My Visit to the Benotto Family in Italy: Recollections of Bella Italia
The Benotto family (my dad’s family) all reside in beautiful Italy. I feel very lucky that I am able to visit with them.
I was a child of four on my first trip there. I don’t remember a lot but I do remember the plane ride
which was awesome and meeting lots of family. We stayed with my Nonna (grandma) Benotto at her
house in the countryside. She always got a kick out of the fact that I am the only Nick Benotto. My family lives in north Italy outside of Turin, home of Fiat. It’s an area of rolling hills filled with vineyards and hazelnut trees with slashes of Cypress trees scattered throughout the hillsides. Dad’s family owned vineyards and a winery there. I spent time playing with my cousin who is just three months younger than I am and I ate some delicious foods prepared by Nonna and my Zia (aunt). My favorite was the pastina and crunchy grissini (breadsticks) and pizza. As I discovered, pizza comes in individual pies and they have so many toppings you can add. Then there was the gelato (ice cream) which is creamy and mouth-watering with so many flavors to choose from. I remember mom and dad taking me every day after our siesta for gelato.
On subsequent trips as an older teen, I learned more about the countryside and the vineyards and
wine making business my zio (uncle) Benotto owned. He took me riding on his tractor and his large delivery truck. I tasted the wines and loved walking around in the wine cellar where the tanks
and barrels were stored. The aroma of yeast and fruit permeated the air. I also helped out with
some chores. One year we were there celebrating my Nonna’s 80 th birthday which was held at a
nice local restaurant where she was well known. Dinner was delicious and included my zio’s
wines and pasta with white truffles and tender roasted meats. Nonna was so happy that we made
the trip to celebrate with her.
Another time, we visited because my zio was getting married. The wedding was held at a large
restaurant and consisted of many appetizer courses, two pasta dishes (tagliatelle with mushrooms
was a favorite) and two main courses. We ate and danced for hours. I even got up and sang with
the band, which seemed to delight my family! During that visit my family decided to take an
overnight train down to south Italy to visit with my mom’s distant cousins who live near Amalfi.
That was a whole different world filled with lemon groves, fields of tomatoes and scenic
coastlines. There were lots of seafood dishes because of the proximity to the coast. The lemons
were huge and are used to make Limoncello, the fruity, refreshing after dinner drink, best served
ice cold. The tomatoes are the famous San Marzano tomatoes that grow in the rich volcanic soils
around Mount Vesuvius and are so delicious. My mom’s cousins were so welcoming and we had
a huge feast outside on the patio one night with about 30 family members ranging from ten years
old to 90 years old. We saw the sun set over Vesuvius and listened to Italian music being played
in the nearby piazza. The next day I swam in the Gulf of Naples and we took the bus up to
Positano to do some shopping.
I am looking forward to visiting the Benotto family in Italia again soon. There are many things I have yet to see and explore and now that I am older, I am more interested in the history, art and architecture which abounds everywhere you look in Italy. The Italians have such a way of existing alongside of art and beauty which inspires their work in fashion, car designs, food, jewelry and home furnishings. Something as simple as a coffee pot can be eye catching as well as functional.
I will be sure to update you on my next Benotto Italian journey so stay tuned.
Read my blog post about my Italian family recipes here: https://nickbenotto.com/2025/04/02/nick-benotto-italian-family-recipes-a-culinary-journey/
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