Where the sea meets ceramics: a day in Albissola Marina, art served at the table

Walking on a mosaic a kilometre long, created by artists such as Lucio Fontana, Roberto Crippa, Giuseppe Capogrossi and Aligi Sassu, all beneath a very dense row of cheerful palms behind which you glimpse the crystalline blue of the sea: to enjoy this fabulous experience you only need to go to Albissola Marina. The Lungomare degli Artisti, created in 1963, is one of the symbols of the town, known around the world for centuries for its ceramics, whose production had begun as early as 1122. Heading into the historic centre, we discover one of the most characteristic villages of the Riviera, with caruggi that wind through a kaleidoscope of bright Ligurian colours, preserving intact its ancient medieval atmosphere. Ceramists' workshops and studios are found almost everywhere, and inside you admire countless handmade objects, often in blue and white, recalling the splendour of the sea.

Before us, many illustrious travellers had come to Albissola, of whom a crocodile even "tells" us: the one created by Lucio Fontana for the historic Giuseppe Mazzotti Manifattura Ceramiche. The life-size art reptile is now displayed in the Manifattura's Giardino Museo, as a symbol of the era in which many Futurists, including Filippo Tommaso Marinetti himself, often visited Albissola Marina to create ceramic works. In Albissola Marina there is also a piece of Novara: Villa Faraggiana, today the venue for art exhibitions, built in the eighteenth century as the home of the Durazzo family, then left to the Municipality of Novara by its last owner Alessandro Faraggiana.

During our walk we also visit the sixteenth-century Parish Church of Nostra Signora della Concordia, admiring, besides its Baroque façade, built in the twentieth century, and the large churchyard with white and black stripes in pure Ligurian style, several valuable works of art housed inside. Facing the same striking square is the Oratory of San Giuseppe, built in the seventeenth century. It is right a few steps from the church that we decide to stop for dinner, at the Osteria del Varadrillo, a place where the pleasures of the palate are combined with artistic emotions.

Entering, we admire an exhibition of contemporary art, which continues at the table too thanks to the exhibition by Franca Franchi, an artist who shatters mirrors and crystals to recompose them into splendid works that convey harmony and sunshine, visual emotions that will even "warm" our dishes thanks to the artist's wonderful placemats. But here the crocodile reappears, and this time the artist is Roberto Giannotti, who created the bas-relief dedicated to the Varadrillo. "This cartoon figure, perhaps the alter ego of my brother Mauro, the chef, could be the cross between a monitor lizard and a crocodile. But the painting reveals that it is a mandrill from Varazze with an adventurous life," Mr Sergio, the owner of the restaurant together with his brother, tells us.

Art remains present even when we begin to taste the first dishes: a palette of raw fish and the trilogy of vegetable flans with velvety soups. We continue with the wonderful cappon magro, the flagship dish of Ligurian cuisine, which here can also be enjoyed by our vegetarian, coeliac and vegan friends. For them, cappon magro is served with a millefeuille of vegetables and tofu, with a seaweed sauce accompanied by steamed basmati rice. Some of us choose the rich tasting menus, sea or land, both including three courses, at 25-30 euro. The fresh stuffed pasta is all homemade, and the first courses, as well as everything else, combine tradition and imagination, resulting in delicious and unique dishes that we could not find elsewhere.

We taste, among others, the mandilli de sa-ea with pesto, green beans and potatoes, the black ravioli with salt cod, tomato and basil, and the pumpkin cappellacci with Sassello amaretto. We continue with some dishes that are Slow Food Presidia, such as the Boccone del Barone and "le Petit Chateaubriant", but we also cannot resist the salt cod baked in milk, on a bed of chickpea velouté, which could be described as a rival to baccalà alla vicentina. Some of us opt for the large fish soup, a real spectacle, but the mixed fried fish also wins converts, particularly light and fragrant, prepared with rice flour and using oil at high temperature. Our dinner ends in great sweetness, thanks to the tasty desserts, all homemade, among which we taste a delicious Chinotto semifreddo, the zabaione with passito, as well as the bouguignonne of fresh fruit to dip in melted dark chocolate.

We will soon return to Albissola Marina, where art is also synonymous with hospitality: at the Varadrillo even children are thoroughly pampered, and even the dogs present spent a pleasant evening with us, like one big family.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Osteria del Varadrillo Piazza della Concordia, 2 Albissola Marina (SV) Tel.: 019/4002451