Saint Martin's Cake

S. Martin xe 'ndà in sofita a trovar ea nonna Rita nona Rita no ghe gera S.Martin col cùeo par tera. E col nostro sachetìn cari signori xe S.Martin

The Feast of San Martino, or Saint Martin, is celebrated on November 11th in Venice, Italy, and in various other parts of Europe. The feast is often associated with the beginning of winter and the harvest season, particularly the wine harvest.

In Venice, it is a tradition particularly loved by children. Today, the squares and streets come alive with kids banging pots and pans and singing traditional songs dedicated to San Martino. The idea is to make noise to wake Saint Martin up so that he can bring gifts, much like he did in his famous act of charity, where he cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm.

The celebration's highlight is the "Dolce di San Martino," or St. Martin's Cake. This shortcrust pastry cookie or cake shaped like a man on horseback, symbolizing Saint Martin. The cake is decorated with icing, raisins, and sometimes even a layer of liqueur-soaked sponge cake. Bakeries and homes fill with the aroma of these delicious pastries, often given as gifts during this time.

The cake's shape and decoration carry significance and are inspired by the tale of Saint Martin, a soldier who later became a monk and then a bishop. Legend has it that he once cut his cloak in half during a snowstorm to share with a beggar. That very night, he dreamt of Jesus wearing the half-cloak, indicating that his good deed had not gone unnoticed.

The Feast of San Martino in Venice embodies the spirit of sharing and community. It's a wonderful time to explore Venetian traditions, and if you're a fan of photography, the festivities offer a plethora of picturesque moments to capture.

San Martin's short pastry cake

This short pastry cake is made in Venice to celebrate the feast day of Saint Martin, on 11th November every year, and it is a favourite with Venetian children who receive one from their grandparents and parents. The cake is in the shape of Saint Martin on horseback with his sword and, if you come to Venice in that period, you will see it in confectioners’ windows, decorated with sugar icing or coated with plain or milk chocolate and decorated with chocolate drops and candies

Oven-proof paper mould Download it here Prepare the paper mould used to cut out the cake. Cut a sheet of oven-proof paper measuring about 30x40 cm. Draw the shape of Saint Martin on horseback with his sword on the paper, cut it out and set it aside.

Alternatively, in Venice, during the period of the feast day, you can buy the cake mould in shops specialising in household goods.

Ingredients for a “Saint Martin” of 20x30 cm

For the short pastry: 250 gr flour 150 gr butter 100 gr sugar 1 egg yolk + 1 whole egg ½ sachet vanillin or vanilla flavouring

For the icing and decoration: 250 – 300 gr icing sugar 1 egg white 5 drops lemon juice 100 gr mixed sweets: chocolate Smarties, sugar sweets, candies, chocolate drops. Cooking time: 15/20 minutes at 180°C

Preparation

Light the oven.

Prepare the pastry base by putting into a bowl, in this order, the flour, the sugar, the softened butter cut into small pieces, the yolk and the whole egg. Keep the extra egg white to one side in a bowl. Start mixing the ingredients by hand, crushing together the eggs, butter and sugar.

Once they are fairly well mixed, add the flour and vanilla flavouring. Knead the mixture with your fingertips until it is homogeneous as regards both consistency and colour, working into a ball. Sprinkle some flour on a sheet of oven-proof paper and roll out the pastry into a rectangular sheep measuring about 30x40 cm and cut the outline of the cake.

If you like, you can use the trimmings to make a round biscuit. Put the cake in the oven and bake till golden (it will take about 15/20 minutes). When the short pastry is ready, leave it to cool and start to prepare the icing. Put the egg white in a bowl and add the icing sugar, a teaspoonful at a time, stirring with a wooden spoon.

When the first teaspoonful has been absorbed, add the second and so on, until you have added half the sugar. At this point squeeze 5 drops of lemon juice into the icing and keep stirring and adding the icing sugar as before.

At the end, the mixture will be quite thick and you will have to stir it energetically for a minute until it is nice and shiny. Pour the icing into a bag with a medium star-shaped nozzle and start decorating the biscuit. Scatter the biscuit as desired with chocolate drops, sweets or candies. When you have finished decorating it, let the icing “dry” for about 12 hours at room temperature.

An extra idea If you want, you can cover Saint Martin with melted chocolate or colour the icing with food colourings, choose the sweets for decorating it with your children, or change the shape of the cake, for example, making biscuits with a hole at the top that you can decorate and hang on the Christmas tree.

20 Great Things to do in Venice 11/20 – Buy a Gondola!

Ok not a real Gondola but the best thing after that. Alberto Penzo in his wonderful shop  at S Polo 2681 sells amazing Venetians boats reproductions, not the tacky plastic ones you see walking around, we are talking about real gondolas! The Venetian lagoon has a well-established ship-building tradition. Couple that with an intense passion for boat making and you have a stunning collection of gondola model boat kits constantly in production and on sale.

Gilberto Penzo, born in Chioggia in 1954 from a family of craftsmen and shipbuilders, lives in Venice where for many years he has been conducting a vast research, gathering and organizing information about traditional Venetian boats. Explanations and direct examples of the last remaining gondola builders (squerariòi), surveys of ancient templates and patterns, and - in ideal cases - the direct measurement of intact boats, are the sources which allow the author to reconstruct their forms and the construction methods used. These have given rise to a series of books, construction plans, models for museums and private collections, restorations ans reconstructions of boats.With a group of friends who share the same interest, he founded the association Arzanà in 1992 which specializes in the study and conservation of historical Venetian boats.

If you are not coming to Venice soon you can get them here

20 Things to do in Venice 10/20 - Venice Handmade shoes

The women and not only them of Venice have always paid particular attention to shoes. Today Venice’s artisan shoemakers strike a balance between style and comfort, handcrafting a wide range of boots and shoes using traditional techniques revisited with creative flair. There are three currently plying their trade from workshops within a few minutes of Rialto Bridge. And all of them are women.

When Daniela Ghezzo San Marco 4365, calle dei Fuseri, was studying painting at the Fine Arts Academy in Venice, she found herself constantly drawing footwear, and instinctively knew that this was her real calling. When she was 18, Ms. Ghezzo began spending her days in the Segalin atelier By the time Signor Segalin retired, Ms. Ghezzo, then 24, felt confident enough to take over. With an assistant who does the stitching, she now produces around 10 pairs of shoes a month, at prices ranging from 700€, or about $960, for women and 800€ for men. Her customers wait around six weeks for delivery.

Giovanna Zanella, Campo San Lio, 5641  30122 Venice on the other hand, has an eye-catching range of footwear on display at her colorful workshop in the Castello district. While Ms. Ghezzo favors the classic look, Ms. Zanella goes for flamboyance and delights in the outré touch. The daughter of a master glass-blower, she first opened her store 15 years ago, making hats, bags and other accessories, but shoes have been her sole focus for the past 10 years.

The third shoemaker also learned from Mr. Segalin during two extended visits to Venice before she set up her own atelier in the San Polo district in 2003. Her background, however, is otherwise entirely different. Gabriele Gmeiner   campiello del sol san polo 951 30125 Venice was born in Austria and took a diploma in footwear technology and design in London, which she followed with workshops in Vienna and Paris. Later came experience with John Lobb in London and Hermès in Paris.

Glass blowers of Murano hit by crisis

Glass artisans have been hit by a new crisis and Murano main economy is on the point of collapse The numbers of sales have been plummeting and many furnaces are closing down. Venice has become almost completely dependent on tourism but the glass blowers are quite as central to Venice’s identity as the gondoliers. I am afraid, space for more hotels and tourists accommodations.

Historic Atelier Pietro Longhi

This is a Magical place...with a capital M. They make the costumes for nearly all the Venetian theatres, Museums, and also for many historical TV and cinema films made in the city. Costumes can be custom made and ordered for the Carnevale. There is even a selection for rent.

VENICE, ITALY - JANUARY 20:  Choreographer Raffaele Dessi (L) and tailor Francesco Briggi (R) of the historic atelier Pietro Longhi check few costumes on January 20, 2012 in Venice, Italy. This is one of the busiest periods of the year for the atelier as the next few weeks the streets and canals of Venice will be filled with people attending the carnival,  wearing highly-decorative and imaginative carnival costumes and masks.

There is a wide range of costumes available, but the majority are linked to the city's history. They even made a replica of Henry the VIII  dress, exactly identical to the original; the only problem is that it weighs in my view more than 3 kilos.

They make the three cornered hats, "zimare"  etc etc! Everybody is really lovely, helpful and they have so many stories to tell you that you do now want to leave!