CIVI LT À TAVOLA · nature and that are detrimental to the image of our coun - try’s products....

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ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINAA CULTURAL INSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF ITALY

FOUNDED IN 1953 BY ORIO VERGANI

www.accademia1953.it

CIVILTÀDELLATAVOLAACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

INTERNATIONAL

EDITION

CdT_278_COVER_INGLESE_Acca 08/01/16 12:02 Pagina 1

FOCUS2 The duty of the Academician to safeguard quality food (Paolo Petroni)

CULTURE AND RESEARCH3 Bread and water (Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli)

5 From the wine cellar to the table (Nicola Barbera)

7 The rule of doing without (Elisabetta Cocito)

9 Cuccagna: the mythical Land of Plenty (Helen Costantino Fioratti)

On the cover: Graphic reproduction of a detailfrom the painting “Still Life” (1910) by HenriRousseau. From a private collection in Switzerland.

PAGE 1

INTERNATIONAL EDITION

JANUARY 2016 / N. 278

EDITOR IN CHIEFPAOLO PETRONI

COPY EDITORSILVIA DE LORENZO

LAYOUTSIMONA MONGIU

TRANSLATORNICOLA LEA FURLAN

THIS ISSUE INCLUDES ARTICLES BYNicola Barbera,Elisabetta Cocito,

Helen Costantino Fioratti,Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli,

Paolo Petroni.

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PUBLISHERACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

VIA NAPO TORRIANI 31 - 20124 MILANOTEL. 02 66987018 - FAX 02 66987008

[email protected]@[email protected]

www.accademia1953.it

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MONTHLY MAGAZINEREG. N. 4049 - 29-5-1956

TRIBUNALE DI MILANO

Rivista associataall’Unione StampaPeriodica Italiana

L’ACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINAFOUNDED IN 1953 BY ORIO VERGANI

AND LUIGI BERTETT, DINO BUZZATI TRAVERSO,CESARE CHIODI, GIANNINO CITTERIO,

ERNESTO DONÀ DALLE ROSE, MICHELE GUIDO FRANCI,GIANNI MAZZOCCHI BASTONI, ARNOLDO MONDADORI, ATTILIO NAVA, ARTURO ORVIETO, SEVERINO PAGANI,

ALDO PASSANTE, GIANLUIGI PONTI, GIÒ PONTI,DINO VILLANI, EDOARDO VISCONTI DI MODRONE,

WHIT MASSIMO ALBERINI AND VINCENZO BUONASSISI.

CIVILTÀDELLATAVOLAACCADEMIA ITALIANA DELLA CUCINA

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S O M M A R I OT A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

S O M M A R I OF C U S

Not a day goes by that newspapers do not reportdramatic news about frauds in the alimentaryfield, primarily concerning oil and cheese. Many

tears are shed about the huge quantity of false Italian pro-ducts (Italian sounding) sold overseas. True, there are ma-ny problems which have large impacts both of an economicnature and that are detrimental to the image of our coun-try’s products. Many agencies exist, or should exist, devotedto eliminating this negative phenomenon; something inde-ed is accomplished. Very often, however, in an absurd turn,further and greater damage is caused to our products thatare viewed, particularly in foreign countries, with growingsuspicion. To be sure, the Italian Academy of Cuisine is notone of the agencies charged with overseeing and elimina-ting fraud and mischief. On the other hand, we must ackno-wledge the fact that we are a great and highly qualified for-ce, spread around many countries of the world. All Acade-micians, with their families and friends, should get invol-ved, each one for his own part and as much as possible, toorient consumption according to the norms of good tasteand correct production, basedupon the contents of our Co-de of Ethics. There are plentyof examples: let us start witheggs! Always reject those pro-duced from chicken farming(code 3 on the label), buy on-ly those coming from naturalsettings, or better still fromcage free or organic farms.Not only that, but the Acade-mician, with the Academy’scard in hand, should suggestthat the shop owner or super-market manager offer the lat-ter types of eggs wheneverpossible. One should alsoavoid the needless consum-ption of suckling calf; always

elect to buy tuna in olive oil and not in seed oil. Pay atten-tion to the price of extra virgin olive oil when it seems toolow. Choose your mozzarella by reading the label carefully.Avoid salami dusted with flour to simulate natural mold.Favor rice produced in Italy. In a restaurant, do not acceptingredients forbidden by law (sea dates, small birds andprotected game). This gets a bit complicated in other coun-tries but at times you run into frauds that are so evidentthat only a fool can ignore them. In sum, the hard truth isthat in many cases our production is definitely insufficientto satisfy the demand of the global market. It also happensthat sometimes the actual national products may not be ofacceptable quality. Beyond clear falsifications, our sly pro-ducers send their worst products overseas in the belief thatthose consumers know nothing about quality. We can ac-complish a lot if we become aware of the strength of theAcademy. In a recent newsletter, we brought to light the of-fer of an incredible “Italian” hamburger by McDonald’s inthe Arab Emirates. The Delegation of Dubai came into playwith wisdom and tact and the local owners understood the

problem and stopped thatpromotion. Some time ago,following the suggestion ofan Academician, a wellknown restaurant chain re-placed preserved milk withfresh pasteurized milk and asupermarket chain took eggsproduced in stock farming offthe shelves. Academiciansmust take an active and inte-gral part in the selection ofproducts, not just for theirown consumption and that offamily and friends, but also,within the limits of correct-ness, in dealing with food di-stributors and the restaurantbusiness.

The duty of the Academician to safeguard quality food

Each one of us can intervene to orient consumption according to the norms of good taste and correct production, thanks to the great influence of the Academy,

which is highly qualified and spread across many countries of the world.

BY PAOLO PETRONIPresident of the Academy

S O M M A R I OC U L T U R E & R E S E A R C H

A meal made with bread and wa-ter had its baptism in the Chri-stian alimentary culture for

dealing with sin. When the penancebecame repetitive, a great conquest atthe end of the 6th century, any time asin was committed the sinner could askfor pardon and reconciliation from thepriest who would mete out the mostopportune penance commensurate withthe sin committed. Such penance wouldinvolve days, weeks, months or evenyears of consuming only bread andwater (not continuously). Which leadsus to believe that the Christian religionembraced a body of faithful of less thansolid virtue, ready to confess their sinsand to pay a price for them, consistingof alimentary deprivation: in fact,though, the sinners ate something dif-ferent from bread and water.

After many centuries this type of penancewas revived and the fight against theconsumption of meat and the searchfor delicacies became part of a processtoward the shaping of a western men-tality that instituted different customsfor lay and religious people as for menand women. The potent and vigorouslayman was carnivorous and big eater.Both men and women however werebeholden to a restrictive diet when theyfell into sin. Bread and water were alsolooked upon as a basic alimentary regi-me, just a shade beyond survival, asapplied in the prisons of yesteryear.These are elements, however, of notjust high symbolic significance but alsoof extraordinary flexibility in the kitchen. Several foods present in the culinarycultures and practices of the West andthe East are also composed of bread

BY MARIA GIUSEPPINA MUZZARELLI“Franco Marenghi” Study Center

A dish that is poor and penitential, made nobler today by famous chefs under the name of “pancotto” (cooked bread).

Bread and water


and water. In particular, I wouldlike to expand on panada - that isbread and water - not just to relateit to penance but to the attemptthat lasted centuries to transformthe essential, truly the little avai-lable, into something that was tastyand desirable, and certainly not apenance at all. It was not a veryeasy task, yet it was not impossible.The bread soup, otherwise knownas pancotto or acquacotta, was justthe food prescribed to sick andconvalescent people, to women whohad recently given birth, to toothlessold men, and to babies who had noteeth. It was appropriate during Lent(at the end of which the pot where itwas cooked was broken into pieces onHoly Saturday as a gesture of liberation),during holy eves and in case of a “fio-retto” or vow; it was always linked withthe concept of giving something up.Notwithstanding that, some variationswere allowed to overcome the regimeof penance. With a meat broth and gra-ted parmesan, or with oil and tomato,it became a good dish indeed. With ro-semary, basil, scallion, garlic and a bitof lard it became quite tasty. Anothervariation was bread dunked into wineor coffee. There are quite a few territorial varia-

tions of pancotto, both Italian and re-gional. In his book on the cuisine ofRomagna, Graziano Pozzetto mentionsa few of them: the pancottoof the Saviovalley, the one of Fusignano and thesoup of Savignano on the Rubicon river.Starting with the Sixties, the years ofthe economic boom, there was no moretalk about this food. And then suddenlyit became an item on the menus of re-nowned restaurants. In the great book of recipes by GualtieroMarchesi one finds suggestions as tohow to prepare pancottowith cinnamonand 320 grams of stale bread, meatbroth, extra virgin olive oil, cinnamonand grana cheese, as well as pancottowith garlic, with olive oil and eggs. An interesting recipe for an elaboratepancottobased, obviously, on stale bread,

onions, potatoes, broccoletti, celeryrabe, eggs and cacio cheese is of-fered by a well known chef fromAbruzzo, Niko Romito, in his bookScarpe in Tavola (Shoes on the Ta-ble), where the recipes are asso-ciated with extravagant shoes aspart of a solidarity project supportedby the popular shoe producer StuartWeitzman. Romito’s recipe for pan-cotto contains quite a few ingre-dients; this dish holds its ownagainst other ones created by the

chef from Rivisondoli. This elaboratepancottohas become quite fashionable.In brief, it consists of the separationbetween bread and broth with otherelements that are meant to enrich it:vegetables, sweetbreads and other pro-ducts. At the bottom, however, you al-ways have bread and water, no longerassociated with penance but rather asa way to return value to essential ele-ments and foods, and also as a token ofresearch and innovation and even of aweird complication that in certain casescan produce a paradoxical outcome: totransform a food that was born poorinto an elaborate and sophisticated dish,a sleight of hand that can be lookedupon as a sin to be punished with breadand water.

MARIA GIUSEPPINA MUZZARELLI

ECUMENICAL DINNER 2016The Ecumenical Convivial Dinner that finds all Academicians in Italy and around the world gathe-red around the same virtual table will be held on October 20, 2016 at 8:30 pm, with the theme “The

cuisine of Reuse. Against Waste, the Family Tradition Offers Leftovers with Gusto andImagination”. This theme was chosen by the “Franco Marenghi” Study Center and approved bythe President’s Council, with the purpose of retrieving, within the traditional

cuisine, those preparations that while originating from partially used food-stuff go on to create new recipes and diverse tastes.

The Delegates will take great care that the Ecumenical Dinner will be accompaniedby an appropriate report of cultural character to illustrate the important theme of the convi-

vial whose menu will offer and honor the chosen food.


We must start by noting thatwine, more than merely abeverage, is a food to be sa-

vored in little sips. In order to evaluatea good wine, one must understand thetypology of the land where the grapewas produced, the methods used in thevineyard and how well maintained wasthe cellar where the bottles were kept.Given that this information is not alwaysreadily at hand, we must examine thatwhich is almost always available to eve-ryone. We can begin with the color,which is characteristic of every wine,then the odor of the grape employed(there are pleasant odors but also un-pleasant ones owing to mold or dege-neration of the cork), and third the per-fume, or scent (bouquet) that developsduring wine making and ageing. Afterthis preliminary visual-olfactory analysiswe can go on to taste the wine, keepinga small quantity of it in the mouth in

order to try to perceive the “taste sen-sations”. A wine can be: semi-dry (slightlysweet), dry (with no sugars, evidenceof a complete fermentation), astringent

(bitter owing to a hightannin level), warm (highalcohol and glycerol con-tent), with an aftertaste(base flavor that has dif-ferent overtones, forexample berries), cool(high acidity) soft, mel-low, round, savory, etc.In general, a wine (redsmore so than whites)should slightly set yourteeth on edge; the tipand sides of the tongue,whose function is to taste

salt, should not perceive any taste; thepalate and the back of the tongue shoulddetect the full flavor of the wine, espe-cially the aftertaste. At this point weare in a position to evaluate the quali-tative level of the wine, but two addi-tional pieces of information are impor-tant: the temperature at which the wineis served and the correct pairing withthe food served. Normally white wineshould be consumed cool, at cellar tem-perature, 10-12 degrees C (50-54 de-grees F); an ice-cold wine is a heresythat perhaps has been perpetrated bythe diffusion of enormous closet-likerefrigerators and uninformed hosts.Sparkling wines are the exception, tobe served at 6-8 degrees C (43-46 de-grees F) after having been chilled in anice bucket. Red wines should be drunkat room temperature, or “chambrer” i.e.18-22 degrees C (64 -72 degrees F).Highly aged and valuable wines should

be allowed to “breathe” in order to oxy-genate them, by being uncorked anddecanted several hours before the meal.An old wine should have a “shirt” - thecharacteristic veil clinging to the insideof the bottle. Sometimes old bottlesthat have been forgotten in the cellarmay develop a Marsala or Madeira-likeflavor. In that case they should be di-scarded.It is obvious that competence in under-standing wine must be achieved throughstudy (specific reading or sommelierclasses) and personal experience. Bothrequire passion, time and dedicationconsidering the fact that there are morethan 700 important Italian wines (about450 varieties of indigenous species ofgrape) and about 120,000 “labels” (ofbottled wine). In ancient times, the re-putation of our wines was such thatthe Greeks also called Magna Grecia“Enotria” - the land of wine. The most important information thatshould be contained in the bottle’s labelare: the name of the producer, which ifwell known can already be a sign of re-liability and quality; the name of thewine; the species of grape used, whichdoes not always coincide with the wine’sname; year of harvest and that of bot-tling; area of production, from whichwe can deduce the type of terrain. Limysoil - as important as other factors -gives wines a higher alcohol content.Volcanic soil produces full-bodied wineswhile siliceous soil produces delicateones. On average, white wines have analcohol content of between 11 and 13.5percent. Red wines between 12 and14.5 percent. Sweet wines made fromraisins (passiti) can be 16 percent and

BY NICOLA BARBERAAcademician, Milan Duomo Delegation

Knowing how to drink: the fundamentals of wine tasting and the correct pairings with food.

From the wine cellar to the table


sparkling wines between 6 and 8 percent.Sometimes the label may indicate thenumber of bottles produced and re-commend food pairings.Italian legislation regulates superior wi-nes by the following categories Doc(Denominazione di origine controllata,or Designation of Origin) and Docg(Denominazione di origine controllata egarantita, or Guaranteed Designationof Origin) that establish the conditionsthat must be respected during produc-tion in order to guarantee the anticipatedlevel of quality. Marsala was the firstItalian wine to achieve Doc status in1931. Today there are more than 260Doc wines and the number is increasing.Forty-three wines have received theDocg designation, reserved for winesthat are aged for at least five years andare recognized as particularly important. In Italy 60 percent of wines consumedare reds, 28 percent white and less than10 percent are rosés. Fifty percent ofthe population prefers dry wines, 25percent sparkling wines and 24 percentsweet wines. Wine can truly be consi-dered the intellectual part of a mealsince, as mentioned above, one mustnot only have knowledge of the winebut must also know how to select theappropriate wine to be paired with eachdish. This can even extend to a recipe,evaluating its individual or predominantingredients and selecting wines thatcomplement their characteristics. Inother words, when pairing food andwine neither of the two componentsshould overshadow the other, but ratherboth should complement each otherharmoniously. Pairings can be establi-shed: by tradition, that is, a regionaldish served with a wine from the sameregion, or by contrast - say, an “oily”dish with a wine with high alcohol con-tent; a “fatty” dish with a wine of highacidity that produces a sensation of fre-shness (“washes the mouth”).As a general rule, red wines are usuallypaired with meats, sharp cheeses, hardpastas, risotto with mushrooms, pastadishes with meat sauces and even fishdishes that have a tomato base. Whitewines pair well with simple fish disheswith little seasoning, crustaceans and

white meats. Rosés can be paired withantipasti, fried dishes and hearty soups.Sweet wines (amabili, passiti and muffatior Botrytis) are recommended with allkinds of desserts.And now for some details and curiosities.In many places with a hot climate suchas Apulia, Sardinia and Sicily in Italy,and southern France and Greece, thevines are kept bushy and grow low tothe ground, or albero basso, withoutsupports so that their shadow protectsthe ground from excessive evaporation.The return is low: just a few kilos perplant, but with a high sugar content. Inmore moderate and humid regions thevines are left to develop naturally, sup-ported by frameworks made of polesand wires or even leaning against rowof trees like elms, maples and mulberryso that they are easily harvested. In ad-dition to constant care, the vines requirepruning: a “dry” pruning in winter anda “green” one during their growth pe-riod. Wine became commonly consumedduring the 18th century. Although itwas fairly inexpensive the quality wasoften low; this was when the first innsoutside the city walls began to be esta-blished, because the wines did not payexcise taxes because they did not enterthe city. Until the Second World War,Prosecco (originally from Prosecco nearTrieste) was not a sparkling wine, but astill wine. But for a variety of reasonsthe “barbatelle” or small one-year-oldplants that had already been graftedwere transplanted to the Treviso region,more precisely in the areas of Coneglianoand Valdobbiadene where they beganto be converted into sparkling wineswith the charmator Martinottimethods.This included a second fermentation inlarge autoclaves. Today that area is theclassic producer of Prosecco.The ancient Romans sometimes wouldferment their wines in buried amphorae.This technique was successfully repli-cated by an important producer fromOslavia near Gorizia. He would steepRibolla Gialla grapes for 6 to 7 monthsin buried terracotta amphorae beforebottling the wine. Another “original”idea came from a Canadian vintnerfrom an area near Niagara Falls. He

produced an “ice wine” by letting thegrapes mature on the vine through Oc-tober, protected only by netting. Whenthe temperature drops below -10 degreesC (14 degrees F) in December and Ja-nuary the frozen bunches of grapes arepicked by hand. This very small harvest- less than 10 percent of the normalharvest - produces a unique dessertwine that is naturally sweet and intense.During the period when the grapes wiltthey develop Botrytis cinerea that pro-duces a kind of “noble mold” that growsinside the grape, not outside like othermolds. The northernmost producedwine in the world is made in Olkiluotoin central Finland and it is made possiblebecause the vines are sprayed with tepidwater. A word about vino novello, or“early wine”, not to be confused withvino nuovo or “new wine”. Technicallynovello is not a true wine; it was laun-ched by the French in 1934 for com-mercial reasons, and is sold beginningon November 6 each year (Beaujolaisnouveau). It is a beverage with a shortshelf life (just a few months) that is ob-tained through a vinification processknown as “carbonic steeping”. It has afruity bouquet, low tannin level and isblended with other new or young wines.Novello wines were recently launchedin Italy as well, and are distributed twoweeks early than their French counter-part. If excessive consumption of winecan lead to addiction (alcoholism) andhave damaging effects on the liver, itsmoderate consumption (two glasses aday with meals) can have very beneficialhealth properties, particularly red wine.When consumed on a full stomach itpromotes digestion, is a cardio tonic,vascular dilator that aids in blood cir-culation, improves kidney function andproduces a rapidly absorbed caloriccharge. Red wines also contain a certainamount of iron. I will end with thewords of Mario Soldati who affirmedin his 1969 book Vino al vino (Let Winebe Wine): “Any old wine drunk in thecompany of friends is better than a finewine drunk alone. Let’s call a spade aspade: wine without friends is worthnothing”.

NICOLA BARBERA


Complex societies have alwaysbeen regulated by laws andestablished upon the obser-

vance of codified rules. In this briefessay I would like to discuss what Idefined in the headline “the rule ofdoing without”, that - I will explain -seems to guide or at least profoundlyinfluence present social behavior. Iam referring to the university of diets,to the alimentary regimes that notonly shape our nutritional choices buttend to place us into a lifestyle, to ca-talogue us and to differentiate us inaccordance with the chosen rule.In the Christian tradition, a rule isthat ensemble of norms and behaviors

that inform individual life towardsreaching spiritual perfection. If anyreligious order has its rule, be it Be-nedictine, Franciscan, Augustinian andso forth, differing from the other onesin terms of purposes and behaviors,we could state that the collective isregulated and subdivided accordingto what it eats or better yet, accordingto what it can do without. The rule of“doing without”, of course.In a society obsessed with image, wherethe presence and the physical appea-rance are fundamental, the body hasbecome the mirror of the soul, or per-haps the substitute for the very soulto which one must devote the utmost

BY ELISABETTA COCITOAcademician, Turin Delegation“Franco Marenghi” Study Center”

Today we can say that the human collective is regulated and subdivided according to what it eats or better yet, to what it does without.

The rule of doing without


attention to prolong life and aboveall, to nurture wellbeing by maintainingan attractive look. To choose the ideal,virtuous nutritional format becomesperemptory. Choosing a diet becomesa philosophy, a religion, an ideologythat is tantamount to identification.The important thing is doing without:without gluten, milk, meat, carbohy-drates, sugars. In embracing an ali-mentary style, one enters a communitywhere all profess the same faith andexclude those who do not belong.Some of the choices are based not juston motives that are esthetical but alsoethical: a diet without meat, vegetarian,or vegan even more so, rests upon anapproach to life that respects animalsthat are looked upon as similar to usinstead of potential food, just like Py-thagoras stressed in his writings. Theexclusion of certain foods may be cau-sed also by allergies or claimed casesof intolerance. In such cases it is im-perative to do without certain com-ponents of alimentation and to replacethem with other more appropriateones. This happens in the case of al-lergies associated with gluten or lactosethat can be quite harmful to health ifthey are not discovered in time. The

curious fact is that many peo-ple embrace gluten and lac-tose free diets in the beliefthat a “healthier” alimentationthat will make them “purer”:a sort of modern asceticism.This outlook leads to the choi-ce of excluding products basedon corn and replacing themwith foods prepared with so-called “ancient grains”. Theseare grains utilized in the pastand then abandoned in favorof species that are more resi-stant and productive. Suchold grains were rediscoveredwith great success with theclaim that they maintainedtheir “purity” with the passingof time. Such success is mostlydue to the social push towardall that is natural and “origi-nal” food, uncontaminated byhuman intervention, a possi-bly unconscious interpretation of theterm “intervention” as adulteration. Self discipline, health addiction, controlof one’s body through the eliminationof potentially dangerous and conta-minant foods and discipline over thedemands of the stomach are helpful

in reassuring us. It is as if self controlenables us to overcome fear of what is“outside” of us and thus out of ourdominion, a reality that is unquestio-nably a source of insecurity of thekind that we have at the present time.

ELISABETTA COCITO

THE FOUNDING IN PARIS OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF GASTRONOMYITALY IS A FOUNDING MEMBER

The Charter of the new European Academy of Gastronomy (AEG), an autonomous Division of the Inter-national Academy of Gastronomy (AIG), was signed in Paris. A resolution of the European Parliamentdated March 12, 2014 recognizes in Article 28 the important contribution of AIG for the protection ofEuropean gastronomy. However, the European Commission found it necessary to establish an entity for-med exclusively by Associations belonging to the European Community. In short, it was deemed necessa-ry to establish a new structure in order to obtain financing for future national projects. With the presence of the President of the Académie Internationale de la Gastronomie Jacques Mallard,representatives of Italy, France, Spain, Belgium and Poland signed the founding Charter. Italy was repre-sented by the President of the Italian Academy of Cuisine Paolo Petroni, who was named a member of theBoard of Directors of AEG. The Spanish representative, Rafael Anson, President of the Real Academia deGastronomía, was elected President of AEG by unanimous vote, on the strength of his contacts and expe-rience.


I n the past food represented some-thing very important for the vastmajority of the population: for the

poor, because they usually went hungry;for the rich as a way to show off atsumptuous banquets. A fantasyland, arural festival and a game have all sharedthe name “cuccagna”. The term camefrom the Provençal word cocanha, orcocagne in old French. From this wealso derive the Gothic word koka andthe German Kuche, and in English,“cake”.A 13th century poem (published by Ge-orge Ellis in 1790) speaks of the “Landof Cockaigne”, where the houses aremade of sugar, the streets are pavedwith sweets and the stores give awaytheir wares for free. Also from the 13th

century, both the French Dit de Cocagneand Li Fabliou de Coquigne describe thefabulous country of Cockaigne.In the Third novella of the eighth day

of the DecameronBoccacciomentions cuccagna (theland of abundance) as theplace “where vines are tiedwith sausages, where eve-ryone owns a fattened goo-se as well as a duck; thereare mountains of gratedParmigiano cheese, uponwhich sat people who donothing other than makemaccheroni and ravioliand cook them in caponbroth”. In Medieval mythology,cuccagna, or the Land of

Plenty was a popular fantasy about animaginary place where food was abun-dant and cheese fell from the sky likesnow, offering relief to a populationthat suffered from overwork and a scar-city of food.In the 15th century Alessandro da Sienadescribed this country as a place richin marvels of the palate and other plea-sures. Another description published inSiena in 1581 defines Cuccagna as theplace where everything is pleasant andlife is spent eating and sleeping as onelikes, with no work or bosses. A burlesquepoem entitled Of the Lineage and Nobilityof Macaroni refers to the muses in themountains of Cockaigne as they preparetasty foods for the gluttonous populace.In 1569 Pieter Bruegel the Elder paintedThe Land of Cockaigne depicting menasleep after hearty and lavish feasting.The painting is housed in the NationalPicture Gallery of Monaco.During the second half of the 17th cen-tury, in the mock heroic poem PowerSanmiato, Cuccagna is portrayed as the

home of the delights of taste and of thestomach. In the 18th century Il Trionfodella Cuccagna (The Triumph of Coc-kaigne) by Martino Boiteux of Luccaonce again included the themes of abun-dance and the delights of the palate.In Das Märchen vom Schlaraffenland,the Brothers Grimm recount their ver-sion of the land of Cuccagna. And EgoSum Abbas Cucaniensis (I Am the Abbotof Cockaigne) is a ballad found in a 13th

century manuscript that was includedin Carl Orff’s (1895-1982) Carmina Bu-rana.In San Quirino, in the province of Por-denone, “la cuccagna” is also a popularfestival. It takes place during the monthof October in celebration of the Madonnaof Good Health. During some popularfestivals in Naples, a greased pole wasset up. At the top were all kinds of deli-cacies and those who were unable toclimb to the top to retrieve them slidback down the pole to the laughter ofthe crowd.A famous game created by GiuseppeMaria Mitelli of Bologna was also knownas cuccagna or cockaigne. It had illu-strations of the gastronomic specialtiesof various Italian cities: number 9 wasthe cantucci cookies of Prato, usuallydunked in wine; number 11 was a sweetcheese from Genoa; number 15 wasthe bread of Padua; number 17 wasthe torrone candy of Cremona (the win-ner was allowed to taste it withoutbiting into it). Naples had broccoli, Pia-cenza had cheese and Bologna had mor-tadella. A triple 4 won the buffalo moz-zarella that at that time came fromRome. The final prize, achievable onlyafter a triple 6, was Milanese tripe.

BY HELEN COSTANTINO FIORATTIAcademician, New York Delegation

A place that has always represented abundance in the collective imagination.

Cuccagna: the mythical Land of Plenty

“The Land of Cockaigne”, Pieter Bruegel the E

lder

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