Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup warm milk (120 to 130 degrees F)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
7 eggs
1/2 cup chopped mixed candied fruit
1/4 cup chopped blanched almonds
1/2 teaspoon anise seeds
vegetable oil
Directions
In a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add milk and butter; beat 2 minutes on medium. Add 2 eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes on high. Stir in fruit, nuts and aniseed; mix well.
Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes.
Place in a greased bowl; turn once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. If desired, dye remaining eggs (leave them uncooked); lightly rub with oil. Punch dough down. Divide in half; roll each piece into a 24-in. rope.
Loosely twist ropes and tuck eggs into openings. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack.
You won’t find the Easter Bunny in Italy, but you will find some interesting Italian Easter celebrations. Easter, Pasqua in Italian, has its share of rituals and traditions.
The Monday following Easter, la Pasquetta is also a holiday throughout Italy. While the days before Easter in Italy include solemn processions and masses, Easter is a joyous celebration.
Religious processions are held in many towns on the Friday or Saturday before Easter and sometimes on Easter Sunday. Many churches have special statues of the Virgin and Jesus that play a big part in the processions. The statues may be paraded through the city or displayed in the main square. Parade participants are often dressed in traditional ancient costumes. Olive branches are often used instead of or along with palm fronds in the processions and to decorate churches.
Rome and St. Peter’s
While Easter mass will be held in every church in Italy, the biggest and most popular mass is held by the Pope at St. Peter’s Basilica. On Good Friday, the Pope celebrates the Via Crucis in Rome near the Colosseum. A huge cross with burning torches lights the sky as the stations of the cross are described in several languages. At the end, the Pope gives a blessing.
Florence – Scoppio del Carro
In Florence, Easter is celebrated with the Scoppio del Carro, explosion of the cart. A huge, decorated wagon is dragged through Florence by white oxen until it reaches Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence’s historic center. Following mass, the Archbishop sends a dove-shaped rocket into the cart, igniting the fireworks held in the cart. This spectacular display is followed by a parade in medieval costumes.
Bagni di Lucca, “land of princes and poets”, is the largest mountain commune in Italy with a great number of hamlets. It is situated in the valleys of the rivers Serchio and Lima, surrounded by green hills covered with century-old forests of chestnut trees.
Scattered in the area are many elegant mansions of the 19th century, surrounded by rich gardens populated with rare plant species, which poets and musicians used as a romantic retreat and source of inspiration, while royalty found a refuge from the turmoil of busy European capitals.
Inhabited since the Bronze Age, as shown by remains of Ligurian sepulchres of the 8th century BC, the area was known for its mineral springs by Etruscan and Romans, and a Roman settlement was established at Villa Therentiana (presently Pieve dei Monti di Villa).
In the 11th century AD the valley was a fiefdom of powerful Tuscan families.
Bagni the main spa center in Italy, welcoming guests from all over Europe.
In Napoleonic times the place was a favorite retreat of the Buonaparte family, coming for the spas as well as for a casino. After the Congress of Vienna, the Dukedom of Lucca became an international court, and Bagni was the summer retreat.
After 1860, when Tuscany was included in the kingdom of Italy, the decadence of the place as a fashionable resort began.
Points of Interest:
Villa Ada, a previous Renaissance mansion of the local De Nobili family, was renovated in the 19th century by a British consul who added the two 6-sided towers, and surrounded it with large, romantic gardens, including also an artificial grotto. It is now a property of the municipality, and is used for spa therapies. Thermal Baths, already known in Roman times, and a spa center documented since the Middle Ages, had visitors from all over Europe since medieval times. The spas consist of 19 natural springs with different concentrations of calcium and sulphur, and a maximum temperature of 54 degrees centigrade. Orrido di Botri is a natural reserve in a deep canyon of great beauty, preserving rare plant species and hosting many rare rapacious birds, as the royal eagle and the owl. Devil’s Bridge, also called ‘Maddalena’s Bridge, was constructed during the era of the Countess Matilde di Canossa (1046-1115).
This medieval bridge spans the Serchio River and is said to have been built with the aid of the devil himself.
Sitting on now submerged islets, there are five asymmetrical arches.
Montecatini Terme
Montecatini-Terme rises along the Valley of Nievole.
The town is a famous bath resort for the effectiveness of its chloride-phosphate-sodium waters. The atmosphere and setting suggest bygone days, and in fact most of the baths and hotels date from the early 19th century. But as early as the 14th century, Ugolino da Montecatini, a doctor, considered the water a good cure for liver problems.
The thermal baths were owned by the Medici and then the Dukes of Lorraine. Montecatini began to become known in the 18th century when Piero Leopoldo carried out modernization works. Many of the buildings which surround the main park are fine examples of early 20th century architecture.
Points of Interest:
· Terme Tettuccio is the most splendid of the baths. It was built in 1926 in the Neo-Classical style with circular, marble-lined pools, fountains and Art Nouveau tiles depicting languorous nymphs.
· Terme Leopoldine, built in 1926 in the style of a Classical Temple, is named after Grand Duke Leopold I.
Pistoia, the second largest city in Tuscany, is a town not to be missed. Standing between Monte Albano and the Appennines, the town is rich in Roman history. There is a strong medieval feel to the town and its reputation for murderous citizens (dating from the Guelphs) has persisted since the 13th century!
The word “pistol” is derived from the dagger originally used by Pistoiese and the ironwork tradition continues to this day.
The city is also famous for the production of embroideries and confectionary.
Here in the center of town, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, you will find the famous Pistoia fresh produce market. It is a beautiful site to behold. Trying to decide what to buy is a difficult decision as there are so many choices.
Whatever your decision, you will be getting the best fresh food available. Buon appetito!
