I justt may be that no other country in the world celebrates holidays the way Italians do, and it just may be that no other nationality has its roots so deeply imbedded into the food of its ancestors. Easter is just a few weeks away, and in candy shops and bakeries throughout Italy, exquisite treats are on display. On Easter Monday, known as Pasquetta – Little Easter – Italy’s national holiday is celebrated with a picnic, and one of the most unusual Easter traditions is the cheese wheel race held in Panicale, Umbria.

Built on a hilltop overlooking Lake Trasimeno, Panicale, by the mid-tenth century, was a fortified town with two gated entrances – one if traveling south from Florence, and one if traveling east from Perugia. Originally surrounded by a moat, today a road rings the town, lined with gardens, and the perfect place to roll wheels of pecorino cheese.

It’s noted that the origins of the game date to the Etruscans, in a funereal game where disks were thrown into wine vats balanced on women’s heads, and later in the Olympic games, as shown in the Etruscan Tombs at Tarquinia. By the fifteenth century, the heavier cheese wheels were rolled. Eventually wooden wheels replaced the cheese wheels, but not in Panicale.

Read more about Panicale – where sausage is made while you wait and the prosciutto is sliced by hand – and the lively restaurant reviews, most from the late 1990s up to 2004, but quite entertaining and informative. I particularly enjoyed the review of La Cantina, which is noted for its excellent pizza and “ultimate Italian experience of chaos and disorder.” The writer comments that even though the staff uses a wireless system to send orders to the kitchen, “they are still messing up the checks. Enjoy the food and the show, have a laugh, and check your bill!”

The tradition behind Saint Joseph’s Day started in the Middle Ages in Sicily, during an extended drought. Prayers to Saint Joseph – the father of Jesus – asking for relief, brought rain and a bountiful harvest. In gratitude, a special feast was held on March 19^th, with altars or tables laden with food from the harvest. Customs vary slightly, but throughout Italy and the United States, Saint Joseph’s Table has elaborate displays of food shared with family and friends or offered to the needy of the community.

The festival is especially important in New Orleans, where thousands of Sicilian immigrants settled at the end of the nineteenth century. Today, it’s celebrated with a gala parade by the Italian American Marching Club, and followed by a banquet.

Those familiar with Italian culture know that Italy has myriad celebrations in honor of saints, and regional customs are as varied as the regions themselves. Festa: Recipes and Recollections of Italian Holidays, by Helen Barolini, provides a reflective look into the holidays and foods that bring families and friends together.

Barolini, born in New York, is the daughter of southern Italian immigrants; and like many others who were brought up during World War II, the ties to her Italian heritage were overpowered by her parents’ desire to be accepted as American. In college, as she studied the poets of Rome, Barolini began to feel a connection to her heritage; but it was a trip to Italy that fully connected her recollections of her grandmother’s “foreign” cooking with the “gastronomic celebration of Italy.”

Barolini married a northern Italian, and he taught her about the traditions of Italian cooking. They raised their family, alternately living in Italy and New York, all the while focusing on the culture and food of their heritage.

In Festa, Barolini shares her insight and recipes. Divided into months, the book glides through each chapter with Barolini’s descriptive passages of the Italian holidays, landscape, cultural scene, and food. Almost every month has a festival for at least one saint, and in Italy, even May Day and April Fool’s Day are celebrated with passion. The vivid depictions of the landscape and Barolini’s recounts of times spent with noted literati – her husband was famed author, poet, and journalist Antonio Baroloni – give us a glimpse into her world.

From the recipes we gain all the pleasures of Italian cooking. Artichoke Pie with Pastry Crust, Baked Zucchini Frittata, Pork Loin Vicenza Style, Turkey Filets with Balsamic Vinegar Sauce, Vermicelli with Truffles, Pasticcio Di Macaroni, Polenta Cakes with Sausage Sauce, Black Olive Pasta, Wine Cookies, Fig Fruitcake, Chestnut Fritters, Caramelized Oranges, and Cantaloupe Cream are a small sample of the regional delicacies provided.

Festa: Recipes and Recollections of Italian Holidays is a treasure for anyone who is Italian or anyone interested in Italian food and culture. The paperback book retails for $24.95 and is available through the publisher, University of Wisconsin Press, or through Internet bookstores.

The list of nominees for Thirty-One Days of Italians is complete and voting begins April 2nd and ends May 11^th. Sixteen Honorary Members have been selected. Help promote Italian American Heritage Month by telling others about Thirty-One Days of Italians and vote.

Buon anno, buon tutto, buona vita
Janice Therese Mancuso
Author of Con Amore

www.jtmancuso.com
Thirty-One Days of Italians

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