As good as Italy gets

The Botanical Garden of Padua (Orto Botanico di Padova), in northern Italy, was possibly the world’s first botanical garden. Established in 1545, it has made a profound contribution to modern science, especially in the disciplines of botany, medicine, chemistry, ecology and pharmacy.

It’s a kind of history that residents of the American West can hardly fathom, and it’s what landed the Botanical Garden of Padua a spot on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO’s) list of 981 World Heritage Sites, selected for their cultural, historical and creative importance to the world.

The Botanical Garden is one of 49 such sites in Italy—more than any other single country in the world. And right now you can see the garden and 22 other sites as captured through the unique lenses of 14 Italian photographers, as part of the UNESCO Italia exhibit, on display at the Arte Italia mansion gallery in downtown Reno.

Featured in the exhibit are sites such as the rock drawings in Valcamonica, Venice and its lagoon, the city of Verona, the church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci, the Dolomites, the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa and Cinque Terre.

The year 2013 has been designated the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, a year-long celebration of Italy’s artistic and cultural contributions to America, which is what prompted the development of this exhibit. Reno is one of only three U.S. stops for the show—previously it has been in Miami and Joplin, Mo.—before it moves on to Vancouver, B.C., and then returns to Italy.

How does the Biggest Little City land a cultural event the likes of which is usually found in cities such as San Francisco or New York?

According to Arte Italia president Kristen Avansino, it’s a combination of the nonprofit organization’s unique focus on the marriage of visual and culinary arts, its historic location, a larger-than-average population of Italian Americans for a city this size and the support of the E.L. Wiegand Foundation, which operates Arte Italia.

In the early 2000s, it was Avansino, the wife of a fifth-generation Italian American/Nevadan, who realized that her in-laws were among hundreds of Italian families that had come to Northern Nevada at the turn of the century to work in the logging and mining industries.

“In my husband’s family, for example, there were two sisters who married Avansinos, and they weren’t even related,” she says. “You had families coming here, living side by side, one generation after another, loving the country and buying acreage to settle here, particularly in the Old Southwest and in Sparks. … The mountains and verdant valleys were obviously attractive, the families prospered, they determined this was home and they stayed here.”

Avansino says she has seen progress erode much of that history, and, working as executive director of the E.L. Wiegand Foundation, she spearheaded the formation of Arte Italia in 2008, the mission being to further the Italian traditions that were expressed in Northern Nevada since those earliest days, and which still are in some respects.

The Wiegand Foundation immediately began looking for a location, and set its sights on the historical Joseph Giraud House, built in 1914 and designed by architect Frederic DeLongchamps, which was the first property listed on the Reno Register of Historic Places. It had lapsed into disrepair after housing a series of failed restaurants. The Wiegand Foundation purchased the neoclassical building and spent two years refurbishing it, adding two museum-style art galleries and a commercial, state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen that can accommodate a master chef and up to 32 guests.

Arte Italia fulfills its mission through a two-pronged approach to Italian culture: bringing in exhibits of visual art that capture the history, talents and spirit of Italian culture, and by offering cooking demonstrations by master chefs from around Italy who showcase the unique flavors and methods of their regions.

The organization is, Avansino believes, the only Italian cultural center in the U.S. that marries fine Italian art and culinary experiences. Since its opening, it has hosted more than 47,000 visitors, including more than 2,000 culinary class students and 21 visiting chefs. All art exhibits are free to the public, and tuition for cooking demonstrations is $50, for which attendees meet and watch master chefs prepare the traditional four-course Italian dinner, which they enjoy paired with wine from the chef’s region of origin.

A map on display in the kitchen features a mark for every region that has been represented by a chef at Arte Italia. “Our goal is to find regional chefs who continue to produce traditional, regional cuisine,” says Avansino, explaining that they steer away from fusion and nouveau styles, focusing on authentic methods and flavors of the regions.

“We also are interested in chefs who are devoted to a demonstration of the process. It’s one thing to be an expert and show you a platter of exquisite food. It’s another thing to back off from that bottom line and methodically, for our guests, show how that exquisite food comes into being.”

This means that translation is often required—provided by culinary consultant and board member Ivano Centemeri, executive chef at the Eldorado Hotel Casino.

“Ivano is vital to the success of our program,” says Avansino. “Not only does he serve as translator if necessary to convey the expression of the chefs, but he has access to food suppliers, in case we have chefs—which we have—who demand certain delicacies in the preparation of their food. We just had some chefs from outside Florence whose menu included several meat items that are common in Tuscany but not so common here—for instance, a certain rabbit. Ivano can track those down for us.”

Arte Italia features four to six chefs per year, spaced at fairly regular intervals, and each chef teaches 4-5 classes. There is usually a short waiting list for classes, but most of those waiting can be accommodated in the next class or two.

Avansino explains that the Wiegand Foundation covers all costs for the chefs and foods, and tuition costs are then turned into charitable donations to local Catholic organizations. To date, Arte Italia has donated roughly $80,000 to community organizations such as St. Vincent’s Dining Room and a Bishop Manogue High School arts initiative.

Avansino says that the visiting chefs often are pleasantly surprised by the size and condition of the kitchen, stocked with top-of-the-line equipment and tools.

“The chefs are treated royally and can’t get enough of the Nevada experience,” she says.

And she adds that the classes often bring nostalgia to the guests. “I can’t begin to tell you how many people enroll in the classes and then say, ’Oh, I remember my grandmother making that dish!’ It’s one anecdote after another. And for younger people, they envision a time past, and I think they are sparked with the notion that if they have a family, they’d like traditions like these to become of part of their families.”

For the UNESCO Italia exhibit, alongside each photographed site is a plaque that indicates which of Arte Italia’s visiting chefs has hailed from that region, which helps to round out the unique celebration of that region on display.