Why Italians Love to Talk About Food (77 page)

Works cited by the translator in the original English or in English translation.

 

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———.
The Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio
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———.
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In addition to many personal observations gathered in the field and specific reading materials, systematic descriptions of regional dishes written by other authors before me were used for this book:
Specialità d'Italia. Le regioni in cucina
(Specialties of Italy: the regions in cuisine), edited by Eugene Medagliani and Claudia Piras; the encyclopedic guide
Viaggi & Assaggi
(Travels and tastings) in three volumes; and the special supplements to the
Corriere della Sera
(Fall 2005) dedicated to
la grande cucina regionale
(great regional cuisine).

I found ideas, facts, and very valuable descriptions in William Black's book
Al Dente: The Adventures of a Gastronome in Italy
. The Englishman William Black, a fish merchant by profession, is familiar with all the fishing markets and ports in the country and has observed and described many vivid details of the culinary panorama in his book, without which a study of Italian gastronomy simply would not be complete. I also reproduced with pleasure many unique materials relating to the role of cuisine in the development of Italian politics and state life, collected by Filippo Ceccarelli in the monograph
Lo stomaco della Repubblica: cibo e potere in Italia dal 1945 al 2000
(The stomach of the Republic: food and power in Italy from 1945 to 2000).

Also taken into consideration were ancient recipe collections, the first compendia of Italian gastronomy: the seventeenth-century book by Giovanni Battista Crisci,
Luce de prencipi nella quale si tratta del modo di bene operare pubblicamente, e di essi, e di ciascuna
persona con autorità di graui autori
. . . (The courtiers' lamp . . .), and many other learned works written in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. They are written in a delightfully antiquated language (for this reason citing them is a true pleasure), and are striking for their depth and soundness, together with their affinity to our way of dealing with cuisine
sub species philosophiae
.

We followed the glorious historical-gastronomic itineraries of illustrious connoisseurs of Italy and its culinary treasures, such as the German journalist Hans Barth, author of
Osteria: Kulturgeschichtlicher Führer durch Italiens Schenken von Verona bis Capri
(
Osteria
: a historical guide to Italy's inns, from Verona to Capri). Paolo Monelli, whose 1935 foray was described and published with the title
Il ghiottone errante
(The roving gourmand); and the writer Mario Soldati, who immortalized northern Italy in his
Sua maestà il Po
(His majesty the Po), with photographs by Mauro Galligani (1984). We were intrigued by the impressions of one of the fattest men in Italy, Edoardo Raspelli, author of the compendium
Italia golosa: cronache di un viaggiatore esigente
(Mouthwatering Italy: reports of a demanding traveler). Accompanying us were the encyclopedic works of Luigi Veronelli, the great connoisseur of cuisine and wines who died in 2004, author of the study
Alla ricerca dei cibi perduti: guida di gusto e di lettere all'arte di saper mangiare
(In search of lost foods: a guide to taste and literature on the art of eating well). And naturally we reflected on the ideas and thoughts that abound in the volumes and articles of Davide Paolini, which for many years now have appeared in the Sunday section of the
Sole-24 Ore
, along with the more recent restaurant pieces by Camilla Baresani. Following the lastest trends of alimentary ideology, I used for my work the lists and descriptions of products under the specific protection of the Slow Food Association:
L'Italia dei presidi. Guida ai prodotti da salvare
(In defense of Italy: a guide to products to be saved).

As for my folkloristic-culinary expeditions, I have had the good fortune, over the course of many years, to gather precious materials on the history of daily life and nutrition at the Cerreto farm, in Liguria, whose knowledgeable, hardworking manager, Gio Batta Bruzzone, supplied me with detailed information on the cultivation of forest trees and of olives, as well as on the culinary methods and typical dishes of various Italian locales. I take this opportunity to express my infinite gratitude to him.

Additional thanks to Ludmila Ulitskaya, also at the Cerreto farm, for sharing culinary and ethnographic joys with me, reading the first version of this book, and advising me to transform it from a treatise to a cultural itinerary.

The manager of the wholesale fish market of Milan, Professor Renato Malandra, 430 k Acknowledgments
also pointed out and explained many things to me. My thanks to the well-known cookbook writer and recipe collector Elena Spagnol for her valuable opinions and clarifications. Margherita, Leo, and Andrei Bourtsev not only did not despise me while I was busy writing this book but at times proposed extremely useful changes and furnished suitable photographic material.

 

Many thanks to Mrs. Carol Field for her generous, insightful, and engaging preface.

In Anne Milano Appel, I found not only a translator, but an adviser and an ideal collaborator as well.

I am deeply grateful to Jonathan Galassi, who believed in this book's unique value and allowed me to collaborate with his wonderful publishing house, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. I'm also grateful to all of the individuals I had the honor and pleasure of meeting at FSG in the two years of our work together: Gena Hamshaw, Susan Goldfarb, Jeff Seroy, and other talented and gracious members of the staff. With his versatile and elegant design, Jonathan D. Lippincott contributed to a book that delights the eye.

 

Warm thanks to the literary agent Linda Michaels (United States), who with touching interest and enthusiasm followed the creation of this book, from its initial planning to the final typescript, and helped me transform it into an international publishing project.

I am grateful to Umberto Eco not only because he agreed to write a foreword to my book but for everything: having translated and annotated his work for twenty-five years, I find in him a guide who is indispensable to me as to everyone, an example of brilliant erudition, lofty integrity, and dedication to his profession. Which helps.