Not Only Pizza

Not Only Pizza

September 17, 2019

I love pizza, and I especially love pizza in Italy.  However, I know a diet of only pizza would have disastrous results for my health and my waistline.  So, in the interest of following a Mediterranean diet, I eat a salad and veggies every day.  In Florence it's easy to stick to that plan.  Here are two great places for salad, as well as a very cool, nearby shop (negozio).

In Piazza Santo Spirito, I was walking around the piazza looking at menus, and the waiter at Cabiria suggested I try a large salad, a "complete meal", he said.  The food looked good and there were tables outside, so I agreed. The salad was fresh, plentiful and tasty:  greens, tomatoes, corn, carrots, tuna, mozzarella.  Even better was the price of only 6 euro!

Another well-known place is Carduccio, two blocks from Piazza Santo Spirito and near Palazzo Pitti. The food is artful, delicious, organic, biodynamic-- in other words, it looks great and is great for you. I needed a snack, so I ordered crostone (toasted bread) with goat cheese, avocado, sliced egg and almonds.  Carduccio also serves organic wine and prosecco! Since I was there in late afternoon, the cafe was quiet and I was able to have an interesting chat with the waitress.  One question I asked her was how to say the word "bohemian" in Italian, which is my perception of this neighborhood. She replied (in English) that they define this area of the Oltrarno as "radical chic".  I like it!

Across the street from Carduccio,  is a wonderful clothing and accessories  store owned by Guilia Materia.  She creates all the designs, and everything is made by hand (fatto a mano) in Florence.  Guilia is friendly, talented and passionate about her work. We had a conversation (mostly in English), about my plans in Florence and her path to owning this shop. When I was answering her questions about my year in Florence, she said, "You are on an 'Erasmus'".  An "Erasmus" applies to college students on an exchange program, and I liked her extension of the term to include possibly anyone on a type of "exchange".  She told me that she studied design during her own Erasmus in Berlin.  She made book bindings and continued to extend her creativity to clothing and bags. Her items are unique and practical. I bought a lovely skirt, or rather a "radical chic" skirt!