Culinaria Italy: Pasta. Pesto. Passion. - Claudia Piras (Editor)

The “land where the lemon trees bloom” has always been a fascinating destination for travellers, long before Goethe so described it. The rich culture and varied countryside of Italy has attracted and inspired artists and writers through the ages. From the era of the classical “grand tour,” when educational visits were made to sites of antiquity on the Apennine peninsula, ever-increasing numbers of tourists have fallen in love with this country.

We invite you to accompany us on a culinary giro d’Italia, a tour of Italy that begins in the north-east, leads through the Alpine regions to Liguria in the west, then turns south, through Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, crossing from Calabria to Sicily, and finally ending on the island of Sardinia.

In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, we sample ham from San Daniele and admire the largest frico in the world. In Venice and the Veneto, we are invited to drink a glass of prosecco, while in Trentino-Alto Adige we treat ourselves with a snack of home-cured bacon and the local bread speciality. Lombardy tempts us with Milanese salami and panettone. In Piedmont, we get to know the art of making risotto, and in Aosta Valley we find out about a local hard bread and a reviving herb liqueur. Liguria presents us with pesto and the finest olive oil, while Emilia-Romagna provides the products that are emblematic of Italy—Parma ham, Parmesan, and mortadella. In Tuscany we sample fine wine, in Umbria we go fishing on Lake Trasimeno, and in Marche we stroll along the culinary trail laid by the composer Rossini. In Lazio, which includes the capital city of Rome, we track down papal cuisine and savor classic pasta dishes. In Abruzzi and Molise, brightly-colored confectionery awaits us; in Campania snow-white mozzarella cheese, in Apulia blond wheat, and in Basilicata brilliant red chili peppers. After a robust breakfast in Calabria, we admire deceptively real-looking marzipan fruits in Sicily and catch langoustines off the Sardinian coast.

How does the blue mold get into Gorgonzola? Where did ice cream come from, in the days before refrigerators? What is there to tell about the wines of Piedmont? How are tomato preserves made? How does one recognize a genuine balsamic vinegar? What are the marks of quality that help to distinguish genuine products from imitations? Culinaria Italy takes a look behind the scenes and answers these and many other questions of interest to lovers of Italian cuisine.

With 496 pages and 1,294 illustrations, Culinaria Italy shows us not only the food and drink of Italy, but also the country and its people, from its Alpine crest in the north to the tip of its heel in the south.