Danielle (Dany) Mitzman is a British freelance journalist who has been based in the north Italian town of Bologna since 1998. Before that, she worked in London as a producer for Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4. She makes features and documentaries for BBC World Service, BBC Radio 4, Deutsche Welle Radio and Radio Netherlands. Her reports are often rebroadcast on other networks, including NPR, CBC, ABC Australia and SABC. Her favourite areas are human interest, arts and culture and Italy's quirkiest news stories.
Brazil. Home to the Brazil nut and it’s much lesser-known cousin, the castanha de Baru (or Baru nut). It’s tasty, high in protein, and low in fat. But for the slow movement, the Baru nut is more. It’s a symbol of traditional, local farming methods and products which have been protected and even promoted. Dany Mitzman gives us a taste of the Baru nut and what it means to Brazil.
First broadcast on Earth Beat, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 16th April, 2010
The film “Letters to Juliet” has just come out in America and is soon to be on general release in most countries throughout Europe. Starring Vanessa Redgrave and Amanda Seyfried, it’s a romantic comedy set in the north Italian city of Verona. Famous as the setting for Shakespeare’s best loved tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, the plot centres around the curious tradition of writing letters for advice to the tragic heroine and the even more curious Veronese tradition of replying to them.
I’ve been discovering the story behind the story.
(first broadcast on Arts on the Air, Deutsche Welle Radio, 19th May, 2010)
Italians take their pasta pretty seriously but nowhere more so than in the north Italian city of Bologna, the hometown – of course – of Bolognese sauce. Not only were tagliatelle and tortelllni invented here, but you’ll even find legal documents in the city’s Chamber of Commerce, dictating the exact width of tagliatelle and the correct recipe for tortellini.
So it’s no surprise that Bologna is the venue for an annual pasta-making competition, “il Matterello d’oro”: the Golden Rolling Pin. Held at a local television studio, participants from all over the region compete to roll out the best egg pasta dough in town.
(first broadcast on Inside Europe, Deutsche Welle Radio, 11th March, 2010)