Delizia!: The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food

I enjoyed this book; however, the long medieval menus eventually became boring. The book makes it clear that what now constitutes Italian cuisine is quite recent and completely different from what was eaten in the Renaissance. What constituted haut cuisine then appears pretty much inedible today. The author argues that Italian food is an urban - not rural - cuisine; however, although the cuisine of the past may have been urban, the cuisine today more clearly incorporates trumped up peasant dishes.

I enjoyed reading this book. I love history and Italy so it was a perfect fit. The author has cleverly written a history book but without the boring bits.....it makes you feel like you are reading a regular story but actually you are being given a potted history of Italy and it's rise to the modern-day country that it is. The food references were a definite bonus....I found myself licking my lips and wanting to get into the kitchen to cook, so powerful were the references to Italian cuisine. Well done Mr Dickie.

Easy-to-read history of Italian food without too much detail. E.g. Susan Pinkard's book about the history of French food called "a Revolution in Taste" provides more detail in the same number of pages. The two books actually make a good combination.

Readable account of food in Italy. Many insights iinto the origin of Italian food

Christmas 2007

Dear Frances

Here's to the enjoyment of Italian cooking

With love from
Mary Rich Lizzie and Freddie xx

E' un vero libro di storia del nostro paese, un viaggio attraverso dieci secoli visti dalla cucina dal Medio Evo fino a Slow Food e Terra Madre.
L'Autore, con un certo humour, ricostruisce, chiarisce, approfondisce e descrive (sfatando molti miti) situazioni ed episodi, noti e meno noti, che illustrano la vita quotidiana delle campagne e delle città, più che sontuosi banchetti regali, con notevole attenzione antropologica e con la pregevole tendenza a spiegare i fenomeni anche con statistiche e valutazioni quantitative.
Non racconta di cibi e pietanze, ma di chi li produce, li cucina, li mangia e ne parla. Cioè di noi.

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