Pasta between the pages

Pasta is not only a symbol of Italian cuisine, but also a small protagonist of European literature. It almost never appears as a recipe or as a strictly gastronomic object: writers use it instead as a narrative sign. A dish on the table can reveal the social condition of characters, their daily lives, or the dreams of abundance of an era.

Following the traces of pasta in literary texts means crossing more than two thousand years of culture: from Roman satire to medieval utopias, from Renaissance macaronic poetry to the accounts of Grand Tour travelers.

Latin poets and the everyday table

In Latin literature, food sometimes appears as a moral or satirical device. Meals described by certain poets are never simple gastronomic depictions; rather, they serve to define an idea of society.

In the Satires of Horace, for example, the poet often celebrates the joy of a simple dinner in the countryside, far from the excesses of Rome. In one passage (Book II, Satire 6), a banquet among friends consists of everyday foods, grain mixtures, and modest dishes. It is a praise of frugality: eating little and well becomes the symbol of a balanced life.

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