In the land of cheesecakes: A day in Recco, Italy

content:
photos:
Vote this travel review

When the Romans arrived in the Gulf Paradise, discovered a beautiful resort where the family lives of the Ligurian Casmoriti. They decided to found the village of Recina right there, where the scent of flowers surrounds a breathtaking view over the sea, and after some time began to be filled up with beautiful sailing ships and galleys. In fact, Recco, between the villages most beloved of the Ligurian Riviera, during the Republic of Genoa had become one of the most important centers of naval and maritime zone.
We reach Recco, a city famous for its legendary cheese focaccia, along a stretch of the Via Aurelia.
We begin our ride in the center of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Suffrage, built in the eighteenth century, the scene of an ancient oratory. The church is small, but the great tower, just a few meters from the river each year, and Recco, 7 and 8 September becomes the protagonist of the event in honor of Our Lady of Suffrage. During the festival celebrates the festival of fire, with fireworks and shoot with "Mascoli", the ancient Ligurian mortaletti.
In the center we visit the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist John the Good. Although in the historical photos of Recco in the same spot stands a different church, the original of 1822, the place of worship today is a modern building, consecrated in 1951, with the facade in travertine and decorated with a beautiful mosaic. This fact is one of many who testified in Recco the tragic bombing of 1943, when the city's many historic buildings were destroyed.
In previous centuries the dangers instead came from the sea, especially at the hands of pirates, who attacked and devastated Recco twice, in 1557 and 1646. To defend themselves from the raids of the Saracens, and in particular the terrible pirate Dragut, at that time the recchesi built a castle next to a chapel, today Sanctuary of San Michele, which overlooks the sea, and is home to one of the oldest brotherhoods of Liguria, founded in 1399 when the pilgrims White Provence, to Rome, they left their crucified in Recco, still preserved in the Sanctuary. Nearby is the monastery overlooking the Gulf of St. Francis, built in 1496.
The city of Recco is made up of nine villages, some of which we visit, in particular better where there is the Church of Our Lady of Grace, which houses an alleged relic, a thorn from the crown of Jesus
After this nice tour in history, we decide to stop for dinner at the renowned restaurant Manuelina, in Rome. We settle in the elegant and spacious dining room and as we begin to study the menu, chat with Mrs. Cristina, who runs the restaurant with his brothers Cesar and Gloria, and his father John. "This restaurant has made 125 years in 2010. The Manueline my great-grandmother had opened in 1885, starting to prepare traditional dishes recchesi, using only local produce. The most famous dish of Recco and our restaurant is the pizza bread with cheese, and it was just Manuelina to offer it for the first time to the public in the form in which it is known today. The home-made cakes for the feast of All Saints and All Souls, but the ovens were not prepared or in the taverns. Today the cheese focaccia is the flagship of our local and we can say that it is a true gourmet meal, "she says Mrs Cristina.
In the twenties came here, to spend the winter, great characters the international aristocracy, but also entertainment. And who would wake up at night to open the inn and prepare them the best focaccia with cheese in the world, was always Manuelina.
It 'a great pleasure for us to taste the wonderful focaccia of Recco typical, as are other specialties of the restaurant among typical Ligurian dishes, fresh fish dishes and even a little' more innovative, everything always created with seasonal produce of the land .
As a starter we taste the squid sautéed with broccoli and artichokes stuffed with cod and squid. We continue with pansotti the walnut sauce, another dish that had been traditional Ligurian Restaurant Manuelina to dust off in the 60s, arousing curiosity and admiration. Also sample the macaroni pasta with chicken, thyme, lemon and olives, and goat cheese ravioli with butter, hazelnuts and truffle of Alba. We follow these delightful first by Cappon and thin-crusted fillet of sea bream with capers from Pantelleria with pumpkin cream.
We conclude with a dinner in great sweetness prescinseua cocoa and pudding, and meringue parfait with pistachio.
As the great figures of the past, for us, this little vacation in Recco was a wonderful experience to be repeated.

Francesca Bertha

INFOS:
www.comune.Recco.ge.it
www.manuelina.it
Ristorante Manuelina
Via Roma, 296 Recco (GE)
Tel.: 0185/74128 0185/720779