“In the winter, Venice is like an abandoned theater. The play is finished, but the echoes remain.”

Although it was a hot day we both decided that it would be a sin to be in Italy and settle for a salad and so my husband decided to try the dish of the day, wild boar with juniper berries whilst I opted for the lasagne after narrowly deciding I’d prefer that over the spaghetti bolognese dish. I know it is sold in every supermarket and pasta joint at home but none of them could compare with what I was about to eat.

I realised that I had not made a lasagne at home for many years. In fact my last attempt had been in the days when you had to cook your lasagne first and a great hassle it was too. Nowadays you can buy lasagne which does not need to be pre-cooked making the cook’s job infinitely easier. I had no excuse not to try to recreate my Fiesole experience when I got home.

A quick look on the internet made me realise that there is an enormous number of lasagne recipes: lentil lasagne, tomato and goat’ s cheese lasagne, roasted vegetable lasagne, the rather esoteric leek, mushroom, fried egg and pangrattato lasagne and the rather delicious sounding scallop, wild mushroom and truffle lasagne. They all sounded interesting but would have to wait for another day.

I was also spoiled for choice by the number of recipes for traditional lasagne, including those offered by Schwartz, but after a lot of deliberation I opted for one that included not only beef mince but also pork mince for the ragu. It also included a bottle of red wine (so not a cheap dish), celery, carrot, onion, rosemary, tomatoes and beef stock. I impressed myself by making the béchamel sauce without a single lump, layered the ragu and white sauce with the pasta, and added some mozzarella and parmesan. Modesty prevents me from telling you just how good it was but the finished result more than justified the outlay in terms of cost and effort.

Visiting Italy during these days you have a chance to take a part in grandiosity Catholic mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in the middle of Vatican City, to see religious parades and celebrations focused on a statue of Jesus or the Virgin Mary that gets carried through the city streets, to taste traditional Easter Italian foods such as artichockes, roasted lamb, a special sweet bread called “Colomba” (which means dove, and it’s made in the shape of a dove) and favous chocolate eggs having a special prize inside and more and more. I guess it’s not bad idea.

Getting around Italy by train has long been the most popular way to travel through the country. By the way, rains, buses, and other transportations will be on what are called “ferie” schedules (holiday schedules), which mean that everything runs less tan usually. Then you can check out Italian train tickets here – http://www.italylogue.com/train.

Stunningly private and unspoilt, the setting of this deluxe retreat on the exclusive Costa Smeralda is perfect for those long leisurely aftenoon under clear, Sardinian skies.

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