Food History

Food History

History and Food: The ancient tastes come alive 

                          

written by: Claudia Cepollaro

The traditional Italian Cuisine is often remembere because it is the tipical Mediterranean diet. This diet gets a recent story if the ancient traditions of italian great ancestors are considered : The Romans. The Mediterranean Diet shows, in fact, foods such as Tomatoes, Potatoes and Peppers but for instance the first two they were arrived from America frrom 1400 and so they are unknown to the Romans recipes.

As result the Roman cusiene was full of Cereals and other products: barley , cabbage , figs , nuts , meat, 

fish but it was less colored and moreover it led to a sweet sour taste moreover if the rich families are 

considered. These one , in fact, could buy and prepare more complex foods, full of ingredients, spice, 

and not cheap. But, we get a specific question to do, How do we know that? 

 On one hand, the answer is quite easy to do, The italian country is a sort of a Museum over its roof and 

there are specific areas as in Pompei ruins where the tels made by the great Romans poets and writers 

become alive. Apicio, Marziale, Catullo o Petronio, spoke about foods and these topics are popular, the

 foods for special events and the daily foods were told . 

On another hand, the work of a lot of Archeologyst have took to alive moments and aspects of the past, at same time the structure of a tipical roman house for rich people (Domus) could tell more about the ways to have dinner at that time.

 One of the most important example is whole the archological materials that came from Pompei Ruins.

Vegetables foods, meat part, kernels , seeds , bones or fish bones, in addiction the finding to take to the light 

from a Roman tomb in german country of 325 A.C However the relevant archeological materials come from 

Pompei and the Vesuvio eruption of 79 A.C. 

The importance of Pompei and its excavations it is the sudden eruption of mount Vesuvius during a tipical and quite morning of 79 A.C that stopped sudden the life of thousand of people aound it.

 Homes, animals, people and also organic materials remaied covered during the eruption. The objects and some parts of food are found in the Thermopolia that it was the fast food of that time. In Pompeii in a "Pistrinum", ancient name of the bakeries, more precisely to Modestus Stabiane close to the own shop, it was an important discovery. In fact inside the still closed oven , 81 loaves of bread were found in eight segments, charred but intact.

With them also many millet, spelled, field beans and vetch charred also used for the production of bread. In other places of the excavations, small cans containing colors also made from natural substances, but also figs, wheat berries, pomegranate peels and a pinecone in the water of Murecine were found. Some of these finds are exhibited at the National Museum of Naples, while others, the majority, were stored in the Laboratory of applied research of the Archaeological Superintendence of Pompeii.

The aim of many exhibitions is  to  show the eating habits of Italy and of the people who lived many centuries ago, not only then, but also of the Romans Etruscans, Greeks and other Italic peoples, as well as show the food more used and essential for all of them as wheat, oil, meat, fish or wine. It will do the reconstruction, even with the use of technology, a lunch in Triclinium where shadows depicting Roman diners are projected, giving the feeling that you really are feasting.