How Local Culture and Traditions Reinterpret SlowFood to Create Cittaslow, in Italy – part four
Italia

How Local Culture and Traditions Reinterpret SlowFood to Create Cittaslow, in Italy – part four

Termoli is the perfect place where to end our Cittaslow trip

The last city that is worth mentioning is Termoli, in Molise, another perfect location for fish-lovers. In Termoli any kind of fish can be cooked in hundred different ways, but local specialty is "brodetto alla termolese", a garlicky stew of assorted fresh fish, mussels, clams, shrimp, calamari, tomatoes and hot chili peppers simmered slowly in an earthenware pan". Another hot dish typical of this area is the "polpi in purgatorio", an octopus-based dish, while stuffed mussels represent a lighter option.

In Summer, the whole port area is usually transformed in a huge open-air restaurant where local and tourists can share tables to taste freshly caught fish cooked by fishermen. Like many other cities in the Riviera,the typical pasta of Termoli is "spaghetti alla chitarra", made with a wooden frame strung with parallel steel wires called guitar, chitarra in Italian, to be mixed with fish only. Meat-based sauces, instead, are usually associated to a folded kind pasta called "cavatelli".

Althouth it is closed to the sea, Termoli and the Molise region in general are famous for their lamb dishes as well. "Two classics are arrosticini (barbecued lamb on skewers) and agnello cacio e uova, lamb cooked in an earthenware pot and served with an egg and sharp cheese". As far as chees is concerned, Pecorino is the best choice. Aged pecorino is now famous everywhere, but in Termoli semi-seasoned pecorino is available as well, and tourists can easily find it asking for a slice of Marzolino. Finally, pig lovers should indulge with "fegato dolce, a smoked sausage made from liver, offal, and pork belly that's sweetened and flavored with honey, candied citron and orange, pine nuts and pistachios", and "sanguinaccio", that is "pigs' blood mixed with chocolate, pine nuts, raisins and orange peel", to be served with warm with biscuits.

In those and many other Italian cities people can breathe local culture, taste, habits and traditions everywhere, and that's why it is appropriate to say they perfectly embody the Cittaslow spirit.

Follow @castaritaHK

I più letti

avatar-icon

Claudia Astarita

Amo l'Asia in (quasi) tutte le sue sfaccettature, ecco perché cerco di trascorrerci più tempo possibile. Dopo aver lavorato per anni come ricercatrice a New Delhi e Hong Kong, per qualche anno osserverò l'Oriente dalla quella che è considerata essere la città più vivibile del mondo: Melbourne. Insegno Culture and Business Practice in Asia ad RMIT University,  Asia and the World a The University of Melbourne e mi occupo di India per il Centro Militare di Studi Strategici di Roma. Su Twitter mi trovate a @castaritaHK, via email a astarita@graduate.hku.hk

Read More