We all love it and eat it, and we may even be somehow knowledgeable about how to prepare some of its most representative dishes, but what do we really know about the history of food in Italy? Why does the country have such a long and prestigious culinary tradition and how did the way Italians eat and cook evolve throughout the centuries? Let’s face it, only a book could, and a long one at that, answer all these questions, but there’ s nothing wrong with taking at least a first, curious look into the evolution of one of the world’s most iconic cuisines.
All roads lead to Rome
Ancient Romans loved their food, of course. But not all of them ate the same things. If their diet was largely based on the Mediterranean triad – olive oil, grains and wine – common to all the people of the Mediterranean basin, there were evident differences between your common Roman and the aristocrats: your next door Roman neighbor would have eaten large quantities of pulses and vegetables, accompanied by cheeses and dressed in olive oil. Bread was made with spelt and oats, popular also to make delicious soups. Honey was added to wine and breads and meat appeared on the table only once in a while.
Move to the Bel Air of imperial Rome and things changed quite a bit: gone was the simplicity of fresh pulses and earthy soups and breads, replaced by a fusion of flavors and ingredients. Wealthy Romans loved exotic meats like ostrich and game, served with rich sauces, baked fish, fresh fruits and, of course, loads of wine. Mind, though: they would mix it with water and honey, so they were not likely to get as tipsy as we do today, if we get one glass too many.
When the rugged, bearded Barbarians of central Europe got to Rome, they introduced to the kitchens of Italy two great things: butter and beer. If you think, however, that they did not appreciate the luscious flavors of Italy’s cuisine, you would be mistaken: as it happened in other aspects of their lives, these people were profoundly influenced by Roman habits and culture and turned, in the end, a bit Roman themselves.
The A Thousands and One Night flavors of Sicily and the influences of Christianity
In the early Middle Ages, Italy was ready to open up even more to foreign cuisine: with the coming of the Moors to Sicily, ingredients like dried fruit and spices were introduced on the island’s tables. Their most famous inheritance? Pasta. From the ports of Sicily, this easily preserved food made it onto Naples and Genoa and, from there, to the rest of the country. Among the other quintessentially Italian foods graciously granted to us by the Arabs are ice cream, ricotta and honey desserts, like cannoli, cassata and marzipan.
In the same period, Christianity began influencing more and more people’s everyday’s habits, including the way they ate: it was a time of fasts and food restrictions, with limited amounts of meats allowed, such a long cry from the excesses of Roman banquets. However, Charlemagne struck a balance when decreeing fasts were to be followed only in specific days.
Shortly after, somewhere in the gloriously rough, yet gentle to the eye lands of Liguria, pesto was born.
Here comes the Renaissance
In the Renaissance, the people of Italy got again a penchant for the flamboyant, with its lords transforming their banquets into bona fide theatrical shows filled with roasted, feather decorated birds and full piglets served on large silver platters.
The Papal court was known as outrageously over the top when it came to food, with grandiose banquets organised for all the rich and powerful coming to honor the Pope in Rome, but the rest of the country did not sit in silence munching on brown bread: the lords of Venice, the Estes of Ferrara and the Sforzas of Milan all made of -metaphorically- pyrotechnic food displays a staple of their entertainment routine. A special mention to Florence’s most famous family, the Medicis: in a time of excesses, simplicity was paramount on their table. For this reason, they are today seen as early precursors of that “cucina povera” revival we have been experiencing a bit everywhere in the country for the past 30 years.
The Renaissance was an essential moment for the development of Italy’s wine making tradition, especially in Tuscany, where famous reds like Montepulciano and Montalcino began being produced. These were also the years characterised by the introduction on our tables of a series of ingredients (potatoes, sweetcorn, turkey) coming from the Americas. Above them all, of course, stands the beautiful tomato.
The 17th, 18th and 19th centuries
In the 17th century, the heavenly marriage of tomato and pasta took place. Apparently it was the longshoremen of Trapani who came out with the idea of chopping tomatoes on top of noodles but, needless to say, Naples remains the beloved, beautiful mother of the most Italian of all Italian dishes.
Even if culinary historians tend to say that the 17th and the 18th centuries were not as exciting as those that preceded them when it came to the kitchen-action, some incredible dishes originated then: once above all, tiramisù. And what a history it has, but that may be best left for another moment.
These centuries also witnessed the birth of culinary literature, with the first recipe book published in Italy in 1634: Giovan Battista Crisci’s La Lucerna de’ Corteggiani, a publication mostly focusing on Southern cuisine. Italy, though, will have to wait for its unification, in the second half of the 19th century, to see a book dedicated to Italian cuisine as whole. The Manuale dell’Artusi: la Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di Mangiar Bene was published in 1891 and remains one of Italy most sold and known cooking books. The Manuale did not simply help Italians understand how to eat healthily (Artusi stressed the importance of ingredients and balance), but made them all aware of the immense culinary wealth of the country, making it a reason of pride for each and every Italy, from North to South.
Italian food today
After the two World Wars forced Italy to be frugal, and the economic boom of the 1970s and 1980s brought to its tables dishes drenched in cream, jelly and mayonnaise, Italy has finally rediscovered its roots. Today, the country happily embraces the most authentic spirit of its cuisine, made of simplicity, tradition and fresh ingredients.
Even if certainly open to try and mingle with international culinary traditions, the most amazing conquest of modern Italian cuisine seems to be the awareness of its own roots’ magnificence: these are hard times for the country, but thankfully, Italy will always have food to put a smile on her faces.
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