The world is full of streets, and food too.
In recent years, we've witnessed a rediscovery and revaluation of what we call "street food" - an ancient tradition that unites practically all countries worldwide, each with its own unique variations.
A Culinary Discovery at La Rivetta
I was dining at La Rivetta, a milestone in Venetian cuisine, when I encountered the fascinating discussion I'll summarize below.
It's worth noting that La Rivetta perfectly represents the culinary-anthropological tradition of the lagoon capital. The constant presence of gondoliers certifies its quality, much like how the presence of trucks and truckers indicates the right restaurants to stop at during a car journey.
The establishment is known for the best fish fry in the region, perfect seasonal ingredients, and "The Duke," a strapping waiter blessed with impressive singing abilities.
The Vanished "Calle Food" of Venice
Ettore, the restaurant's most senior waiter, began describing the characters who had colored his childhood - the now-vanished figures of "calle food." (The "calli" are Venice's streets, and by "food" we mean the products that the lagoon and its islands have always provided.)
To cut to the chase, old Venice hid delicacies at every corner.
The Street Vendors of Campo San Filippo e Giacomo
At Campo San Filippo e Giacomo, just steps from St. Mark's Square, you'd find the Limonaro and the Capalungaro. The first sold lemons by the piece, cutting them in half upon request - quite convenient since next door, the Capalungaro would extract sweet, tiny Cape lunghe (razor clams) from his old bag. These were freshly caught and still alive. He would pass them over his candle's flame before serving them on newspaper. Having the Limonaro next door was quite handy.
Sweet Treats of St. Mark's Square
In St. Mark's Square, you'd find the Melacottaro and Peracottaro. Two elderly, not-quite-teetotal gentlemen who roamed the square, hating pigeons and wearing heavy copper cauldrons supported by simple strap systems. One carried cooked apples, the other cooked pears, served skewered on wooden sticks. You can still taste these cooked fruits at Rosa Salva, the historic pastry shop that, among other things, claims to have invented the tramezzino sandwich.
The Folpettari of Castello
In Castello's Via Garibaldi, there were the folpettari, a tradition skillfully revived by "Il Folpettaro" in Padua's Piazza della Frutta (not coincidentally elected Italy's best street food in 2015). The folpettari sat beside enormous pots where octopus boiled. They would then cut them, removing eyes and beak, serving them with a sauce made from olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon, and parsley. This sauce was called "aqueta" because it literally made your mouth water.
The Legendary Fritoini
The fritoini were unmissable, either in shops with special windows opening onto the calli for takeaway (Pierre Cardin's vecio fritoin behind Campo San Cassian has revived this tradition) or as wandering vendors with baskets on their laps. These fryers, strictly serving fish, would present their goods in paper cones. Venice was apparently invaded by them. Calle food, indeed, substituted home cooking for convenience and practicality.
The Seasonal Delicacy: Le Moecare
Among these fryers, seasonally (in autumn and spring), "Le Moecare" stood out: elderly ladies who, with experienced savoir-faire, would drown live moeche (small lagoon crabs that shed their shells twice a year) in batter. These crabs were consistently caught before their new shells could calcify, allowing them to be fried and eaten whole. An absolute delicacy unique to the lagoons, especially the Venetian one. You can still taste the traditional method at Madonna, in Calle della Madonna, and at Vecie Carampane.
The Passerei: Masters of Sole Fishing
At Lido, Sant'Erasmo, and Torcello (where a visit to Locanda Cipriani is unmissable), there were the "Passerei." These three islands are crossed by tiny canals heavily populated with small sole fish, called passerini because they apparently swim similarly to how sparrows fly.
The Passerei would sit right on these small canals' banks with a large pan of boiling oil for frying the sole and a wooden bench for draining the oil. Their fishing method was fascinating: being seated right on the canal's edge, they wielded long, thin pointed sticks that they would hurl into the canal like harpoons, systematically retrieving a sole fish. But remember: "un botto solo e seco xenno' se riempie de sabion" - one dry hit that pierces the fish through and through, otherwise it fills with sand.
Traditional Venetian Street Food Legacy
The discussion with Ettore didn't stop there. He told of boats bringing mussels and clams from the shallows to serve raw like oysters on the shores, artichoke vendors from Sant'Erasmo selling cooked artichoke bottoms and castraure (local bitter baby artichokes) among the city's paved streets, ladies with baskets of homemade cookies (peverini made with pepper and chocolate, esse cookies, and cornmeal-based zaeti), and "aciughetari" with their cases of salted anchovies and unleavened bread on their shoulders.
In short, these streets have seen plenty of good food pass through them.
A Taste of Nostalgia
After the smiling old waiter's story, entering Do' Mori, Venice's oldest bacaro, this morning gave me a strange feeling. Biting into the day's first crostini with whipped cod, I couldn't deny savoring a certain nostalgia. We'll have to drink to that - the queen activity of this absurd yet sublime city that, until a few centuries ago, didn't even exist; it was all water and raw fish.
