Eating Italian   ASPARAGUS WITH PARMESAN CHEESE Touring Italian  MY PERFECT DAY IN FLORENCE Snapshots Read previous entries... Eating Italian Italians say that a good meal requires two arts: the art of cooking and the art of eating. I would add a third: the ever-so-scrumptious art of talking about what you have eaten, are eating or are thinking about eating. In Italy food and language meld together as smoothly as cacio sui maccheroni (cheese on macaroni). Both boast a rollicking history dating back to ancient times. Both vary greatly from region to region, even from village to village. Both reflect centuries of invasion, assimilation and conquest. And both can transform daily necessities into joyful celebrations. This page features recipes for tasty Italian dishes from some of my favorite cooks, cookbooks and restaurants, flavored with a dash of their linguistic history.   Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese Asparagi alla Parmigiana To me one of the tastes of la primavera (Spring) is asparagus. I turned to my favorite Italian food source, A.G.Ferrari Foods, for this simple and delicious recipe. Asparagi alla Parmigiana Serves 3 to 4 Ingredients 1 bunch green or white Asparagus 1/4 cup grated or shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano 1/2 oz butter Instructions: Clean the asparagus and blanch in salted boiling water for 1 minute. Drain the asparagus and display on a buttered casserole or a ceramic baking plate. Drizzle with the remaining butter and sprinkle with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes. Serve hot.   Touring Italian My Perfect Day in Florence At one of my book presentations, a woman asked a question that made me pause: If I had just one day in Florence, how would I spend it? Here is my answer: I would begin by watching the sun climb over Florence and its hills from the rooftop terrazzo of Palazzo Magnani Feroni across the Arno from il centro in a neighborhood of artisans' studios, antique shops, and galleries I stayed there so often when I was researching La Bella Lingua that I came to think of it as "il mio palazzo." However, this gem of a restored 16th-century family home (with just twelve exquisite suites) and its amiable staff are so welcoming that every guest probably feels the same. (Conde Naste agrees: It just named Palazzo Magnani Feroni the most charming small hotel in Europe.) Since I studied Italian's history in the city known as la culla della lingua italiana (the cradle of the Italian language), I can't resist its literary sites. My first stop would be the Bibliotheca Medicea or Laurentian library built in the Renaissance to house the Medici family's vast collection of precious manuscripts. Michelangelo designed the dramatic staircase that leads from the ricetto (reception area) to the reading room. With its vaulted ceilings and paneled walls, this cathedral to books and learning never fails to fill me with awe—and admiration for the beautifully illustrated manuscripts on display. Every street in Florence is so packed with treasures for the eye that I try to take different routes as I wend myself past the breathtaking Duomo, which Italians call Il Cupolone (the big dome). I head for the via del Proconsolo, lined with several must-see museums, including the Bargello National Museum, as well as shops selling a Florentine specialty: leather purses, gloves, shoes, jackets and more. My choice for lunch is a wine bar called Angels, a favorite among locals so you'll find yourself surrounded by Italians speaking Italian. Right across the street is an elegant upscale restaurant—a good choice for a special dinner: Alla Murate, a restored guild hall with sophisticated cuisine and the oldest known portrait of Dante Alighieri (with a straight rather than hooked nose) If the sun is shining and the day is warm, I would spend the afternoon strolling through the Boboli gardens, adjacent to the Pitti Palace (which merits a golden day of its own). Don't miss whimsical sculptures such as the Bacchino (little Bacchus), a fat naked dwarf sitting on a tortoise and the Fontana dei Mostaccini (literally, "Fountain of the Little Ugly Faces".) I would then take a short detour to visit one of the supreme masterpieces of Renaissance painting: the fresco cycle in the Brancacci chapel of the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine. For centuries artists came to sit and stare at these breakthrough paintings by the young artist known as Massacio (a nickname meaning "messy Tom"). I can never take my eyes off the anguished faces of Adam and Eve as they are exiled from the Garden of Eden. A literally golden part of a day in Florence comes in early evening. Thread your way above the Arno, past the Piazzale Michelangelo to San Miniato, the oldest church in Florence. My daughter and I once arrived just in time for a concert by a visiting Welsh choir. We walked outside as the sun was turning the Arno and the roofs of Florence to gold. The spectacular sunset continued like a Technicolor slide show as we made our way down the hill. For dinner I recommend the mouth-watering bistecca at a restaurant called—aptly enough for this post—Golden View on the banks of the Arno. Reserve a window table so you can look out on the Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizzi. As an added bonus, you can enjoy live jazz most nights www.goldenviewopenbar.com I would end the day exactly where I began it: on the rooftop terrazzo of the Palazzo Magnani Foroni. Weather permitting, there is a full bar until midnight. On request, the hotel serves dinner for guests. My husband and I celebrated one of the most romantic anniversaries of our lives there, toasting the magic of a full moon ascending over a truly timeless city.