because all regions has their very own special pasta, fitting perfectly with their particular sauces. For instance Trofie from Liguria on the Italian riviera, that fits like a glove with the Pesto Genovese. For the first in the series however, we’re traveling down to Napoli and the region of Campania to try their pasta fit for royalty, the Mafaldine. 

Mafaldine was originally called Fettuccelle Riccie and was created in Naples, next to one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world, Mount Vesuvius. When Princess Mafalda of Savoy, the daughter of Italy’s King Vittorio Emmanuele III and Queen Elena of Montenegro, was born in 1902 the royal baby was honored by changing the name of the pasta to Mafaldine. Princess Mafalda happened to have wavy curly hair just like the the pasta, so the pasta fitted her perfectly.

On a side note, to honor the occasion of the royal wedding between Vittorio Emanuele and Queen Elena, specifically to honor Queen Elena of Montenegro, amaro maker Stanislao Cobianchi changed the name of his Elisir Lungavita to Amaro Montenegro. Still today you will find Amaro Montenegro in most Italian bars. 

The Mafaldine is made of 1 centimeter wide pasta ribbons, las ong as spaghetti, with wavy sides that are slightly thicker than the middle part. This to make the sides sturdier, a feature that supposedly enhances the flavor of the pasta and its sause. Because of its royal connection Mafaldine is often used for special occasions, served with ragù or ricotta.

The life of Princess Mafalda however was very tragic. She married a German prince, Philipp of Hesse who worked as a Nazi intermediary between Germany and Italy during WWII. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels mistrusted the Princess and believed that she was collaborating with the allied forces. Mafalda was arrested and was sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, where she died. 

The Perfect Combination of Maps and Typography

Always having loved maps and travel the combination of the two seems obvious. Using the typeface Coucher Drop Shadow gave the prints a classic travel poster look. Starting with Italy, the name is written in the Italian and the colors are taken from the Italian flag.

The land of history, design, vespas, beautiful cars, great movies, fabulous food and the best dressed people.

Italy as we know it is a fairly modern country. It was conceived when Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi united the smaller kingdoms (many dominated by foreign countries) situated on the Italian peninsula in 1861 and created the Kingdom of Italy with King Vittorio Emanuele II as head of state.

Garibaldi started his attempts to unite Italy in the 1830s, first together with Giuseppe Mazzini who also wanted to create a democratic republican government through his secret society Young Italy. Garibaldi did however change sides and started working with the monarchist Count of Cavour who also wanted to unite Italy although not as a republic but with the king of Piemonte-Sardinia, Vittorio Emanuele II, as head of state.

Taking sides with the monarchists led to Garibaldi being incarcerated and sentenced to death. He managed to escape and flee to South America where he stayed for 14 years before returning to Italy to continue his plans for unification which he was able to complete on March 17, 1861.

Because of their work to unite Italy most towns and cities has a Corso Garibaldi, a Piazza Cavour or a Galleria Mazzini.

Mexital Cocktail

The Mexital Cocktail is the perfect blend of Mexico and Italy.

2 parts Tequila Reposado

2 parts Campari

1 part Triple Sec

1/2 freshly squeezed lime