Pizza, pasta and red sauce: Italian or American?
Food travels. I once watched an Italian colleague cringe when a Korean friend suggested that children in his country wanted to eat American food such as pizza. As a historian of migration, food and society, I know that neither colleague was unjustified in his reactions. more »
The Origins of Pasta!
Pasta's origins are very ancient. It's said that they go back actually to the Etruscans. Maybe they used to prepare the first lasagna made of spelt ( a kind of cereal like wheat, but far more resistant against bad weather and diseases). more »
Italian Pasta Salad Secrets
Summer is the best for Pasta Salad: with the right mix you can cook a balanced meal that has everything you like: pasta, vegetabables, cheese, ham and so on! But in order to achieve a good Pasta Salad you have to follow some rules and procedures. Let's see how can you make an awesome pasta salad! more »
Italian Cheeses
Until the 20th century and even well into it, the transumanza was more than a semiannual event. It was a way of life with its own customs and traditions that went back thousands of years, not only in Italy, but also in many other countries, most but not all of them located in the Mediterranean Basin. The English form of the word, which can be found in standard dictionaries but is rarely used and virtually unknown to the average person, is transhumance. more »
Italy: the Nation and its People
The Italian nation is made up of sixteen regions and four autonomous zones, each one unique in it's own way. The Italian peninsula is also home to two microstates, Vatican City and San Marino. Slowly, in a process known as the Risorgimento, these regions became incorporated into what would become the modern nation ofItaly in 1861. more »