Year of Glass
September in Venice feels newly brisk and purposeful. The light has shifted from high summer’s glare to autumn’s gentler gold, Venetians are returning to the markets and restaurants, first time schoolchildren march proudly along the calle in their crisp blue aprons. It’s the perfect moment for one of the city’s strongest cultural festivals, the Italian Glass Weeks. Founded as The Venice Glass Week in 2017, the event has been growing ever since and this year is offering more than 250 events, exhibitions, demonstrations, installations and talks throughout the lagoon. The UN has declared 2022 the official Year of Glass and nowhere in the world has such a long and rich relationship with it as Venice.
Lisa writes- Until I moved to Venice I was a complete ignoramus when it came to glass. I associated Murano with creepy ornamental animals and gaudy goblets acquired on honeymoons, but my first experience of Glass Week had me hooked. The history of Venetian glass is as complex, ornate and fascinating as its artworks, and there’s an elemental sensory correlation between the city and the medium, the sinuous, ever- present movement of the water captured by the Murano masters in a moment of apparently temporary pause. Glass Week is also a fantastic way to explore the city, with events in the islands as well as some of Venice’s most exquisite and secret palaces.
The hub of the shows is Campo Santo Stefano, spreading out from the fifteenth century Venetian Gothic Palazzo Franchetti, originally built by the ducal Marcello family. Restored in 1878 by the fabulously flamboyant Baron Raimondo Franchetti, it’s one of the most recognisable and luminously lovely buildings on the Grand Canal (the Franchetti are also responsible for the rather lugubrious taxidermy on display at the Natural History Museum, thanks to the Baron’s grandson, a celebrated explorer). The Institute of Science, Letters and Art opposite at the Palazzo Loredan will be hosting some of Glass Week’s most important artists.
Murano is of course the centre of the glass industry, but alongside the open furnaces of the renowned Maestri, there’s a chance to take in the lighthouse, a monument in Istrian stone to Venice’s nautical past. Glass Week has put huge amounts of research into revealing the place of glass in wider art history, producing events such as “Sargent, Whistler and Venetian Glass: American Artists and the Magic of Murano”. But the event I’m most looking forward to is the Bocca del Fuoco, a 5k candle lit walk around the furnaces of the island, with the chance to see them at work in Caravagesque darkness, before repairing for a feast of fritto misto and spaghetti.
To learn more about the Italian Glass Weeks
To participate in online events and talks, access the free YouTube channel
Recipes
Pork Loin Scallopina with Blackberry and Ginger Sauce
A medieval recipe inspired by the Gothic architecture of Palazzo Franchetti. With the added bonus (not entirely unintentionally) of celebrating one of the most underrated berries, the Blackberry. Its slightly show- off cousin the raspberry often steals the limelight but in this modestly called ‘Heavenly summer sauce’ blackberries are in their element. Traditionally the almonds would have been blended into the sauce but we chose to scatter them on top instead.
This sauce is good all over but particularly white meats, such as pork and chicken, seem to really work exceptionally well.
We chose this time to serve it on thin cuts of pork loin but that was just a whim, it will also work well with thicker cuts and even cold in salads.
Ingredients
BlackBerry and Ginger Sauce
250 gr Black berries blended
100gr Blackberries kept whole
1 large Tbsp of fresh grated ginger
1 tsp of sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Toasted Almonds for sprinkling on top
Pork Scallopina
400 gr Boneless thin cut pork loin
a dusting of flour for all pork chops, best to use a shallow bowl to ensure even coating
1 tbsp of whole grain mustard
1/2 cup of wine
1 lemon juice
1 tbsp of butter, for every four slices of pork add another tbsp, depending how much you are cooking.
Start by making the sauce. Blend the washed blackberries in a medium sized container, with high walls to avoid splashback. Add the ginger and other ingredients, feel free to add more sugar later on but don’t add more salt if you are making the sauce for the pork.
For the pork we chose to make it like a veal scallopina, meaning dusting the meat in a light layer of flour.
In a large pan melt 1 tbsp butter and then add the floured meat, don’t touch for about 2 minutes, then flip it and let this cook for another 1 minute, then add the wine and lemon juice if using, let this cook for another minute or two before removing the meat and putting to one side. At this point add the seeded mustard and blackberry sauce. Heat this through. together and then serve over the meat alongside the salad with fresh blackberries.
Good straight from the pan or slightly cooled.
Smokey Aubergine, Tomato and Olive Dip
Anna writes-To reflect the explosion of colour found in the glass library of Orsini we chose this dish, which is not only colourful but it also tastes so far from grey that we thought it was a suitable hommage.
Based strongly on a Moroccan dish called Zaalouk, we made the addtion of black olives and I think preserved lemon would also work well, none of which falls too far from the tree of origin.
There is very little point in making small portions of this and seeing as it is a one pan wonder you might as well make it in the biggest one you have. It can be served as a dip, or else left slihgtly more liquid it works really well as a sauce for cous cous or in a sandwhich. I have a sneeky feeling Stracatella would also be extremely delicious.
Makes enough for 10 portions
5 large aubergines
8 tomatoes
1 head of garlic (to taste)
1 heaped tsp of cumin
1 heaped tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp of salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp of paprika
Method:
Start by seperating the aubergines. One third are going to be smoked with their skin on and the others will be oven baked. This is partly for ease but also so that the aubergine retains some of its structure and isn’t overwhelmingly smokey.
If you have a gas hob then place the first third of the aubergines on the open flame and turn every so often until they are fully charred all over. Set aside.
With the other two thirds you are going to cut them in half, score the fleshy part deeply and then stuff a piece of garlic in each half. Drizzle with olive oil and roast at 190c for 15 minutes or until charred and fully cooked.
Remove from the oven and whilst they are cooling start on the tomatoes.
Dice roughly all the tomatoes and put them to one side.
Grate the garlic and prepare the spices.
First add the garlic to slightly heated oil in your pan, then the spices stir for a minute to open up the aroma then add the tomatoes.
Now you can leave this over a low heat as you turn to your aubergines.
Scrape the flesh out leaving the skin of all the aubergines, including the smoked ones and transfer them to the pan. At this point you will just need to stir occasionally without the lid on until the mixture becomes denser, this is upto you really but it should take about 30 minutes, depending on how much liquid there was at the beginning. About 10 minutes away from end of cooking add the chopped parsley and coriander. Add some lemon juice and black olives.
This can be eaten both hot and cold, left slightly more runny for sauce or more reduced as a dip. It will store well for upto 3 days.