Travels and Food for Body and Soul: Exploring Cultures and Gastronomic Traditions in Southern Italy Hardcover – Large Print, February 18, 2024

As a native of Southern Italy, I have frequently traveled to this part of the Bel Paese to rejoin family and friends. These visits have also given me the opportunity to make new friends and expand my knowledge of regional cultures and gastronomies. A passion for photography has helped over the years in documenting encounters with places and people, each time with different eyes, renewed memories and an intense wish to return. This book was born from a want to share these emotions and experiences.The first part of the book describes places visited in the eight regions of Southern Italy and encounters with their peoples as seen through the curious eyes of a “vagabond” traveler. The second part of the book presents traditional regional recipes and related nutritional data, history and curiosities. Sixty percent of recipes reflect a culinary “Sicilianity” imprinted over many years of exposure to the aromas and flavors of dishes prepared in the kitchens of family, friends and local eateries. The remaining recipes were inspired by friends or restaurants visited in Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, Calabria and Sardinia. The final part of the book briefly explores the benefits of a Southern Italian dietary lifestyle to general health. Throughout the book, over one hundred composite images and one hundred forty recipes highlight travels and cuisine in Southern Italy. Read more