Making Pasta under an Oak Tree in Modena, Italy

At the Festival della Fiaba in Modena, Italy, everything was alive.

A 104-year old Holm Oak (Quercus ilex, or leccio in Italian) in Cortile del Leccio within the Complesso Culturale San Paolo in Modena, Italy

That tree, which seems suspended in an ethereal flight, but firmly anchored to the earth, surrounded by an older complex, which has nourished it over time, the chirping of birds, the space inhabited by the three sfogline, their venerable age and fresh pasta, but also by many other young people, all gathered under the canopy of the holm oak, dotted with white paper lanterns – it was all alive.

A sfoglina is the name given to a female pasta-maker who uses traditional techniques. L-R: Lina, Agnese and Rita

Nicoletta narrates a story of the tradition of sfogline, while Lina, Agnese and Rita make fresh pasta

Nicoletta narrating

I made Tagliatelle with Butter and Sage, with a generous draping of Parmesan for lunch using the pasta we took home