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For South Miami resident John Edward Smith, the road to ‘knighthood’ has been a forty-year journey. Smith, a marketing & management professional, was inducted on September 21 as a Cavailieri delle Terre Asti e del Monferrato (Knight of the Lands of Asti and the Monferrato). The title was conferred at a special ceremony in the Palazzo Mazzola in Asti, located in Italy’s Regiione Piemonte, and over decades has been bestowed upon people who with great zeal dedicate themselves to their profession and passion for the lands of Asti and Monferrato. By virtue of their induction, recipients enter the Order of the Knights, with the cloak of the Knights and the “collar” medallion presented by the Grand Master.
The investiture recognizes Smith’s decades of service to the people of Asti, promoting the wines and products of the area and its annual folkloric traditions.
Nestled between Switzerland and France in the foothills of the Alps is the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy. Asti is 35 miles east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the Province of Asti and is deemed to be the modern capital of Monferrat. This area is recognized throughout the world for producing fine wines and a bounty of walnuts, chestnuts, hazelnuts, cheeses, delicate veal and the fresh vegetables for which Italy is known.
APPRECIATING A RICH HISTORY & FOLKLORE
From a Roman garrison outpost in 124BC to a center of commerce in the 14th century, the hills doted with castles tell of the years of turf building and fighting for it over centuries.
Two of many traditions observed in Asti are the Fiera Carolingia (Carolingian Fair) which is one the largest, oldest, and most important in Piedmont. It dates to the 14th century. During this event, all the streets and squares of the center are occupied by over six hundred stalls with all kinds of goods.
One of the most famous annual folkloric events is the Palio di Asti, in which the old town wards compete in a bare-back horse race. This event recalls a victory in battle versus rival city Alba during the Middle Ages. After the victorious battle, a race was held around Alba’s walls, and from then on, every year. Il Palio d’Asti is the oldest recorded one in Italy and is now held on the first Sunday in September.
This rich history coupled with Asti’s beauty and epicurean roots drew Smith in and provided a fertile backdrop for his creative mind.
THE BEGINNINGS
Shortly after launching his consulting business in 1983, Smith was retained as the marketing producer of The Italian Renaissance Festival at Vizcaya. He recruited craftsmen from Florence and Venice to the festival and represented the Il Gruppo di Sbanideratori del Palio d’Asti (The Flag-Throwers of the Asti Palio) there as well. Subsequently he was named an honorary member of the group and its USA Manager, presenting them at Epcot and at Festa Italiana in Atlanta, which featured performances at the CNN Center. At the time, the Vizcaya renaissance festival was the most popular annual event held in the villa gardens and earned Dade County Parks Department a national award.
In 1984, as Smith was preparing to lead a cultural delegation to Venice, Florence and Asti on behalf of the renaissance festival, Dade County Mayor Stephen P. Clark called upon him to discuss a “Sister-City” agreement between the Province of Asti and the county. This would be the first sister-city program between two regional governments rather than municipalities. The “gemelle” (twin) sister-city relationship was established and formalized in both regions.
Thereafter the Province of Asti government requested Smith promote Asti’s venerable wines: the sparkling Asti (DOCG, often known as Asti Spumante) made solely from the Moscato bianco white muscat grape as well as a premium version known as Moscato d’Asti (DOCG) and the red Barbera. Smith recalls asking Province of Asti President Guglielmo Tovo to send along a kilo of white truffles, his ultimate gastronomic passion. In 1987, Smith produced the first ever “Tartufi Tasting” event in America, hosted in South Miami at Valenti’s Restaurant in the original Bakery Centre and covered by the Italian media. Over the years, Tovo and Smith became good friends, enjoying many cherished memories in Asti and here in Miami.
Under the banner of his brand L’Esposizione Gastronomica e Vinicola and over nearly two decades, what came to be known as “The White Truffle Festival USA” grew into a series of high-profile autumn events in cities around the country featuring the shaving of the “white diamonds of the Piemonte.” The inaugural fete was hosted at The Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and eventually made its way to Palm Beach, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Beverly Hills, and Dallas, hosted at prestigious properties such as The Plaza, The Fairmont Hotel, Four Seasons, The Ritz Carlton, and The Beverly Hills Hotel, among other venues.
With the popularity and high profile of the events, Smith garnered accolades from his international partners, including the president of the Asti Chamber of Commerce, who wrote of the top-tier productions: “A Mister Smith intelligente e appasiomato ambasciatori della cucina astigiana in USA.” (To Mr. Smith, an intelligent and passionate ambassador of Asti culinary traditions in the USA.) The Magazine of La Cucina Italiana noted: “To John Edward Smith, there’s no country like Italy. Smith has made it his mission to organize a stellar event.”
THE RETURN TO ASTI
Before this September, Smith’s last visit to Asti was in May 2001. At that time, he was named an Honorary Ambassador of Asti, and the plan was to return in mid-September of that year to be inducted into the Cavalieri delle Terre Asti e del Monferrato. However, following the 9/11 attacks, travel plans were interrupted, and the trip was set aside. Over the next several years, his travels to Italy were limited and did not coincide with the annual September investiture ceremonies. More recently, COVID-19 restrictions limited travel and events.
On Smith’s 80th birthday earlier this year, a cherished Astigian friend, Rolando Doglione, revisited the idea of recognizing him for his decades of contribution to the region’s growing world presence, and the stage was set for a “bentornati ad Asti Giovanni Edoardo” trip.
Doglione, now a retired banker, planned out the itinerary. He was a member of the first group of flag-throwers to visit Miami in 1984, who now serves as director of ceremonies for the Ordini de Cavalieri.
Joining Smith on the long-overdue trip was his daughter Ashley, who had travelled to the region with her father when she was 11 and 12 years old. She grew up with the Vizcaya Renaissance Festival and the flag-throwers and was introduced at that tender age to the aroma of white truffle through the events her father produced. At the time, the younger Smith admits, she definitely ‘wasn’t a fan,’ teasingly calling the smell that permeated her childhood home ‘pungent’. These days, she can’t get enough of the delicacy – or the nostalgia they bring. And she’s overwhelmed with pride by her dad’s accomplishments.
“He’s just done so much for so long to promote the culture and people of Asti – really for my entire 40-year existence – and I’m thrilled to see him recognized for it,” she said. “He brought Asti to Miami so people who couldn’t afford to travel the world could experience it for just a little bit.”
She knows that experiencing it firsthand gave her a unique world view and credits her “obsession” with traveling to the trips to Italy and the festivals her dad produced. “I got to see a lot of amazing art in person, saw incredible castles, beautiful churches and medieval cobblestone streets, and ate food that was unbelievably good.”
The experience for the elder Smith was just as poignant: “In observing my 80 years this past February, so much of my blessed life has years of fond memories of the Astigiani promotions with the Sbandieratori and the tartufo bianco. My visit this September is the capstone of my life. And most importantly I was able to share it with my daughter Ashley, who first joined me when she was eleven and indeed familiar with the flag-throwers from Vizcaya. Now I proudly introduce her as “dottoressa” (female doctor), a doctor of Chinese medicine.
Upon arriving in Asti, father and daughter were greeted by their old friend Doglione. Over the ensuring week, they were received by the Citta di Asti in the chambers of the mayor, entertained by members of the Sbandieratori at different gatherings, and toured the rolling hills, wineries, castles, and churches of the Province of Asti and visited the weekly market in Asti. The culmination came at the Palazzo Mazzola with the induction ceremonies and celebrations afterward.
For Ashley, it was a chance to “see old friends that I didn’t think I would ever see again,” and she found the area much the same as she remembered it – kind generous people, fairy tale-like scenery and incredible food. The investiture ceremony was “sacred, very intimate,” she says, moving her to tears. While the Old-World pageantry of the ceremony was befitting a knight, it was a private ceremony she described as a “quiet but immense” thank you for her father’s efforts to bring Italian culture to America and promote the region. As part of the ceremony, his name was inscribed on a page in a large tome recording the names of other members of the Cavalieri who over the decades have received the same honor.
NEW TREASURED MEMORIES
Reflecting on his return to Asti, Smith noted that the immense honor of being named a Cavalieri is indeed a most special event in his life. Meeting up with so many of the flag-throwers “was like not skipping a beat – even twenty or thirty years later! Italy is known for its gracious hospitality, and the enduring friendship of the Sbandieratori di Palio d’Asti made it a very special time. Sharing it with my daughter was even more special.”
Rich family tradition is strong in Piemonte. Gianfranco Castaldo, president of the flag-throwers who came to that first event at Vizcaya over thirty years ago, proudly reported to John Edward that his son is now a member of the group, and they continue to perform together.
As for the elusive if pungent truffle, Smith’s trip was too early in the season to hunt down the prized funghi. Moreover, the lack of rain and snow has made the prospect of a plentiful harvest rather dim. Never one to be discouraged, however, Smith noted that he would shave truffles here in South Miami as the occasion arises this fall season. After four decades of promoting the delicacy, nothing could keep him from it. “Auguri!”
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