Gala Placidia's activity

Questions Asked

We all have cooking tips and techniques learnt through personal experience or because someone else was kind enough to tell us.

Tue, 08/04/2009 - 05:07

 A fairly comprehensive list of words related to food and wine has been prepared by a few of us. It still needs revision, corrections, additions and you may be able to help as it is a Wiki.

Tue, 06/30/2009 - 04:31

 It is official, the old Casino in Bagni di Lucca is reopening its doors after many years; however, it is going to be a modern version, more "little Las Vegas" style than its elegant and exclusive predecessor.

Mon, 06/29/2009 - 09:04

A few weeks ago I started a thread in the old forum about this topic. I still think that it would be great if we could all share our favourite recipes which our families and friends enjoy.

Fri, 06/19/2009 - 05:29

 I think that there are quite a few members who have married overseas an Italian citizen; however, I am not quite certain whether they have registered their certificate of marriage before the nearest Italian Consulate.It is advisable to do this an

Tue, 06/16/2009 - 03:43

 It is most important, if you own a property, to have a clear description for it. That is possible through the "visura catastale" which gives you and confirms many facts regarding your title.

Sun, 06/14/2009 - 05:21

 Polenta is one of those Italian dishes that you either love or hate. Considered in the past as the poor people's staple diet it is nowadays served in the best restaurants. 

Sat, 06/13/2009 - 17:53

I have just seen on TV some images regarding the Treviso tornado. I sincerely hope that any members in the area have not suffered from this disaster.  

Sun, 06/07/2009 - 16:44

 The base for many Italian sauces and dishes is the "soffritto" (sofrit in French, sofrito in Spanish), a mixture of some diced vegetables which are cooked in a heavy pan with three tablespoons of olive oil (although some other kinds of oil and fa

Sat, 06/06/2009 - 05:37

 Hi everyone, this is a warm invitation to joint this group and discuss Italian food, wine, regional cooking, recipes, tips, cooking utensils, history of cooking and any related subject you may wish to talk about.And welcome, Mimosa, glad to see t

Fri, 06/05/2009 - 08:28

Comments posted

Answer to: Fresh Start
Fri, 05/15/2009 - 09:09

Piazza della Signoria , Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della SS Annunziata all in Florence. Piazza Napoleone and Piazza Anfiteatro in Lucca, Piazza dei Miracoli and Piazza dei Cavalieri in Pisa, Piazza del Campo and Piazza del Duomo in Siena, Piazza Maggiore and Piazza del Nettuno in Bologna, Piazza San Marco in Venice.... There are so many that it is difficult to choose your favourite one.

Fri, 05/15/2009 - 08:17

What I did was to give my full residential address when I joined, together with my name and private email. Later on, I deleted my personal address, but I left the rest. I hope it is OK.

Answer to: Welcome
Fri, 05/15/2009 - 08:13

You can also use homemade lemon sherbet and it is great. My original idea was to use as a base a mixed citrus sherbet recipe originating from Sicily called "Sorbetto d'Agrumi del Sultano" (The Sultan's Citrus Sherbet" and I thought that perhaps Ronald would not like the name :X

Fri, 05/15/2009 - 04:56

Thanks for the instructions. I was having the same problem.

Answer to: Welcome
Thu, 05/14/2009 - 19:06

The "piazza' is filling up and it is great to see so many friends joining in. So let's celebrate with one of my favourite drinks:PROSECCO AND MELON SHERBET 1 scoop of melon sherbet (If you can't find it I'll give you an easy recipe.Prosecco1 sprig of fresh mintPut the scoop of sherbet in a champagne flute. Fill up the flute with prosecco. Decorate with a sprig of fresh mint.And me can call it a "Piazza" cocktail. It is not a Bellini or a Rossini, but in the same line.Salute!

Thu, 05/14/2009 - 18:38

Perhaps one of the problems that we have when it comes to suggesting the way we should go is that we all tend to compare this community with the old forum. As many unpleasant things happened there, we do not see the positive things in it. The sub-forums were great and they were very helpful when you tried to find information on a specific subject. Normally, most members will look at all the posts on any thread and judge their value not on the ranking of the member but on the content of the particular post. Certainly, some names became very familiar because of the number of posts and their content. Some people were interested in some particular members and this was reflected by the number of visitors to their profiles; however, some "newbies" were also appreciated by all.I think that some of the structures of the old forum were excellent and they could be effectively recycled.

Thu, 05/14/2009 - 18:19

I don't think that there is anything to worry about. Just to follow the rules which was also the case in the Forum. It was not difficult and this did not mean that we had to be boring....

Thu, 05/14/2009 - 06:42

I agree with you, David, and an "information seeker" may come up with lots of knowledge and good advice; however, I think that data such as joining date and number of posts was important. The "grazzie" button was also a good idea , but it was wrongly used as a weapon. The old ranking also gave you a rough idea of the member's involvement and commitment to the Forum.

Thu, 05/14/2009 - 05:59

Yes, Bill, it is a mosaic in the mausoleum. Galla Placidia and her 2 children, but it is too large, so I was only having her portrait. I will wait and see. I can always change it. Thank you Angelo for your opinion.

Thu, 05/14/2009 - 05:40

I think that you are right in the basic classification of the members according to the use they are going to make of the community; however, I am trying to think at more exciting or interesting designations. Perhaps the Community Members could be called "Guild Members" as in the government of Renaissance Florence? The old classification was very good, perfect for a Forum, but not for the present "piazza". Perhaps there could also be an intermediary classification before becoming "Guild Members", where the person has to prove that he/she can fall into this category? With old members of the Forum, to make that classification should be easy, but for new members after the 15th of June this may prove more complicated. As for visitors.... I haven't been able to come up with an alternative, perhaps someone will have more imagination....