rome part 1. for condé nast traveler

Where has the time gone? I am not going to make excuses for my absence; I am just going to pick up where I left off... editing today I came across these images from Rome and suddenly got very hungry looking at this pasta . This might be dinner tonight. 

Last October we spent a few quick days on the ground in the eternal city, it was divine. 

Espresso at the newly opened J.K.Place. 

 For my inner Borgia, the Vatican.

Favorite neighborhood to get lost in. Monti.

Il Colosseo

 View of the city from Gianicolo. 

 I funghi. Mercato Testaccio. 

Artichokes and Bucatini Amatriciana from Sora Marguerita in The Jewish quarter.

nomad and rishikesh

 Written post October snow storm.

Soho was very quiet the morning after the bizarre and historic October snow. While  everyone slept, I found the perfect moment to escape into Nomad a global approach to interior style, a new book from  Sibella Court. Nomad, follows her previous books, A Stylists Guide to NYC and Etcetera. Her book is a personal journey of her travels that inspire her sense of style , her interiors and her soul. There is a story about about her mother that is both incredibly real and personal. This is not just a book of suggested places to visit, it it a personal journey. I worked with Sibella, a kindred spirit, many times during her stay in New York and I was always inspired by the bits and pieces of travels she carried with her to every shoot. Like a tiny Weaver or Bower Bird she constructs the most elaborate nests wherever she is, pebble and shell, pieces of string, fragments of fabric all find their way to her into her pockets and onto her walls, sets and tableaus.

Nomad is divided into sections by country. She covers Italy, India, Syria and Mexico. Sibella gives  a personal account of travels through these countries and takes us to some of her favorite places. There are many beautiful travel photographs that make me want to pack my bag and hit the road. I have said before that I too collect things on my travels, like sea salt and honey, but it really goes far beyond that. On my last trip to Istanbul I had an entire fleet of paper cups wedged into my tripod bag, as they were just too beautiful to leave behind. I am a pilferer of matches and menus as well. I too am always looking for bits to bring home, things that remind me of a place or something I can later use in a shoot. I am a bit of an obsessive collector in that way and that is one  reason I enjoy working with stylists who share that same obsession. Last April, I was in India on assignment for Conde Nast Traveler. The days were hectic and the weather in the Northern Himalayas was unseasonably bad! A monsoon had rolled in and threatened to eradicate all blue skies with blinding rain and wind. It was one of those times that we had to wait it out a bit, something which is very hard for me to do when I am on a job. After giving in to the weather one evening we decided to take a couple hours and travel the twenty minutes down to the town. The town of Rishikesh is really very special as it marks  the beginning of the  River Ganges as it comes down from the Himalayas. The river is very clean there and it is a very sacred place. The Beatles wrote most of the White Album in Rishikesh in 1968 when they visited the now closed Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's ashram. Even in the rain, the little riverside town at the edge of the Ganges was busy with activity. We sat through Ganges Aarati ceremony, performed each evening at sundown at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram and listened to the most beautiful chanting and watched brilliant flowers and candles of offerings float silently along the river. After the ceremony we walked across a suspension bridge over the Ganges to the other side of town where the evening market was taking place. Single light bulbs hung on cords  illuminating each vendors stall like a perfectly styled theatrical stage. One  thing I have found is that markets stay open quite late in other countries ( it was on this same trip, though in another country, that we found ourselves making our way towards a hidden spice market on the outskirts of Dubai at nearly midnight!) It was in that hour or so in Rishikesh that I found some of my favorite souvenirs. A brass Ganesha, some ribbon, two pairs of tiny handmade shoes a pair of scissors some prayer beads and a medallion, but more than these it is the image of the little town in the blue evening , music floating up between the mountains that I will never forget.

Like Sibella, I am inspired by travel and try to make the most of wherever I am at any given moment. I carry my finds home where they work  their way into our lives. These bits are always there whether in a box of treasures or on the wall to remind me that I really did stand at the edge of that river clear across the globe.

You can buy Nomad at Anthropologie. And visit Sibellas shop The Society Inc. in Sydney Australia where she has landed.

 

My collection of bits from an evening in  Rishikesh

Copyright © 2011 Andrea Gentl all rights reserved 

Villa Catignano

This week last year a small group of us gathered at Villa Catignano on the outskirts of Siena Italy in the Italian countryside for Tali and Craig's wedding. After a powerful thunderstorm, the skies cleared and the sun shone down and the most beautiful wedding happened to be.  Auguri dear ones! 

 The gardens at Villa Catignano

 Campo Siena

  

Statue, Villa Catignano 

Streets, Siena.

 

Our lunch of apricots, cherries and melons. 

 

Lu.

 Sam inside Villa Catignano.

   All Photos Copyright © 2011 Andrea Gentl all rights reserved

notes from the road/sicily

 Photographer and Hungry Ghost contributor, Paola Ambrosi DeMagistris writes in from her travels in Sicily... 

On our day of location scouting we ended in San Vito Lo Capo (Trapani) named this year cleanest beach in Italy and very close to the natural park "Riserva Naturale Dello Zingaro".  San Vito is famous for its cous cous festival, http://www.couscousfest.it/ held June 2-5. I treated myself to a taste of "Cozze al Pomodoro" (mussels in tomato sauce) and an amazing "cous cous di pesce" (fish cous cous).

On our last day before departure I spent a few hours at the "Mercato di Sant'Agata" in Catania, famous for its fish section where you can still find sicilian fishermen selling the catch of the day as well as the freshest fruit and veggies...

The previous night I had the pleasure to eat at "Osteria l'Antica Marina" http://www.anticamarina.it/it/index.html right by the market where the most amazing variety of fish antipasti are served in small bowls quickly passed through the hands of the diners..."panzotti con ricotta al nero di seppia" is one of their pasta speciality as well as the "linguine ai ricci" and I had the luck to taste both! If you ever are in Catania make your palate happy and make sure you have the time to stop for lunch or dinner! BUON APPETITO!

teatro del sale

 Copyright © 2011 Andrea Gentl all rights reserved

Last year I had the occasion to meet and photograph the Italian whirlwind that is Fabbio Picchi. Picchi is the mastermind behind Cibreo, Trattoria Cibreo, Cafe Cibreo and  Cibreo Teatro del Sale, all located in the  Sant'Ambrogio neigborhood of Florence, quite near the Mercato di Sant' Ambrogio. The trio of restaurants are just doors apart, creating a little gastronomic empire.

All the restaurants are worth a visit but the most interesting is Teatro del Sale, the private dinner club and theatre. Teatro del Sale is a members-only restaurant/theater/club housed in a former convento. Patrons are required to become a member for a minimal one time fee and then are treated to an interesting spectacle of food and theatre. The theatre part comes after dinner when the room is transformed and all chairs are pointed towards the stage.  The entertainment, which is organized by artistic director Maria Cassi, a famous Florentine actress (and Picchi's wife), can range anywhere from comedy, to a lecture on Bob Dylan's Music to the 1970's children's film, Pete's Dragon. It is ever changing and completely fascinating. Picchi and his staff in an open glass windowed kitchen, are somewhat of a show themselves as guest sit at long communal tables eagerly awaiting his food. In the kitchen they whirl around one another seamlessly preparing the evening's unique menu until suddenly and without warning Picchi charges out of the glass windowed kitchen and announces with great gusto and force whatever the primo piatti may be! Guests then rush the buffet table . After several courses and dessert, at 9:30 or so, the room is cleared for the theatre portion of the evening. Once you have become a member, you are part of the club for life barring that you don't lose your membership card which entitles you to private breakfast lunch or dinner at Teatro del Sale. You may feel free to stop by during the day to have a coffee or a pastry or lunch and to sit in the many comfortable chairs and just relax or eat. The shop is open to the public but you must be a member to partake in breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

While at Circolo, pick up one chef's shirts or pants or handsome silk ties designed Picchi himself. There are also beautiful wine glasses from old recycled wine bottles for sale in his emporio/ piccolo store (and they ship!). His shop is full of sea salt and marmalades and pickled vegetables he has made himself!

If you go to Caffe Cibreo in the morning after the market, do not miss the ciambella, an italian donut. There was a warm and enticing pile of them sprinkled with sugar when we were there. They are quite delicious. If you want to feel Italian you can order a caffe doppio and cornetto integrale con marmelata. 

Try to go ahead of time to make a reservation and to join the club. Dinner is quite hectic and quite a draw so you should definitely cover the logistics well in advance!

a note on Picchi's other resturants...

Cibreo was his first restaurant, opened in the early 1980's . He does a lot of classic Tuscan dishes at Cibreo but no pasta, so be forewarned. If you want pasta go to Trattoria Cibreo, it is less formal and less expensive. 

Don't miss the neighborhood hardware store in the square, it sells everything but the kitchen sink!

Cibréo ristorante            Via del Verrocchio, 8r Firenze Tel. : 055 234 11 00 Fax : 055 24 49 66  Chiuso Domenica e Lunedì. ( closed Sunday and Monday) e-mail : info@cibreo.com                cibreo.fi@tin.it Cibrèo trattoria (detta il Cibrèino)  Via de' Macci, 122r                  Firenze Caffè  Cibrèo Via del Verrocchio, 5r Firenze Tel. : 055 234 58 53 this week's menu

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È ARRIVATA LA PRIMAVERA- COZZE BANANE ZUCCHERO E LIMONE INSALATE DEI NOSTRI CONTADINI ZUCCHINE TRIFOLATE CON LA MENTA PURÈ DI MELANZANE CREPES MAROCCHINE CON PATATE E PORRI ACCIUGHE DA LIVORNO BACCALÀ FRITTO CAVOLFIORE FRITTO POLPETTINE DI MANZO RIPASSATE CON CAPPERI E ACCIUGHE FRAGOLE VERE QUANDO SI TROVANO ECC...ECC...ECC... breakfast....... PANI CALDI CON LE NOSTRE MARMELLATE SCHIACCIATA CALDA CON LA MORTADELLA TORTE - LATTE E BISCOTTI - YOGURT TEA E CAFFÉ LE FRITTATE PIÙ BUONE DEL MONDO E TANTISSIMO, TANTISSIMO, TANTISSIMO

For a complete Florence list see the file cabinet... where I will be adding a list of things to do in Florence over the next couple days.