The King and Queen have said “arrivederci” to their hosts after being swept up in a chaotic carnival atmosphere in Ravenna in the closing part of their state visit to Italy. Charles and Camilla were ushered from one stall to another at a local farmers’ market set up in the Piazza del Popolo, inside the heart of the north-eastern city.
With traditional folk music ringing round the square, the royals sampled local cuisine from regional producers and heard how the local agricultural firms had weathered the storm of floods surrounding the region. The King and Queen stepped out onto the balcony of the town hall to wave to thousands of locals in the piazza, some who had queued from 6am to be there.
The couple, who celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary this week while in Italy, were shown round the market by Italian personality and restaurateur Massimo Bottura. The star of the Netflix series Chef’s Table introduced Camilla to local pasta makers Mercato Coperto and even tried her hand at rolling the pasta for spinach ravioli.
Grabbing a rolling pin the Queen said: “I can see you need to be quite strong for this,” as she rolled out golden sheets to be cut into mini squares. As Camilla dusted her sheets, the King was frantically shown round the Max Mariola stall, who produce specially cured ham made over 12 months to create its distinctive rich flavour.
Shown a shown a selection of chutneys made by company, Charles said: “You make this yourself? Marvellous, how much is it?” The stall holders gifted him a jar which the King swiftly handed to an aide saying “we’ll enjoy that later”.
Carlo Petrini, founder of International Slow Food Movement – who attended the Highgrove dinner approached the King and hugged him warmly before beckoning him over to his stall. Mr Petrini repeatedly said “Thank you, thank you”, adding: “The pleasure is ours to have you here.”
At the Tempted Elderflower Cider stand, Camilla sipped a local brew remarking how “lovely and fizzy” the drink was. Surrounded by dozens of Italian security guards and dignitaries, on top of their royal protection team, the King and Queen separated amid the mayhem the band playing and stall holders offering them treats from roast beef to five-year-old parmesan.
The King then chatted with local farmers from the Cooperativa Agricola Brascciati, whose land and crops have been severely affected by devastating floods which have hit the Ravenna region in recent years.
The King was heard remarking on the ‘devastating’ results to crops and wildlife when viewing a short film playing at the stall. The King and Queen reunited to shake more hands in a frantic couple of minutes before leaving the piazza.
Charles and Camilla were supposed to be presented with a mosaic gift from the art school, the Accademia delle Belle Arti, but due to the swirling crowds were ushered away from the piazza five minutes early.
The tour of local farmer’s market marked the end of the visit to Italy with the royal couple heading back to the airport afterwards to fly back home to Britain.
The couple are set to fly to Aberdeen before heading to Birkhalll, their home on the Balmoral estate in the Scottish Highlands, where they will hold a private celebration for their 20th wedding anniversary, with the pair reaching the milestone earlier this week.
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