Crafts, content strategy, flatware, and dogs. Not necessarily in that order.
My friend Kate spends a lot of time in Italy, and because I ask nicely, she brings back a spoon or two from each trip.
Last month, she brought back the spoon on the left, from Florence. It looked familiar, so I dug through my spoon collection and found one she brought back years ago from Pisa (right).
Sure enough, they’re the same spoon, with different badges at the top of the handle. The Pisa spoon also has a lovely engraving of its famous leaning tower in the bowl.
Everyone knows that on April 28, 1503, Spanish forces soundly defeated the French in the Battle of Cerignola, which took place in the Italian town of the same name, located in the present-day Apulia region near the town of Bari.
But did you know that what makes this battle famous is that it was most likely the first European battle won using gunpowder firearms? True story, y’all.
I don’t have a Cerignola spoon, but I do have this nice Pisa spoon.
Pisa (much farther north in the Tuscany region) is well-known for its tower, which has a bit of a tilt due to insufficient foundation on one side. Construction started in 1178 and wasn’t completed until nearly 200 years later because the Republic of Pisa was engaged in constant battles with Florence, Lucca, and Genoa (they make nice salami!)