Rome Blog Post

I've been in Italy for a few weeks now and through my course on Italian history through food and wine I have been continuously shocked by the rich histories of Italian cuisine. I am also suprised by the many differences I found within Rome itself. There is the Historical Center which basically screams "Italy" where once can find small cafés, gelaterias, and the main tourist attractions, but just a few metro stops from the Historical Center there is the neighborhood, Esquilino. 

Esquilino is around the Termini train station and is home to a variety of ethnic cultures. also nicknamed the Roman Chinatown. I first went one day without any research. I had decided just to walk around and find something interesting. As I walked around that first day I discovered various asian restaurants and signs. I saw traditional Chinese red lanterns outside of various Chinese restaurants, and I saw a Chinese flag flying above a Chinese restaurant. I saw Japanese restaurants, and Thai restaurants and even Korean. One in particular, Hana, I knew about from a previous excursion when I saw advertisements for it within the Historical Center. There was even a Korean Market selling Korean foods such as kimchi, soju, various rices, Sikhye, and one of my favorite grape juices Bong Bong. I also happen to be researching the Hallyu Wave within Italy and discovered the Korean Cultural Center nearby Esquilino.  After this initial visit, I did a little research on what I must visit in Esquilino. The recommended sites were very typical Italian, such as a pasticceria, gelataria, and market, but with my Asian heritage I included some more spots to see. My second visit was much more structured. I started off by visiting the Great Gatsby Café to grab a quick drink.

 I ordered a limonata, which made my lips pucker! Nothing like the American lemonade I was expecting, but still very delicious. From there I wandered around and looked at the street vendors and stopped inside a Chinese market to try and find saracha for my roommate. After a while I decided to find a bubble tea store called Youyou tea. I missed Bubble tea!! They also sold traditional Chinese egg tarts which I had to get. Inside as I waited for my drink I noticed on the wall something that I have seen in Korean cafes which is the post it note wall.  On post it notes people write messages or draw pictures and leave it there on the wall documenting their visit for future customers to see, draw inspiration from, and add to. 

I've always found it to be a unique and interesting tradition to leave one's mark in a fixed point in time. I gladly added my own to it. After I got my Bubble tea, I went to the Nuovo mercato Esquilino. This was the first time I've ever been in a market such as this. There were various things being sold- spices, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and packaged foods. I thought it was incredible. To see the array of spices, the fresh fish of the day, and the meat being freshly cut as well as the wide variety of fresh produce. If only I lived here or had a kitchen to buy something and cook! One thing that I found extremely amusing is that I am Chinese, and because many of the merchants noticed this they started to try to attract my attention by speaking in Chinese rather than Italian. This, in fact, happened throughout Esquilino where people would see my cultural heritage on my face and try to approach me in Chinese. I never thought I would be hearing Chinese in Italy from non Asians. However, back to the market, I loved seeing the fresh foods and smelling the spices. I think Americans are slightly separated from their foods and no longer really look for the fresh foods. I've bought spices in little containers before, but seeing them in their natural forms and smelling their aromas was completely foreign to me and an amazing experience. 

The market was very unassuming. It seemed like a big building, but when I entered the market I was not expecting the hustle and bustle of shoppers and merchants. It was very much like the New York Times article describing it as a center of multi-ethnicity. After the market I visited the National Museum of Oriental Art. It intrigued me that the museum included works from the Middle East as well as what is considered more "Asian" Countries such as China, Japan, Korea, and Tibet. It was fascinating because many of the arts were three dimensional rather than paintings. The museum included jewelry, statues, pottery, and architectural pieces. I admit I have a partial bias towards Eastern Asian countries such as China, Japan, and Korea and I spent a good deal of time exploring those exhibits. I particularly loved the Chinese pottery. The intricacy of the paintings and the unique shapes of the pottery combined with the sheer age of the antics is fascinating to me. Another thing that fascinated me was the juxtaposition of the Italian architecture and the asian artifacts. The building was a three story mansion and the museum was situated on the second floor. Although the asian art was great to look at I found it amusing to compare the Chinese jade or stone statues to the marble bust next to it or the Japanese tapestries, paintings, and screens compared to the gilding of the walls.

Afterwards I decided to visit some typical Italian specialty stores. I went to Regoli Pasticceria which opened in 1916 and celebrated its 100th birthday last year. It was founded, and is continued to be run, by the Regoli family. The family continues to use traditional recipes. I ordered a Tortini fragoline and a tiramisu. They were both delicious and looked absolutely scrumptious. 

After Regoli I went to Gelateria Fassi. It had an assortment of flavors and in the corner there were old gelato machinery. The act of making gelato was part of the Fassi family for over a hundred years. The gelateria in Esquilino had not been open for that long, unlike the Regoli pasticceria, but the history of the Fassi family is part of the gelateria. There I got to try the flavor of the month, which I think was dark chocolate raspberry,  rice and my go to strawberry. The rice was an interesting flavor because it was akin to rice puddings, but I was not expecting it as a gelato flavor. 

Honestly my excursions in Esquilino was eye opening to the variations of Rome. It had the deep rooted history of Italian cuisine, history, and architecture. The pasticceria and gelateria were really amazing to see because it is not only the history of Italy but also the history of the families. But at the same time Esquilino had a lot of asian aspects which I, an asian, appreciate. I find it so amazing that the two cultures can combine. I read the article where people were upset that about the upcoming of multiethnic restaurants, but seeing a bubble tea shop near a Gatsby Cafe near an over 100 year old pastry shop, I see the blending rather than the masking of cultures. After all as I had afore mentioned, pasta isn't from Italy but rather from the Asian areas, though not a specific point. I also read before that citrus fruits came from southeast Asia. There is no reason to be scared of kebab restaurants or Korean BBQs there is no way it can mask the Italian culture, but it astutely shares and blends the  cultures.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/world/europe/vibrant-market-is-heart-of-multiethnic-capital.html

https://www.eater.com/2017/6/30/15892900/italy-ban-ethnic-foreign-food-immigrants-kabab-nationalism

http://www.pasticceriaregoli.com/

http://www.gelateriafassi.com/

http://www.leggo.it/societa/cucina/fassi_regno_gelato_dolci_cuore_esquilino-2058111.html

http://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/rome-population/