Sea, art, wine and cooking: a day in Chiavari

It was 2 July 1610, and in the Gulf of Tigullio the heat was scorching. While in the harbour the usual picturesque coming and going of sailing ships and the boatmen's gozzi continued, a few hundred metres from the coast, just outside the heart of the village of Chiavari, several peasants were working in a vegetable garden. Among them was Sebastiano Descalzo, who at a certain point decided to say a prayer in front of a wayside shrine placed nearby, depicting the Madonna with Saints Sebastian and Roch. As he was saying his prayer, at a certain point he saw a great light and, within it, a very beautiful woman: it was a Marian apparition. To tell the truth, the Madonna had already appeared in the same place about six months earlier, to the midwife Geronima Turrio.

Our walk in Chiavari begins right at this place, where the imposing sanctuary of Nostra Signora dell'Orto stands, one of the most famous Ligurian sanctuaries, in which the image of the Madonna with the blessing Child is venerated. According to tradition, that painting was commissioned from the painter Benedetto Borzone by donna Maria de' Guerci, known as Turchina, in thanksgiving to the Virgin for having preserved her from the plague of 1493. At the time the image was set in a niche in the wall of a garden (orto), hence the name. According to one interpretation of the place name Chiavari, which would derive from "clavaro", this beautiful town is the "key" at the mouth of the Fontanabuona, Sturla, Graveglia and Val d'Aveto valleys.

Certainly its position, and also the development of the maritime trade that had begun to thrive here as far back as the fourteenth century, truly made it the "key" of this territory. Besides its seafaring culture, Chiavari also had a flourishing craft tradition, with numerous workshops on the very central Via Ravascheri, as well as in the caruggio Dritto, the patrician streets of the time. Wandering among these beautiful colourful caruggi, we discover that Chiavari has been famous for centuries for the production of the chairs known as chiavarine. It is an extremely light chair, in cherry and white maple wood, with thin willow threads woven in a herringbone pattern.

During our walk we visit several of the many splendid religious buildings, including the parish church of San Giovanni Battista, founded in 1181, and the church and monastery of the Poor Clares, dedicated to San Bernardino da Siena. According to a manuscript, nearby stood the first Franciscan convent, founded in 1216 by St Francis of Assisi and called Cadè, House of God. In the centre we also admire several sumptuous palazzi, including the Palazzo Bianco, the town hall, and afterwards we also go to visit the castle, set on a hill and erected in the twelfth century by the Republic of Genoa to counter the Fieschi of nearby Lavagna.

After a walk beneath the palms of the seafront, we return among the picturesque little streets of the centre with a distinct appetite, and so we decide to stop for dinner at the Ristorante Enoteca Vino e Cucina dal 1999, on Via Bighetti, a few steps from Palazzo Bianco. The elegant, characteristic setting, the warm-coloured room, the many bottles of wine on display, and above all the kind welcome from the owners Silvia and Antonio immediately put us at ease. While we study the menu, we also have a chat with them, discovering that the restaurant has been open since 1999 and is particularly appreciated for its original, imaginative cuisine, which only partly draws on the Ligurian tradition but is able to satisfy even the most demanding palates. "The cook is my husband Benedetto, helped by Luca.

His cuisine stands out for his skill in creating simple dishes that are particular at the same time, using few fresh, high-quality ingredients, without ever making a mess or layering too many flavours," Silvia explains. "We always follow the seasonality of the products, changing the menu every 2-3 months. The dishes are prepared to order; we are attentive to food intolerances too, and we have an ever-increasing demand from vegetarians and vegans, who can find an alternative to meat here. We try as far as possible to use zero-mile products, we make our own bread at home, and we follow some ethical rules of our own, such as using eggs from free-range hens and wholegrain sugar. We make quality choices so as to be able to guarantee good value for money," the owners continue, adding that in any case the most important ingredient in their cooking is passion.

We soon have confirmation, as soon as the first specialities arrive at the table, chosen from a menu we appreciate also for its transparency and clarity: what is written really is what is served to us. We start with cubes of roasted baccalà on a cream of garlicky black bread with a small summer peperonata, but we also taste a courgette velouté with sautéed mackerel fillets and aromatic herbs, while those who prefer meat opt for a roll of fassona beef carpaccio and ricotta from Santo Stefano d'Aveto with red berries and a green-apple sauce. Our vegan friend, meanwhile, chooses the millefeuille of aubergine and griddled tofu with mint oil. We continue with one of the restaurant's flagship dishes: homemade potato gnocchi with a white fish ragù, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. Silvia had warned us, and we really must agree with her: her husband is a true magician at making gnocchi.

Antonio, on the other hand, is a great wine expert; indeed he is the one who advises us on the best pairing with each dish, ranging across the more than three hundred labels from all the Italian regions. We taste in particular some excellent Ligurian wines from small producers with very high-quality bottles, including organic, untreated and unfiltered wines. The same quality choices also distinguish the selection of craft beers, and even the soft drinks. Among the first courses we also taste a fine seafood risotto and an exquisite French-style fish soup with cheese, paprika mayonnaise and croutons on the side. Then we can't resist a rich dish of Ligurian-style catch of the day, but the prawns sautéed in the pan with gremolada sauce are much loved too.

The vegetarians opt for the seitan stew, the "carnivores" of the group enjoy a fine beef tagliata with demi-glace sauce and roast potatoes, while those who prefer a dinner evoking traditional Ligurian flavours choose the tasting menu: vegetable tart, spaghetti with mussels and bagnun of anchovies. Finally, we gladly give in to the temptation of the delicious desserts prepared by Antonio, including the soft dark-chocolate cake made without flour, a veritable "cult" dessert of the restaurant. The variety of flavours is matched by a variety of colours thanks to the temporary art exhibition we can admire as we eat: at present the walls of the recently refurbished restaurant display the paintings of Anna Icardi, a Ligurian artist we can also read about in the presentation included in the pages of the menu.

A sensory union in which food becomes a form of art and art something exquisite to "taste", making the dining experience pleasant and original, to be repeated as soon as possible.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Ristorante Enoteca Vino e Cucina dal 1999 Via Bighetti, 107 Chiavari (GE) 0185/305536