Italian Food

I am deep into preparatory research on the countries, cities, and towns that we will visit this year. Planning a trip is at least half the fun! I've been reading memoirs by Americans who love and live in Paris, but now I'm learning about Lucca, the ancient city in Tuscany where we will spend a few days.

The other day I came across Why Italians Love to Talk about Food by Elena Kostiukovich in the library's new book section. This is a very readable treatise on Italian history and culture through the medium of its food by a Russian translator who has lived in Italy for 2o years.

Each section of the country gets its own chapter, and I'm lapping up the ones on Veneto and Tuscany where we will visit. I especially like the nice list of famous foods and food products for each section at the end of its chapter. Here's hoping I can avoid looking totally clueless in Venetian and Luccan trattorias.