Domestic Life and Regional Specialties in Italy
DOMESTIC LIFE
Most of Italian daily life from ancient times to today is spent in the
streets and squares of cities, towns, and villages. Home is the place to
eat dinner hut the streets and squares truly represent Italian life. The
squares provide fountains and wells, markets and a place to gossip, a
playground for the children and a place to see and he seen.
Early Roman kitchens, with their cooking hearths, metal and earthenware
pots, and efficient utensils, were highly practical. In many areas all are
in use today, even earthenware jars to store oil and wine. The older ways
are more prevalent in rural and southern areas, while the cities of the
North produce ultramodern appliances and kitchen designs that are not only
used in wealthy Italian homes, but also exported worldwide.
REGIONAL SPECIALTIES
Discussion of Italy's particularly important regional specialties are divided into the North, Central, and Southern regions. The provinces of Piedmont, Lombardy Veneto, and Emilio-Romagna will be considered as North; Tuscany, Umbria - The Marshes, and Rome-Lazio as Central; the Southern area will include the provinces and islands - Abruzzo-Molise, Naples-Campagna, Calabria-Lucania, Apulia, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica.
Perhaps nowhere else in the world are regional food specialties so
passionately and proudly defended and enjoyed. And of all foods, none
receives more passionate dedication in Italy than bread. Carol Field notes
that "bread is so fundamental to everyday eating.' that meals are
described as what will accompany the bread. Breads for every occasion are
found in plentiful supply in thousands of specialty bakeries throughout
Italy, and many treasured family recipes begin by advising the cook to
"take the baker's bread dough and add ..." What is deftly added creates
the family's snacks, meals, and holiday specialties. Varieties and uses
include pizza, grissini, panini, crostini, bruschetta, foccace, bread
salads, bread soups, and country cakes made from bread crumbs. Holiday
breads include panettone, pandoro, bolzanese, veneziana, pizza de pasqua,
and gubana - all sweet and light and many studded with raisins, nuts, and
chopped fruits, and scented with spices, vanilla, and fresh lemon zest.