Reflections
Every ending can also be a beginning. I have more to learn, more to see, and hopefully many more tables to sit at.
A while back, I got the idea that I would like to write something about the Southern Italian coastal town of Vasto, where my wife Kersti and I have our second home. My inspiration was fueled by conversations at the tables of my friends and by the Italian way of life and culture that I admired so much.
It seems that if you sit at the dinner table here for more than ten minutes, as likely as not while eating, you will start talking about food; it’s the whirlpool that pulls everyone in. When I first heard the expression, “In Italy you don´t eat to live, you live to eat,” I never considered how literally that could be taken. An Italian will tell you, “The stomach is not only next to the heart anatomically but is the heart.” Love and respect for food is a thread that is woven throughout the Italian culture and like its enormous treasure of historical monuments, archeological sites, poets and artists, is inseparable from the heritage, history, and soul of the country.
Besides a description of Vasto’s landmarks and recipes for the typical fare that you find on a Vasto table, or in one of its many restaurants, you might also have gotten an explanation and some insights into some of the other common foods and beverages that are part of the vast Italian kitchen.
Not only does this book highlight the integrity of Italian food and the role it plays in daily life, but it also has a few tips on how to navigate the everyday situations that confront a tourist.
The essence of every culture is in the sum of its parts, the vast universe of Italian traditions, food, and wine, more so than most. The Italian’s love and loyalty to family, the country’s climate, geography, and history are all woven inseparably into the same cloth, and I realize that it is impossible to include a comprehensive description of it in one book, or one hundred books.
If the experience that I have gathered through the years can help shed a little light on a few of the traditions of this remarkable country and afford a glimpse of the hospitality and cultural legacy that is an integral part of its allure, then I have had a little success.
Fran Mola