The Risorgimento: Food and Fireworks in Florence, Italy
Uncle Scott's Kitchen celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Risorgimento in Florence, Italy. See Florence as you've never seen it before, lit up in the colors of the Italian flag, and celebrate this Italian holiday with authentic food, wine, gelato and more.
What is the Risorgimento?
The word Risorgimento literally means "resurgence," but in a historical context, it refers to the period when Italy became one country.
Previously, Italy was made up of competing regions and city states, areas controlled by foreign powers, various Popes and so on. But in 1861 a man named Victor Emmanuel the Second united them all into the country we know as Italy today.
He was kind of, sort of, Italy’s George Washington. He’s called the "Father of the Fatherland."
And when you travel around Italy, every town you visit will have a street or piazza named for Vittorio Emmanuelle II. And now you know why.
So, interestingly enough, putting thousands of years of history and empires aside, the familiar boot-shaped country of Italy we know today is actually much younger -- as a country -- than the United States.
Who knew?
Now Italy is still dominated by regional differences, dialects, and ancient rivalries, but for the 150th anniversary of the Risorgimento, those differences were put aside for an evening, and everyone celebrated the Italy as a whole.
And some true Florentines, tough to find these days, invited me to their home for the their Risorgimento party.
I was genuinely happy and honored to be there.
And here is how they celebrated:
The was only one rule for the evening: everything had to be red, white or green, to represent the colors of the Italian flag.
Everything.
We had red tomatoes, white mozzerelle and green olives.
Red wine, white wine and green olive oil, with green, red and white bread.
We had a ring of white risotto, filled with green peas and covered in red tomato sauce.
And, of course, strawberry, vanilla and pistacchio gelato.
And the food was only the beginning.
Indeed, the entire town of Florence was lit up in red, white and green as well.
The Ponte Vecchio, the old bridge.
The Piazza della Reppublica, with its carousel and gypsy band.
Via Calzaiouli, the main drag, was packed, all the way down to the Piazza Signoria.
The Loggia was particularly stunning, with the colors adding additional dramatic impact to the statues.
Most everyone was dressed for the cool evening, except, of course, David himself.
And for the finale, the Piazza and Palazzo Vecchio was stunning.
The old palace was it up in colors.
… and then at midnight the fireworks in Florence began.
Tourists have been visiting the sites in Florence for over 500 years, but my Florentine friends said they had never seen anything like this before.
The Risorgimento: Good friends, good food, and a magical night in Florence, best city in the entire world.
Have you got a good food story from Florence? If so, please post it in the comments below.
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