07 August 2009

Molise another hidden treasure

Molisane Cart

Not so very long ago, I stumbled upon Michele Vitale on a Slow Food forum on LinkedIn, a social business network. I recognized right away that being from the little known region of Molise and his keen interest in trying to promote their local cuisine and culture to a broader audience, that we had a lot in common and we do. His blog, "Taste of Italy-il Gusto dell' Italia" written in a combination of English and Italian posts, and is a real celebration of this beautiful, "off the beaten path" region of Italy. It is a good site for those of us trying to improve our Italian as well. Michele's passion for his homeland is quite contagious and he pulls together some great videos and posts about Molise and it's people. Second to the smallest region and surrounded by Abruzzo, Apulia, Campania, Lazio and the Adriatic sea, one can see why Molisese might feel overshadowed by their larger neighbors. Michele is trying to change all of that by promoting this areas culture and cuisine in all sorts of endeavors. When I first made contact with him he was off to Holland to put on a food exhibit and has been back again more recently. Apparently there are quite a few Dutch people that have been coming there for ages and so there is a fair amount of demand for the Molisano food and wines back in the Netherlands. Good to always try and build upon that interest. I highly recommend discovering this small slice of heaven, Molise and let Michele guide you on your way. One of the regions colorful festivals is posted here and typical festival breads here. Don' t waste another moment and have a good wander around Michele's blog and discover yet another reason to love and visit Italy.

5 comments:

Rowena said...

Trust the Dutch to know a good thing when they see it! Molise has always been on the list of regions to explore, but you know how it is...even if I avoided the "big name" cities, there are just so many intimate little towns throughout the country that beg to be discovered, and that doesn't even include the islands of Sicily and Sardegna.

Will have to check out Molise's sagra/festa traditions. You KNOW how crazy I am for those! ^-^

Fern Driscoll said...

Molise... who knew? He's got a great site, thanks for sending us all there. Oh dear, another rss on my already over-burdened home page. ;-)

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Thanks for the he4ads up Marla:D

Bella Baita Marla said...

Yes the Rowena, the Dutch seem to have a nose for finding the out of the way gems. Some of them have even found their way here!
Sorry Fern, like Rowena said, too many places to discover and now, too many rssfeeds!
Glad you came by for a gander BV

Peter at italyMONDO! said...

Molise is always a client favorite - and rightly so! A more "authentic" region in Italy doesn't exist, in my eyes, and the dutch have been doing a great job putting it on the map in recent years. Thanks for introducing us to Michele!

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