Men's Fashions by Francesco

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Nora: from Phoenicia to Carthage and onto Rome Posted: 05 Sep 2009 02:10 PM PDT In modern times, cities often pave over old cobblestone streets and brick roads with cement or asphalt, so it should not seem too foreign that ancient civilizations built upon the preceding ones. Today, I went to Nora, roughly 30 kilometers southwest of Cagliari, where successive colonies were constructed one upon the other, starting with the Phoenicians, then the Carthaginians, and finally the Romans. Once an island, Nora is now a promontory with a portion of the city submerged beneath the sea; but, recently, many artifacts have been unearthed, revealing the lives and times of each civilization. Nora was founded in 9th century BC by the Phoenicians, who settled amongst the local Nuraghic population of Sardinia. When the Carthaginians arrived later in the 6th century BC, they met with enormous resistance by the Nuraghic people. The Carthaginians, in turn, defeated the Nuraghic people, destroying all their nuraghi in the area. The Carthaginians, however, met with the same fate in the 3rd century BC when the Romans attacked Nora, burning the city to the ground. By the year 450 AD, Nora had been completely abandoned because of the incessant raids of the Vandals, who invaded not only Nora but many other colonies along the coast of Sardinia. Panoramic View of Nora Slideshow & Video Copyright Men's Fashion by Francesco.

When in Sardinia, Eat as the Sardinians! Posted: 05 Sep 2009 02:10 PM PDT Last night I went out to dinner with some of my fahter's friends, who took me to a restaurant in Quartu Sant'Elena, just outside of Cagliari, called Pane e Casu Quartu ('Quartu Bread and Cheese'), which is run by an exquisite Sardinian culinary expert. Sardinian cuisine is atypical of many islands due to a long history of invasions, which forced the local populations to dwell inland rather than on the coast. Instead of a fish-based cuisine, therefore, the typical cuisine of Sardinia is pastoral, including animals like—yes!—the donkey! Last night's feast was kicked off royally with the queen of Sardinian reds—the dry, full-body Monica wine—which was accompanied by various sorts of creamy pecorino cheeses served on Sardinian shepherd's bread—pan carasau (literally, 'bread cooked to crispiness'). Dating back to the Nuraghi people of the 2nd millennium BC, pan carasau is also known as carta da musica ('music paper'). After a trio of appetizers consisting of sautéed eggplant, chickpeas, and fava beans, two pasta dishes were presented in loving abbondanza: Malloreddus—thick shells made of semolina, filled with a creamy pecorino cheese, and flavored with saffron; and Maccarones de busa—made by wrapping the pasta around knitting needles and served in a sauce of ground wild boar meat seasoned with mint. The second course consisted of two meat dishes. First, we savored some porceddu, which is milk-fed suckling pig roasted on a spit and served on a bed of myrtle. Then came the ass—thin flanks of donkey meat grilled to tender perfection. We concluded the banquet with a plate of seadas, deep fried ravioli-like pastries that are filled with a creamy pecorino cheese and drizzled with bitter honey. Of course, we couldn't leave without a few shots of Fil'e ferru, a type of Sardinian grappa or "white lightening," followed by another shot of Mirto—liquor made from red myrtle berries. We all concluded that the best way to digest all these tasty delights was to take a long night walk along Poetto, Cagliari's main beach! Photos Copyright Men' Fashion by Francesco.

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