2.7 How does a city feed itself? A tour of kitchens, fields, and cellars

In this episode we will be dealing with food and its role in the cultural context of the city, not only in terms of restaurants, but also in terms of its complexity, which can’t be separated from a multicultural approach. Food that is transformed or created in Venice, or food that comes from afar, with which we might identify, around which we might find communities, and which might give us reason to reflect. Aboard “Nowtilus” we’ll be listening to the thoughts and stories of Chiara Spadaro, PhD student in Geography at Ca Foscari University, with a research project on food policies in the Venice lagoon, Marco Bravetti, chef-researcher and founder of “Tocia! Cucina e Comunità” (Cuisine and Community), a cultural organization that makes food a key ingredient in social revolution, and Francesco Molinari, host and owner of Adriatico Mar, not a mere bar, but a true crossroads of natural flavors and beverages.

This episode is available in Italian on Ocean-Archive.org and on TBA21–Academy Radio on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

“Nowtilus. Stories from an urban lagoon in the 21st century” is a podcast produced by Ocean Space, Venice, for TBA21 – Academy Radio. Music by Enrico Coniglio.

Each episode of the second season of Nowtilus. Stories from an urban lagoon in the 21st century! is accompanied by Nowtilus Plus, a document with a bibliography, related images, and an in-depth analysis of the content discussed by the guests aboard.

Check out the material from the seventh episode:

Chiara Spadaro is an environmental journalist, anthropologist and PhD student in Geography at Ca’ Foscari University. She is the author of “Il frutto ritrovato” (The rediscovered fruit) (2010), “Adesso pasta” (Now pasta) (2011, winner of the National Museum of Pasta prize), “Piccolo è meglio” (Small is better) (2012) and “Vademecum per la biodiversità” (Handbook for biodiversity) (2013) for Altrigianato editions. In 2013 she won the Penna d’oca, Alfio Menegazzo, and the Civic Agriculture journalism awards.

Marco Bravetti is a Venetian chef. He was born and raised in Venice, and returned to the city after a few years of exploring the streets and kitchens of London, Sao Paulo, and Copenhagen. After taking his research to some important restaurants around the lagoon, he founded TOCIA! cuisine and community, an interdisciplinary and convivial collective focused on action and research. Through the languages, practices, materials, and rituals of food and cuisine, TOCIA! investigates the time and place of the lagoon landscape, and the human relationships that inhabit it.

Francesco Molinari was born in Venice, and graduated in Architecture and Interdisciplinary Studies on land policies in Latin America (University of Iowa, USA and Quito, Ecuador). After an experience in Rijeka (Croatia), Molinari came back to the lagoon, merging his experiences by creating an open dialogue with the Venetian Lagoon, focusing on the relationship between the city and its ancient overseas possessions in the Adriatic, not with a vertical, hierarchical, and nostalgic vision, but with a shared, contemporary, and convivial approach. Thus was born as a project of identity and territory, the “Malvasia all'Adriatico Mar”, a bar dedicated to the Adriatic Sea, in which food, wine, books, music, activities, collaborations, interests, casual conversations, and learned discussions help to build bridges between the two shores of the “Mar Grando”, a system of communities linked together by cultural affinity rather than national borders. A porthole to gaze from and dive out of.