Il Bulino, Modena 2000

The court of Mantua is once again taken up by the author as a research laboratory to examine the slow but constant transformation of tastes and gastronomic pleasures in Italy and Europe from the 15th to 17th century. The first chapter, dedicated to the complex organisation of court, immediately makes it clear that the banquet represented one of the main rituals of court life and was not only aimed at satisfying dietary needs but full of communicative, political and promotional values and commemorative of status. The analyses of specific banquets, rich or meagre, and the relative dishes, allows a complete excursion into historical cuisine: from meat to wines, fruit and vegetables, cured meats and cheese, spices and sweets. The book contains an appendix of documents reporting several historic banquets, a glossary of 3,500 ancient word forms and unpublished recipes of the time proposed by outstanding people. The text is harmoniously illustrated by famous or less famous art works that directly or indirectly represented the theme during the centuries.