La Cucina

      

          Eleven days ago I arrived in Milán to work as a photography assistant for the Italian / New York artist Oberto Gili. I was driven to the small Piemonte town of Brá where Oberto has an amazing home that sits high on the hillside above town. Aside from the vegetable garden, the cherry orchard, the many peonies, and small vineyard - there are three cows, one of which is named Violet (or Viola for short), four small and charming dogs, a donkey named Giulia, and a flock of chickens. As may be telling of the Italian lifestyle, the other guests and I found ourselves in the kitchen more than any other room in the house. Whether learning to make Italian style eggs with tomatoes, sage, and half a stick of butter, or tasting the fierce sweet, stinging Grappa Oberto made last fall, we felt at home in this verdant cucína.