Bookbinder Paolo Olbi and his typesetter Beppi may be Venice’s last great artisans, making every component of their beautiful products by hand in Paolo’s atmospheric workshop in Castello, Venice. We met these generous Venetians when we settled into a Grand Canal-side palazzo apartment for two weeks to get an insight into how locals live in … Read more
Venice, the city built on water, is a series of 117 islands crisscrossed by canals, connected by bridges, and surrounded by seawater. The key to understanding Venice is to get beneath the surface of the ‘City of Water’, and do it by boat. With two weeks in Venice as part of our year-long grand tour … Read more
‘Dalla terra alla tavola’, from earth to table – or from ‘paddock to plate’ or ‘farm to fork’ as we say in Australia – may not be a new concept in Italy, or Australia or the UK for that matter, but it’s one that has always excited us. When Francesco, owner of Antiche Carampane, our … Read more
Painting Venice. A notion that appeals to this romantic grand turista. We’ve been seeing artists sketching and painting in Venice and all over Europe this spring, setting up easels and drawing in sketchbooks, everywhere from the cobblestone lanes of the old town of Kotor to the waterfront at Venice’s Rialto markets. And I’ve been thinking … Read more
This poached eggs with asparagus, pancetta and parmesan recipe makes a contemporary take on a traditional Venetian dish of poached eggs with asparagi. I couldn’t leave the classic rendition of the dish that I made for the Venice edition of my Weekend Eggs series alone. Here’s what I did to it and why. I was lamenting the fact … Read more