num_pages: 128
description: Intellectually engaging and deliciously readable a stereotype-defying history of how one of the most recognisable symbols of Italian cuisine and national identity is the product of centuries of encounters dialogue and exchange.Is it possible to identify a starting point in history from which everything else unfolds--a single moment that can explain the present and reveal the essence of our identities? According to Massimo Montanari this is just a myth: by themselves origins explain very little and historical phenomena can only be understood dynamically--by looking at how events and identities develop and change as a result of encounters and combinations that are often unexpected.As Montanari shows in this lively brilliant and surprising essay all you need to debunk the origins myth is a plate of spaghetti. By tracing the history of the one of Italy's national dishes--from Asia to America from Africa to Europe; from the beginning of agriculture to the Middle Ages and up to the 20th century--he shows that in order to understand who we are (our identity) we almost always need to look beyond ourselves to other cultures peoples and traditions.
language: None
title: A Short History of Spaghetti with Tomato Sauce
publisher: Europa Compass