It is well worth attending for Sabbath services or for a weekday visit. Visitors should also call Paola Jarach Bedarida, president of the congregation, at the synagogue number, to arrange for home hos- pitality. The cuisine of the Livor- nese Jews is famous throughout Italy, and one should exercise every wile to sample it. Sephardim from the Iberian ‘_ peninsula introduced olive oil, for example, to Livornese cookery — 1 a practice hitherto frowned upon. They popularized eggplants, a veg- etable initially deemed fit only for Jewish palates but now a basic el- ement in all Italian cooking. They used other vegetables widely, cre- ating tortini — thick vegetable omelets — and beetroot lasagna, with a sauce of beetroot and onions to which tomatoes are added — an embellishment which Florentine chefs still disdain. But the most significant gus- tatory contribution the first Sephardic settlers made to the good life in Livorno was that ex- traordinary beverage: coffee. By 1652, the new drink was such a success that coffee shops had sprung up all over town, a phe- nomenon that has persisted and expanded to this very day, Happiness for the Livornese, Jew and non-Jew alike, is sitting in a cafe around the arcaded Pi- azza Grande, reading the soccer news in the local paper, sipping a bitter espresso sweetened with amoretto. The good life journey continues from Livorno northward and eastward, through Pisa, to Florence itself, a venue for Jewish settlers as early as the 14th cenury and currently one of the msjor cities of Jewish population in all of Italy. Florence is the Duomo, Giotto's Campanile, Michelangelo's David, the Uffizi Gallery, the Pontevec- chio and countless other treasures of Gothic and Renaissance art and architecture. Indeed, the entire city is a virtual museum, whose Jewish components are quite dwarfed. Nonetheless, the good life visi- tor to the Duomo who has touched the biblical figures on the great bronze doors of Piano and Ghib- erti or gazed upward to Brunelleschi's cupola can take pride in the relatively modest but still significant Jewish contribu- tions to the splendor of Florence. Within walking distance of the Duomo — and all of Florence is walkable — is the relatively "new" community synagogue. More than a century old, it is new, neverthe- less, in contrast to the Christian houses of worship dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. The Tuscan good life also offers the luxury of languid immersion in one of the many hot springs which abound throughout the re- gion. Travelers have enjoyed the spas of Tuscany since Roman times. CI ci RESIDENTIAL-COMMERCIAL DESIGN INIIECON BUILD 1-800-421-4141 The Perfect Gift... A Subscription To ....... • ••••, The Jewish News (810) 354-6620 • GIFT CERTIFICATES AVAILABLE • OSCAR BRAUN'S PEN LINCOLN TOWERS SUITE 111 968-5858 SALE S&Ote,# /•rtaiteed€ 15075 W. Lincoln (10'12 MILE) Mon. thru Fri. 10-4 One Block East of Greenfield K-45 KITCHEN-AID MIXERS NOW ONLY $179.98 VAELPANASON IC Ib.BREAD MAKERS 5144 Cuisinart FOOD PROCESSORS Sat. 10 12 PARKER WATERMAN • CROSS • LAMY PELIKAN • NAMIKI - MONT BLANC FOUNTAIN PENS 40% OFF SEIKO WATCHES 40-50% OFF CORDLESS TELEPHONE BRAUN REVOL VE R$54 " NORELCO $3950 TOOTHBRUSH ON SALE TRIPLE HEAD SHAVERS TV'S SONY - RCA s139.95 SONICARE TOOTHBRUSH '88.98 GENERATION FOURTH JEWELERS COLLECTION AT BIG BEAVER & 1 75 JUST EAST OF THE SOMERSET 810-362-4500 - 755 West Big Beaver • Troy, Michigan 48084 • Main Floor. Top of Troy Building – Our Holiday Hours – Monday Thru Friday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. • Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 7 p. Open December 24 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. 12 Months Same As Cash On All Purchases With Approved Credit From 11-29 Thru 12-24.