ITALIAN NEWS - Issue # 16, April 2009

Italian News
Periodical On-Line that Promotes, Supports, Spreads ITALY,
and ITALIAN Language, History, Culture, Tradition, Genealogy,
Articles, Products, Services, Every Aspect of ITALIAN Life Style
by THE ITALIAN PROJECT

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italian Regions

SARDEGNA (SARDINIA)
Official Website: www.regione.sardegna.it

The Territory
The second largest island in the Mediterranean, the region
is typical for its mountainous, rugged territory, comprising
the mountains called Limbara, Supramonte, Ogliastra,
Gennargentu and Iglesiente and Sulcis, and characterized
by a very different geological aspect from the rest of Italy;
here also there are unique archeological remains dating
back to thousands of years ago, called "nuraghi". The
coastline is mostly high and rocky, and surrounded by many
smaller islands, such as Asinara, the Maddalena group,
Tavolara, San Pietro and Sant'Antioco.

The Ptovinces of Sardegna (Sardinia)
Province of Cagliari (CA), Province of Carbonia Iglesias
(CI), Province of Medio Campidano (MD), Province of Nuoro
(NU), Province of Ogliastra (OG), Province of Olbia Tempio
(OT), Province of Oristano (OR), Province of Sassari (SS)

Population
In Sardegna (Sardinia) there are 8 provinces, 4 of which
were established in 2005: Carbonia-Iglesias, Medio
Campidano, Ogliastra and Olbia-Tempio while Oristano was
established in 1974. The population is mostly concentrated
in the provinces of Cagliari and Sassari. Until very recent
times the population inhabited the inner lands away from
the sea, and the economy was based on sheep-raising and
connected activities. Then a wonderful tourist development
took place in the coastal areas, so that today Sardinia, with
its clear waters, unspoiled landscape and ideal climate in
the summer, is a favorite holiday destinations for Italians
and foreigners, who reach by ferry or plane the celebrated
localities in the Costa Smeralda, Maddalena, Alghero and
Costa Rei. Still today, however, the region is the first in Italy
for sheep and goat raising, and the production of cheeses.
Another important resource is the extraction of lead and
zinc.

History
Inhabited since very early pre-historic times - the earliest
trace of man on the island goes back to 150,000 years ago
-, in the 9th century BC the island was occupied by the
Phoenicians, later on by Cartage and, after this city was
defeated and destroyed in the Third Punic War, by Rome,
and under the Roman Empire enjoyed a remarkable
prosperity.
Raided by the Vandals in 456 AD, it was later reclaimed by
the Eastern Roman Empire. After that, for many centuries
Sardinia suffered raids by the Saracens from Spain, Africa
and Sicilia (Sicily).

In the 12th century, under the influence of the republic of
Pisa, the island was divided into four local districts -
Gallura, Logudoro, Arborea, and Caralis - called "Iudicati",
each ruled by a iudex, whose power little by little became
hereditary. In 1241 the King of Sicily, Swabian Frederick II,
appointed his son Enzo, born out of wedlock, king of
Sardegna (Sardinia).

In 1323, the Kingdom of Aragon began a campaign to
conquer Sardegna (Sardinia); the giudicato of Arborea
resisted and for a time came to control nearly the entire
island, but its last ruler Eleanor of Arborea was eventually
defeated in the Battle of Sanluri on June 30, 1409. The
population of Alghero was expelled and the city repopulated
by the Catalan invaders, whose descendants spoke Catalan
till quite recently.

After the merge of the Kingdoms of Castile and Aragon,
Sardinia was incorporated into the newly created national
entity, Spain. Sardinians were regularly employed on the
royal Spanish fleet and on October 7, 1571, at the Battle of
Lepanto, Sardinian mariners lef the defeat of the
Turkishfleet. On 2 September 1720 Sardinia passed to
Vittorio Amedeo II Savoy. That was the beginning of the
Kingdom of Sardinia, which in the following century would
become the Kingdom of Italy.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italian Genealogy

HOW TO CONTACT your Living Relatives
in ITALY

Here are our Step by Step, Detailed, and Useful
Suggestions:

1- Write Informal and Personal Letters in ITALIAN to all them
who you have found, by Using the other LINKS Listed Here
Below, to be Your "Potential" Living Relatives in ITALY,
with ALL the Information and Details!

If you are not able to write in ITALIAN, Click on ITALIAN
TRANSLATION, in this Page, and/or Contact us!

2- With your Letters to ITALY, include self-addressed
stamped envelopes, for their answers, explaining ALL the
reasons for your Letters, and asking if they are your Living
Relatives in ITALY, and if they can help you to find your
ITALIAN Ancestors, and to build your ITALIAN Family
Genealogical Tree, and also if you can call them, to
personally speak with them, and to plan a future meeting
with them.

3- About after a month, probably several of them will
answer you back!

Maybe some of them will be your Living Relatives in ITALY,
and some of them will be very glad to help you to find
Information, and Documents, as Extracts, Acts, Certificates
of your ITALIAN Ancestors, and to build your ITALIAN Family
Genealogical Tree!

4- If you do not speak ITALIAN, we can Translate also their
answers to you, and your answers to them! Click on
ITALIAN TRANSLATION, in this Page, and/or Contact
us!

HOW TO FIND Places of your Ancestors
and Living Relatives in ITALY

HOW TO OBTAIN Information and
Documents of your Ancestors in ITALY

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Italian Companies

Buitoni

Official Website: www.buitoni.com

The year was 1827 and with her husband’s support, Giulia Buitoni mortgaged two tracts of land and pawned her heirloom
pearl necklace to start a business. By 1916 the Buitoni factory produced over 3,500 tons of pasta yearly. Today Buitoni
products are available worldwide.

Buitoni knows that pastas and sauces are easily adaptable to a more contemporary style of dining, and so we’re always
creating new products and trying new combinations and flavors to bring the joy of an elegantly prepared meal to your table.

There is one thing we won’t change—our dedication to quality, using the highest quality ingredients, vegetables and
cheeses, and making the most flavorful pastas—from our refrigerated tortellini and ravioli to our delicate cut pastas.

So what’s for dinner tonight? When you choose Buitoni, it will never be ordinary. Browse through our wide variety of
products or try some of our delicious recipes. Whatever you create, Buitoni can help you savor life the Italian way. Il Gusto
della Vita.

Products
Ravioli, Chicken & Roasted Garlic Ravioli, Classic Beef Ravioli, Four Cheese Ravioli, Light Four Cheese Ravioli, Three Cheese
Ravioletti, Family Size Four Cheese Ravioli, Whole Wheat Four Cheese Ravioli, Tortellini, Herb Chicken Tortellini, Spinach
Cheese Tortellini, Three Cheese Tortellini, Family Size Mixed Cheese Tortellini, Family Size Three Cheese Tortellini, Whole
Wheat Three Cheese Tortellini, Family Size Herb Chicken Tortellini, Tortelloni, Cheese & Roasted Garlic Tortelloni, Chicken
Tortelloni, Mozzarella & Herb Tortelloni, Portabello Mushroom & Cheese Tortelloni, Cut Pasta, Angel Hair Pasta, Fettuccine,
Linguine, Spinach Fettuccine, Bruschetta, Classic Bruschetta Sauces, Alfredo Sauce, Light Alfredo Sauce, Arrabbiata Sauce,
Vodka Sauce, Marinara Sauce, Roasted Garlic Marinara Sauce, Tomato Herb Parmesan Sauce, Pesto with Basil, Pesto with
Sun Dried Tomatoes, Reduced Fat Pesto with Basil, Family Size Pesto with Basil, Shredded Cheese, Freshly Shredded
Parmesan Cheese, Freshly Shredded Romano Cheese.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italian Language

Reflexive Pronouns

In a reflexive sentence the action of the verb reverts to the
subject, as in the following examples: I wash myself. They
enjoy themselves. In reflexive sentences, Italian verbs, like
English verbs, are conjugated with reflexive pronouns.

Reflexive pronouns (i pronomi riflessivi) are identical in
form to direct object pronouns, except for the third person
form si (the third person singular and plural form).

SINGULAR PLURAL
mi myself ci ourselves
ti yourself vi yourselves
si himself, herself, itself, yourself (formal) si themselves,
yourselves (formal)

Just like direct object pronouns, reflexive pronouns are
placed before a conjugated verb or attached to the infinitive.
If the infinitive is preceded by a form of dovere, potere, or
volere, the reflexive pronoun is either attached to the
infinitive (which drops its final –e) or placed before the
conjugated verb. Note that the reflexive pronoun agrees
with the subject even when attached to the infinitive.

Mi alzo. (I’m getting up.)
Voglio alzarmi. Mi voglio alzare. (I want to get up.)

Mi, ti, si, and vi may drop the i before another vowel or an h
and replace it with an apostrophe. Ci may drop the i only
before an i or e.

Si lava tutti i giorni. (He washes himself every day.)
Ci divertiamo molto qui. (We enjoy ourselves a lot here.)
A casa, m’annoio. (At home, I get bored.)

C'è and Com’è

C’è (from ci è) and ci sono correspond to the English there is
and there are. They state the existence or presence of
something or someone.

C’è tempo; non c’è fretta. (There's time; there is no hurry.)
Ci sono molti italiani a New York. (There are many Italians in
New York.)

C’è and ci sono should not be confused with ecco (here is,
here are; there is, there are), which is used when you point
at or draw attention to something or someone (singular or
plural).

C’è una parola difficile in questa frase. (There's a difficult
word in this sentence.)

C’è and ci sono also express the idea of being in or being
here/there.

Scusi, c’è Maria?— No, non c’è. (Excuse me, is Maria in?—
No, she isn’t.)

Come is used with all persons of essere in questions to find
out what people or things are like.

Come sei? (What are you like?)
Com’è il museo d’arte moderna? (What is the museum of
modern art like?)

Come + essere is used in exclamations.

Come sei biondo! (How blond you are!)
Com’è dolce questo caffè! (How sweet this coffee is!)
Come sono buoni questi panini! (How good these
sandwiches are!)

Note the word order: come + verb + adjective. The subject,
if expressed, is at the end of the exclamation.

Com’è grande questo museo! (How big this museum is!)

Exclamations of this kind are used much more frequently in
Italian than in English.

Com’è bella questa casa! (This is really a nice house! My,
what a lovely house!)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italian History

Italo-Uruguayani (Italian-Uruguayans)

Total population
1 - 1,5 million

50% of the population

Regions with Significant Populations
Throughout Uruguay

Languages
Rioplatense Spanish. Minority speaks Italian and Italian dialects

Religion
Predominantly Roman Catholicism

Related Ethnic Groups
Italians, Italian Argentine, Italian Brazilian, Italian American

An Italian Uruguayan (Spanish: italo-uruguayo, Italian: italo-uruguaiano ) is an Uruguayan citizen of full or partial Italian
ancestry. Almost half of the population is of Italian origin or has some degree of Italian descent. Italians began arriving to
Uruguay in great numbers in the 1870s, and this migratory flow continued to the 1960s.

The Italian settlement, along with the Spanish, formed the backbone of today's Uruguayan society. Like its neighbour
country Argentina, the culture of Uruguay exhibits significant connections to Italian culture; in terms of language, customs
and traditions.

History
The first major infux of Italian immigrants arrived to Uruguay in the late 1880s. European immigrants heavily influenced the
architecture and culture of the countryside, Montevideo, and other major cities. In Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, the
lifestyle is very reminiscent of Southern European cities.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Italian Products

Bresaola

Some Bresaola della Valtellina (PGI/IGP) and some olives, a pickled onion and bread.

Bresaola is air-dried salted beef eye of round that has been aged about 2-3 months until it becomes hard and a dark red,
almost purple colour. It is lean, has a sweet, musty smell and is tender. It originated in Valtellina, a valley in the Alps of
northern Italy's Lombardy region.

The word comes from the diminutive of Italian dialectal bresada, which is the past participle form of brasare, meaning to
braise, from French braiser.

Production
A strict trimming process is essential to the rich taste. Legs of beef are thoroughly defatted and seasoned with a dry rub of
coarse salt and spices such as juniper berries, cinnamon and nutmeg. They are then left to cure for a few days. A drying
period follows, of between one and three months depending on the weight of the particular bresaola. Up to 40% of the
meat's original weight is lost during aging.

A similar process is also applied in Valtellina to smaller pieces of meat. This results in a more strongly flavoured product,
Slinzega, which is similar to South African biltong. Traditionally horse meat was used for slinzega, but now other types of
meat can be used, such as venison and pork.

Serving
As an antipasto bresaola is usually sliced paper thin and served at room temperature or slightly chilled. It is most
commonly eaten on its own, but may be drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, and served with rocket (rucola, arugula)
salad, cracked black pepper and freshly shaved Parmesan cheese. The similarity to carpaccio, which is made from raw
beef, sees that name being used (incorrectly) for bresaola dishes as well.

Sliced bresaola should be stored well-wrapped in a refrigerator.

Similar products
The Bresaola produced in Valtellina is now a Protected geographical indication (PGI) under EU Regulation 2081/92. Since
this designation, smoked dried beef made outside Valtellina may carry a generic name such as "viande séchée" or "beef
prosciutto". But there are traditional products from several other areas that are similar :

Bindenfleisch (Bünderfleisch) - from across the border in Grisons, Switzerland
Brési - from the Jura region of France
Pastirma - from Turkey and the Balkans
Suho meso - from the Slavic countries
Suschenaja govjadina - from Southern Russia
Cecina - from León, now used elsewhere in Spain and Latin America (Cecina de León also has PGI status)
Tasajo - from South America
Carne de sol - from NE Brazil
Charque dulce - from Brazil
Pemmican (Pemmikan) - from North America
Deng-deng - from India

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Italian Latest News

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Famous Italians

Marco Polo

16th century painting of Marco Polo

Born: September 15, 1254(1254-09-15)
Venice, Italy
Died: on or after January 9, 1324
Venice, Italy

Marco Polo (September 15, 1254 – January 9, 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325) was a Venetian trader and
explorer who gained fame for his worldwide travels, recorded in the book Il Milione ("The Million" or The Travels of Marco
Polo).

Polo, together with his father Niccolò and his uncle Maffeo, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China
(which he called Cathay, after the Khitan) and visit the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan (grandson of
Genghis Khan).

Voyage of Niccolò and Maffeo Polo

Niccolò and Maffeo Polo leaving Constantinople for the east, in 1259.

The Polo name originally did not belong to a family of explorers, but to a family of traders. Marco Polo's father, Niccolò
(also Nicolò in Venetian) and his uncle, Maffeo (also Maffio), were prosperous merchants who traded with the East. They
were partners with a third brother, named Marco il vecchio (the Elder).

In 1252, Niccolò and Maffeo left Venice for Constantinople, where they resided for several years. The two brothers lived in
the Venetian quarter of Constantinople, where they enjoyed political chances and tax relief because of their country's role
in establishing the Latin Empire in the Fourth Crusade of 1204. But the family judged the political situation of the city
precarious, so they decided to transfer their business northeast to Soldaia, a city in Crimea, and left Constantinople in
1259. Their decision proved wise. Constantinople was recaptured in 1261 by Michael Palaeologus, the ruler of the Empire
of Nicaea, who promptly burned the Venetian quarter. Captured Venetian citizens were blinded,[4] while many of those who
managed to escape perished aboard overloaded refugee ships fleeing to other Venetian colonies in the Aegean Sea.

As their new home on the north rim of the Black Sea, Soldaia had been frequented by Venetian traders since the 12th
century. The Mongol army sacked it in 1223, but the city had never been definitively conquered until 1239, when it became
a part of the newly formed Mongol state known as the Golden Horde. Searching for better profits, the Polos continued their
journey to Sarai, where the court of Berke Khan, the ruler of the Golden Horde, was located. At that time, the city of Sarai
— already visited by William of Rubruck a few years earlier — was no more than a huge encampment, and the Polos
stayed for about a year. Finally, they decided to avoid Crimea, because of a civil war between Berke and his cousin
Hulagu or perhaps because of the bad relationship between Berke Khan and the Byzantine Empire. Instead, they moved
further east to Bukhara, in modern day Uzbekistan, where the family lived and traded for three years.

Nicolò and Maffeo in Bukhara, where they stayed for three years. They were invited by an envoy of Hulagu (right) to travel
east to visit the Great Khan Kubilai.

In 1264, Nicolò and Maffio joined up with an embassy sent by the Ilkhan Hulagu to his brother, the Grand Khan Kublai. In
1266, they reached the seat of the Grand Khan in the Mongol capital Khanbaliq, present day Beijing, China.

In his book, Il Milione, Marco explains how Kublai Khan officially received the Polos and sent them back — with a Mongol
named Koeketei as an ambassador to the Pope. They brought with them a letter from the Khan requesting 100 educated
people to come and teach Christianity and Western customs to his people and oil from the lamp of the Holy Sepulcher. The
letter also contained the paiza, a golden tablet a foot long and three inches wide, authorizing the holder to require and
obtain lodging, horses and food throughout the Great Khan's dominion. Koeketei left in the middle of the journey, leaving
the Polos to travel alone to Ayas in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. From that port city, they sailed to Saint Jean d'Acre,
capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Niccolo and Maffeo Polo remitting a letter from Kubilai to Pope Gregory X in 1271.

The long sede vacante — between the death of Pope Clement IV, in 1268, and the election of Pope Gregory X, in 1271 —
prevented the Polos from fulfilling Kublai’s request. As suggested by Theobald Visconti, papal legate for the realm of
Egypt, in Acre for the Ninth Crusade, the two brothers returned to Venice in 1269 or 1270, waiting for the nomination of the
new Pope.

Voyages of Marco Polo

Journey to Cathay and Service to the Khan

The Polo family arrives in a Chinese city

As soon as he was elected in 1271, Pope Gregory X received the letter from Kublai Khan, remitted by Niccolo and Maffeo.
Kublai Khan was asking for the dispatch of a hundred missionaries, and some oil from the lamp of Jerusalum. The two
Polos (this time accompanied by the 17 year-old Marco Polo) returned to Mongolia, accompanied by two Dominican monks,
Niccolo de Vicence and Guillaume de Tripoli. The two friars did not finish the voyage due to fear, but the Polos reached
Kanbaliq and remitted the presents from the Pope to Kublai in 1274.

The Tibetan monk and confidant of Kublai Khan, Drogön Chögyal Phagpa (1235-1280) mentions in his diaries for 1271 a
foreign friend of Kublai Khan, who was quite possibly one of the elder Polos or even Marco Polo, although, unfortunately,
no name is given.

The Polos spent the next 17 years in China. Kublai Khan took a liking to Marco, who was an engaging storyteller. They set
him on many diplomatic missions throughout his empire. Marco carried out diplomatic assignments but also entertained
the khan with interesting stories and observations about the lands he traveled.

Marco reported that apart from entrusting him with diplomatic missions, Kublai Khan also made him governor for three
years of the large commercial city of Yangzhou. An Italian community would actually reside in Yangzhou throughout the
14th century, as documented by the findings of the 1342 tombstone of Katarina Vilioni.

Return to Europe
According to Marco’s travel account, the Polos asked several times for permission to return to Europe but the Khan
appreciated the visitors so much that he would not agree to their departure.

Only in 1291 Kublai entrusted Marco with his last duty, to escort the Mongol princess Koekecin (Cocacin in Il Milione) to
her betrothed, the Ilkhan Arghun. The party traveled by sea, departing from the southern port city of Quanzhou and sailing
to Sumatra, and then to Persia, via Sri Lanka and India (where his visits included Mylapore, Madurai and Alleppey, which
he nicknamed Venice of the East). Marco Polo has been described to utilise the Northern Silk Road although the possibility
of a southern route has been advanced.

In 1293 or 1294 the Polos reached the Ilkhanate, ruled by Gaykhatu after the death of Arghun, and left Koekecin with the
new Ilkhan. Then they moved to Trebizond and from that city sailed to Venice. Koekecin would become the principal wife of
the Mongol Il-Khan ruler Ghazan.

In terms of the legacy of Marco Polo's travel to China, it was noteworthy as one of the first European visitors to travel to
the East; considerable exposure of China's culture to the European continent resulted. The trip also showed Europeans the
value of the Silk Road in negotiating this travel; however, even though this trackway was used since the first millennium
BC, the use of the Silk Road actually declined markedly within about 150 years after Marco Polo's expedition, due to the
opening of sea routes.

Il Milione

A page from a manuscript of Il Milione

On their return from China in 1295, the family settled in Venice where they became a sensation and attracted crowds of
listeners who had difficulties believing their reports of distant China. According to a late tradition, since they did not
believe him, Marco Polo invited them all to dinner one night during which the Polos dressed in the simple clothes of a
peasant in China. Shortly before the crowds ate, the Polos opened their pockets to reveal hundreds of rubies and other
jewels which they had received in Asia. Though they were much impressed, the people of Venice still doubted the Polos.

Marco Polo was later captured in a minor clash of the war between Venice and Genoa, or in the naval battle of Curzola,
according to a dubious tradition. He spent the few months of his imprisonment, in 1298, dictating to a fellow prisoner,
Rustichello da Pisa, a detailed account of his travels in the then-unknown parts of China.

His book, Il Milione (the title comes from either "The Million", then considered an extremely large number, or from Polo's
family nickname Emilione), was written in Old French, a language Polo did not speak, and entitled Le divisament dou
monde ("The description of the world"). The book was soon translated into many European languages and is known in
English as The Travels of Marco Polo. The original is lost and there are now several often-conflicting versions of the
translations. The book became an instant success — quite an achievement at a time when the invention of the printing
press was two hundred years away in Europe.

Later Life

Map of the Journey

Marco Polo was finally released from captivity in the summer of 1299, and he returned home to Venice, where his father
and uncles had bought a large house in the central quarter named contrada San Giovanni Crisostomo with the company's
profits.

The company continued its activities, and Marco was now a wealthy merchant. While he personally financed other
expeditions, he would never leave Venice again. In 1300, he married Donata Badoer, a woman from an old, respected
patrician family. Marco would have three children with her: Fantina, Bellela and Moreta. All of them later married into
noble families.

Between 1310 and 1320, he wrote a new version of his book, Il Milione, in Italian. The text was lost, but not before a
Franciscan friar, named Francesco Pipino, translated it into Latin. This Latin version was then translated back into the
Italian, creating conflicts between different editions of the book.

Marco Polo died in his home on January 1324, at almost 70 years old. He was buried in the Church of San Lorenzo.

Historical and Cultural Impact

Handwritten notes by Cristoforo Colombo on the Latin edition of Marco Polo's Le livre des merveilles.

Statue of Marco Polo in Hangzhou, China, near the West Lake

Although the Polos were by no means the first Europeans to reach China overland (see, for example, Giovanni da Pian del
Carpine), thanks to Marco's book their trip was the first to be widely known, and the best-documented until then. Marco
Polo's description of the Far East and its riches inspired Christopher Columbus' decision to try to reach those lands by a
western route. A heavily annotated copy of Polo's book was among the belongings of Columbus.

The name Marco Polo was also given to a children's game (Marco Polo), a story in the science fiction series Doctor Who
(Marco Polo) and a three-masted clipper ship built in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1851. The fastest ship of her day,
Marco Polo was the first ship to sail around the world in under six months. Several ships of the Italian navy were named
Marco Polo. The airport in Venice is named Marco Polo International Airport. See also the Marcopolo satellites.

The travels of Marco Polo are given an extended fantasy treatment in the Irish writer Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne's Messer
Marco Polo, and in Gary Jennings' 1984 novel The Journeyer. He also appears as the pivotal character in Italo Calvino's
novel Invisible Cities.

Marco Polo also inspired the creation of Marco Volo, a character in the role-playing game Forgotten Realms.

In 1982, Giuliano Montaldo directed an ambitious television miniseries, simply titled "Marco Polo". The Italian financed
project starred Ken Marshall as Marco Polo and guest-starred a handful of Academy Awards winning actors, like Denholm
Elliott, F. Murray Abraham, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, John Houseman, Burt Lancaster and also Tony Lo Bianco and
Leonard Nimoy. The music was scored by the famous Italian music composer Ennio Morricone. The miniseries won 2
Emmy Awards and was nominated for 6 more.

Marco Polo sheep is named for the explorer, who described the species during his crossing of Pamir (ancient Mount
Imeon) in 1271.

Cartography

The Fra Mauro map.

Marco Polo's travels may have had some impact on the development of European cartography, ultimately leading to the
European voyages of exploration a century later. The 1453 Fra Mauro map is said by Ramusio to have been an improved
copy of the one brought from Cathay by Marco Polo:

"That fine illuminated world map on parchment, which can still be seen in a large cabinet alongside the choir of their
monastery (The Calmoldese monastery of Santo Michele on Murano) was by one of the brothers of the monastery, who took
great delight in the study of cosmography, diligently drawn and copied from a most beautiful and very old nautical map and
a world map that had been brought from Cathay by the most honourable Messer Marco Polo and his father." Ramusio v.3.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CIAO! Hello Dear Friends of ITALY!

Enjoy This Issue of ITALIAN NEWS, Periodical On-Line that Promotes, Supports, Spreads ITALY,
and ITALIAN Language, History, Culture, Tradition, Genealogy, Articles, Products, Services, with Very Useful
Information to Make you MORE and MORE Familiar with Every Aspect of ITALIAN Life Style!

Learn MORE and MORE about ITALY, and ITALIAN Language, History, Culture, Tradition, Genealogy, Articles,
Products, Services, Every Aspect of ITALIAN Life Style, by Collecting All The Issues of ITALIAN NEWS!

All your Comments, Opinions, Suggestions, and Ideas to Improve ITALIAN NEWS are Most Welcome!

Many Thanks! Best Regards!

Your ITALIAN Friends,

Carlo Tognoni, founder, and Davide Tognoni, administrator
THE ITALIAN PROJECT www.theitalianproject.com

ITALIAN LANGUAGE: Lessons of Italian Grammar, Spelling, and Usage: Reflexive
Pronouns - C’è and Com’è
ITALIAN GENEALOGY: How to Contact your Living Relatives in Italy
ITALIAN REGIONS: Sardegna (Sardinia)
ITALIAN PROVINCES: Cagliari - Carbonia-Iglesias - Medio-Campidano - Nuoro -
Ogliastra - Olbia-Tempio - Oristano - Sassari
ITALIAN RECIPES: Penne with Turkey, Arugula, and Sun-Dried-Tomato Vinaigrette -
Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi with Tomato-Butter Sauce - Frittata with Beef Sausage
and Pecorino
ITALIAN HISTORY: Italo-Uruguaiani (Italian-Uruguayans)
FAMOUS ITALIANS: Marco Polo
ITALIAN COMPANIES: Buitoni
ITALIAN PRODUCTS: Bresaola
ITALIAN LATEST NEWS: Life in Italy

In This Issue:

Issue # 16, April 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Italian Recipes

Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi with
Tomato-Butter Sauce

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 small onion, halved
1 bay leaf
Pinch of crushed red pepper
1 (28 ounce) can diced Italian plum tomatoes, juices
reserved
Salt
2 cups spinach, stems discarded
2 pounds fresh ricotta
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for
serving
2 cups all-purpose flour

Nutrition Info Per Serving
Calories: 600 kcal
Carbohydrates: 47 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Fat: 32 g
Protein: 29 g
Sugars: 7 g

Cooking Directions
In a large, deep skillet, melt the butter. Add the garlic,
onion, bay leaf and red pepper and cook over moderate
heat until the garlic is fragrant. Add the tomatoes and their
juices and bring to a boil. Simmer the sauce over low heat,
stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 2 1/2
cups, about 1 1/2 hours. Discard the garlic, onion and bay
leaf. Season the sauce with salt and keep warm.
Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet. Add the spinach, a
handful at a time, and stir over moderately high heat until
wilted; transfer to a colander; let cool slightly. Squeeze the
spinach dry and finely chop it.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In a food
processor, combine the spinach with the ricotta, eggs,
nutmeg, and the 1/4 cup of Parmesan and process until
blended. Add the flour in 3 batches, pulsing between
additions, until almost incorporated. Scrape the gnudi
dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead 5 to 10
times, until smooth.

Add one-fourth of the gnudi dough to a large, resealable
plastic bag; with scissors, cut a 1/2-inch corner from the
bag. Working over the boiling water, squeeze the dough
through the corner opening and use a knife to cut it into
1-inch pieces. Cook the gnudi over moderately high heat
until firm, about 3 minutes. With a slotted spoon or wire
skimmer, transfer the gnudi to a baking sheet. Repeat with
the remaining dough.

Carefully transfer the gnudi to the tomato sauce and stir
lightly to heat through. Spoon into shallow bowls and serve
at once, passing more Parmesan at the table.

Yield
6 servings

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Italian Recipes

Penne with Turkey, Arugula, and
Sun-Dried-Tomato Vinaigrette

Ingredients
6 reconstituted sun-dried tomato halves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound turkey cutlets, cut into 1/2-by-1 1/2-inch strips
6 ounces arugula, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1/2 pound penne

Nutrition Info Per Serving
Calories: 550 kcal
Carbohydrates: 46 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Fat: 23 g
Protein: 38 g
Sugars: 3 g

Cooking Directions
In a blender, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic,
vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the
pepper. Blend until a paste forms. With the machine
running, add the 1/3 cup oil in a thin stream.

Sprinkle the turkey with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each of
the salt and pepper. In a large frying pan, heat the
remaining 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat. Cook the
turkey, in two batches if necessary, until just cooked
through, about 3 minutes. Do not overcook. Transfer the
turkey to a large bowl and add the arugula.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the penne until
just done, about 13 minutes. Drain, toss with the turkey and
arugula and the tomato vinaigrette, and serve warm.

Yield
4 servings

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Italian Recipes

Frittata
with Beef Sausage and Pecorino

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
6 ounces beef sausage casing removed
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 large eggs, beaten
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups mizuna or watercress leaves
3 ounces Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese

Nutrition Info Per Serving
Calories: 403 kcal
Carbohydrates: 4 g
Dietary Fiber: 0 g
Fat: 29 g
Protein: 29 g
Sugars: 2 g

Cooking Directions
Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Heat olive oil in a 10-inch
nonstick skillet with an ovenproof handle over
medium-high heat. Add beef sausage and cook, breaking up
the meat, until well browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using a
slotted spoon, transfer sausage to a bowl; set aside.
Discard fat, and wipe out skillet.

Return skillet to medium heat; melt butter in it. Add eggs,
sprinkle with salt, and cook until eggs begin to set on the
bottom, about 10 seconds. Using a rubber spatula, pull
edges into the center, tilting skillet so eggs fill the gaps.
Sprinkle 1 cup mizuna or watercress, beef sausage,
Pecorino, Romano, and ricotta over eggs. Continue pulling
the edges toward center. Cook until nearly set, about 4
minutes.

Transfer skillet to oven; bake until top is set and edges are
golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper to
taste, and serve immediately or at room temperature with
remaining mizuna or watercress.

Yield
4 servings

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------