La festa della Madonna della Salute on our Day 4! It's a local festival and happens in Venice every year on 21 November. According to City of Venice, "The holiday is, like the Redentore, in memory of another bout of pestilence, which lasted for two years from 1630-31, and the subsequent vow by the Doge to obtain the intercession of the Virgin Mary." We were very grateful to happened to be in Venice on the holiday! On our way to visit the center of the festival, Santa Maria della Salute, I asked J to stop by for breakfast at
Marchini Time, a bakery in San Marco area.
The bakery looked very popular. Constantly customers were coming in and out. While J had cappuccino, I had a little yellow tart that was lemony and creamy. Maybe ricotta torte? I din't know what I ate but I found it very tasty.
Also, we swung by
Palasso Cotarini del Bovolo to see its famous Lombardesque stairway. We had tried to get there twice by following Google map, but we somehow failed. This time with J's digital compass, we finally made it! The place was hidden behind a narrow pass. The architecture was graceful indeed.
Then, we were back on our way to Salute. We walked though San Marco area and crossed a bridge to Dorsoduro area in where Salute was located, hearing the church bell ringing from here and there. Ah, the tall bell tower over there looked like titling!
Getting closer to Salute; we saw more people. It was around nine thirty in the morning. Inside of the church had already been packed with people for holy masses. The festival is said that the most popular event among Venetians, and more locals are seen than tourists on the day.
We stepped out from the overcrowded church and luckily ran into the march of those who serve God. The end of the march was Patriarch of Venice, Monsignor Francesco Moraglia, who was going to celebrate the Mass at 10 am.
Many shops were open on the street for the holiday, selling tons of sweets and savory pastries. We snacked roasted chestnuts. J also tried
arancino, a fried risotto ball, which was so-so.
Walking along
Canale della Giudecca under the sun was pleasant. After we visited Ca' Rezzonico, a museum that showed a particularly notable example of the 18th century Venetian baroque and rococo architecture and interior decoration, and displays paintings by the leading Venetian painters of the period," it was time for lunch.
On this specific festival day, Venetians often eat a soup called "castradina," made with salted mutton along with cabbage and seasoned with cinnamon and pepper. It is said that the meat should be boiled for three days. We would love to taste the traditional dish. We went back to Do Spade, but their dining room was fully booked. J picked Ostaria Da Rioba as an alternative, hoping that they served the special dish. Yes, they did!
This was
castradina. Shredded mutton and cabbage with clear broth. It tasted gentle and delightful, perfect for a chilly late fall day. Actually the taste reminded me of my homemade
corned beef. Perhaps, we could try to make our own
castradina on the day of next year?
We shared a dessert - chestnut mousse with persimmon puree and hazelnut (I think). Creamy, not too sweet, very unique. Fabulous!
Their food was delicious. Also, the place was located in Cannaregio area, cozy and quite without crowds. It was a great choice, J!
With our satisfied tummies, we took a walk around the restaurant. Then, on our way back to Rialto Bridge, we passed by I Tre Mercanti, a gourmet shop whose specialty was tiramisu. Although we just finished lunch, I didn't want to miss a chance to taste their signature tiramisu. The dessert is said to have been invented in the 1970s by Le Beccherie, a restaurant in Treviso, a neighborhood city of Venice. Hence, tiramisu has been one of traditional desserts in Venice as well. Well, I has heard that the inventor of the world-famous dessert was in Baltimore now, who used to open a restaurant called Piedigrotta in Treviso in 1969. I don't know which was true or whether both stories were somehow connected to each other. Anyway, I simply wanted to taste tiramisu in Venice.
I Tre Mercanti's tiramisu says that they make tiramisu according to the original local recipe. Ingredients are the best and creamiest mascarpone cheese, egg yolks, sugar, the best Savoiardi, fresh coffee, and cocoa powder. No whipped cream or liquor like rum. It was nice. It tasted just like tiramisu. There was nothing wrong with it, but I confess that I thought that my homemade, which is airy by adding whipped cream to mascarpone and flavored with marsala, was as good as (honestly, could be better than) one from I Tre Mercanti. It was a wonderful experience and now I can't wait to make my own tiramisu again! To be continued...
