May 26, 2023: A Trip to Orvieto

 After we had breakfast at the villa, we made our departure to Orvieto. We immediately had a little bit of free time where Nicole, Alyssa and I browsed some shops. There had already been many days that involved shopping so we decided that we didn't need anything else. I decided to grab a cappuccino before meeting back at the cathedral. 

We then went to a group lunch at Il Labrinto di Adriano. This establishment is located where Etruscans use to reside in the 8th century BC and in 265 BC, became an integral part of controlling roads, crossings and water supplies within the city. The restaurant is also a museum which has kept intact an Etruscan well system.  

These people were masters of hydraulics and the wells and cisterns that they built ensured water supplies to homes, shop, etc.  During the Middle Ages, the underground spaces were used as garbage dumps and the earthquakes and the plague of 1348 led to the destruction of these systems. Still, it was pretty amazing everything that was still conserved after all of these years.

We then went upstairs to partake in a lovely lunch. We had a type of beef and gnocchi stew to start, then we had pork with some red cabbage sauteed. We concluded the meal with another type of chocolate panna cotta with strawberries on top and blueberries along the bottom. The courses of this meal seemed less heavy than other meals we had had out. 

We went into the Duomo di Orvieto and observed the exhibit on the right hand side. The cathedral was truly unlike any other cathedral I had been to. This exhibit really highlighted on the book of Revelation and "Judgement Day". 

The painter actually illustrated himself as the devil in the mural to signify that all humankind is selfish and inherently evil. One side contained the blessings of God's followers and them earning their way to 'paradise' while the other side depicted demons dragging the sinners to the pits of hell. It was both incredibly interesting and unsettling. 

We wandered around for a little longer but then came back to the villa. We then had our final cooking class. We made Risotto al Radicchio and Scaloppine al Vino Biano. We also made dessert which was "Persiane" Biscotti. This was made with a puff pastry and basically was rolled with sugar. 

This day really made me realize that it is important to learn from your past in order to create a better future. They always say, "teach the history so it doesn't repeat itself". I also feel that with everything that the Italian people pass down whether it be artifacts, history, recipes, etc. they always recognize and respect the past and expand upon it.

With nutrition there is past information that still holds true to this day, however, nutritional trends can change constantly and it's important to take past information to apply to present day information. That will give us an even better end product much like expanding on an Italian recipe from a great grandmother. 

I remember my mom telling me that when she was young she was told to eat margarine instead of butter and how over the years, the same tale is not being professed. Learning from the past will create a stronger and brighter future for the world of dietetics and for society overall.