Where one fattens well

"Io fui de li gani de la santa greggia che Domenico mena per cammino u'ben s'impingua se non si vaneggia." 

"I was among the lambs of the holy flock that Dominic leads by a path where one fattens well if one does not wander."

 -Paradiso, Canto 10:94-96

Cured Meats (Prosciutti) at Consorzio Agrario di Siena

 Dante uses the metaphor above (one who fattens well), repeatedly in the Cantos we are studying now (Cantos 10-14), echoing the words of Beatrice to resist the folly of running away from a good meal (or at least that's what I think she means in Canto 5:82-84). Food and feeding are certainly mentioned a lot in this Canticle and it is no wonder. Dante is Italian, after all!

Last night I joined the other lambs to eat at one of the most wonderful restaurants I have been in. Osteria del Gatto is located near the Porta di San Marco about 15 minutes walk from my apartment. The menu changes every night and features all local foods prepared by the proprietor's mother. I shared an appetizer, primo piatto and secondo piatto  with my housemate. In fact, we all shared each other's dishes-not sure if this is the right thing to do at such a restaurant but we couldn't help ourselves. Here is a run down of the food for you foodies: the antipasto was a huge hunk of cured pecorino cheese and a fig compote-I love figs but this was something entirely beyond love. Primi piatti  are usually the pasta course-there was a lot to choose from but we finally settled on gnocchi with smoked scamurza  cheese (made like mozzarella and provolone by stretching the curds) and basil -which the waiter translated as basilica -certainly a holy meal. The main course was a Fiorentino  which is an insanely huge T-bone steak best shared by 3-5 people. We had three sharing it  and I was over stuffed. The photo shows it mid-demolition.

I returned home around 10 pm with two hours of reading ahead of me-and right outside my window I could see the bell tower of San Domenico winking at me.