Original subtitles

-Here is a land

of soup and noodles

of beer and wine.

Where am I?

Naturally, in Italy.

Trentino-Alto Adige, to be precise.

-Where the food is as complex as the region itself.

I believe that the best way to understand what

makes a country and its people unique is through their food.

This is incredible.

Oh, man!

...And this is true nowhere more than Italy.

Let’s go and eat.

-Okay.

-Nice. Do you smell that? Mm, mm, mm, mm.

Where even the shape of your pasta and the sauce

you serve it with, speaks directly to identity.

-You like it? -I love it.

Oh my God, it's so good.

And differentiates the character and history of each

region sharply from the next.

Which is not what you expect.

I'm Stanley Tucci and I'm exploring the complex

connections between the land, the people,

and the food they eat in order to discover the essence

of each region in the country I love, Italy.

I don't know why every time I'm in a place like this

I'm so happy.

Snow, sun, it's just gorgeous.

Something very relaxing about it and the food's

pretty good too.

Trentino-Alto Adige is on the Northeastern edge of Italy.

Here, the border separating Italy from Austria

has shifted back and forth over the Alps for centuries,

creating multilingual communities where the locals

are just as likely to greet you with a German 'Wilkommen'

as an Italian 'Benvenuto.'

But how has that duality shaped the people

and their cuisine?

I'm starting in the Alpe di Siusi,

a 56 square kilometer highland meadow cradled

by the Dolomite mountains,

which form an alpine playground for locals

and visitors alike.

I'm with Christina Demetz.

Okay let's go.

-Let’s go!

Born and raised in Alto Adige,

she’s invited me to a very special event in the

Dolomite ski season.

-Ah. Look at that view!

Okay, you have to imagine a little bit.

-Yeah I have to imagine... -Yeah.

-...a view, yeah.

So, you're wearing a dirndl.

-Yes, we have the International...

-Yeah.

-...Woman's Day today, and here we have this charity race...

-Yeah.

-...for women.

We celebrate it with our dirndl because this is

our traditional dress.

-Yes. -You will see many women today.

-Yeah. Okay. -With different colors...

-Yes. -...of dirndl.

-I’m looking forward to that.

-Yeah. -Okay.

Ready?

-Yeah.

International Women’s Day is heartily

celebrated across Italy where women often take

the day off work and don the traditional mimosa flower.

A resilient bloom meant to symbolize the strength and

spirit of women.

Here in Alto Adige,

or South Tyrol as the locals prefer,

they clearly have their own take on tradition.

Oh, this is the Schuhplattler.

-Uh oh. -Oh, oh, oh!

-Oh. Oh! Woah!

-Woah!

-Okay let’s have a glass of wine?

-Alright.

The Dolomites are renowned for humble-looking slopeside

huts that serve delicious food.

This one, Baita Sanon, is no different.

It’s enticed famished skiers with traditional fare

for over half a century.

I’m meeting Maddalena Kostner,

head chef here for over 30 years.

So, what are we eating?

-Good morning! - Nice to meet you!

-What are we going to eat today?

-Today, we have so many tasty foods!

-Really?

We have some goulash.

Goulash?

Beef goulash.

Oh my gosh.

And then, what else?

-Then there's...

-May I?

-Sure.

The sauerkraut

-Look at that.

I like this! The face. It's nice.

-Then we have some polenta.

-Po-polenta. Oh yeah. Oh, oh, oh.

Do you like it?

-Mmm yes... -Yes?

-...I love polenta. -Oh.

-But I want one of these.

-Do you?

-Yes. Instead of...

-Yes!

-Yeah.

I can’t wait to eat.

-But here in South Tyrol we are 600,000 people.

-Oh my god. -Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

Beautiful. Mmm. Mmm!

Let’s eat!

-Mangiamo.

-It’s delicious. -Yeah. Yeah.

-Actually, delicious.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

-This is typical goulash, Hungarian goulash...

-Yeah. -...of the Habsburg empire.

-Yeah, yeah.

-We have been Austrian till the end of the First World War.

-Yeah. -So, uh 1919...

-Mm?

-...the population of South Tyrol became Italian...

-Yes. ...From one day to the other.

So this was really hard times for them.

You have to imagine that under Mussolini...

-Mm-hmm.

-...he wanted to Italianize then this region and so he

changed the names of the villages and of the towns.

-I know. -And even of the people.

So, it's why when you come to South Tyrol you find

all the signs...

-Mm-hmm. -...of the villages in two...

-Yeah. -...names.

I see South Tyrol like a connecting region

you know, because...

-Mm-hmm.

-...between the German speaking Europe,

they're connecting to Italy.

-Yeah.

-And you found it also at the food,

you find typical South Tyrol food, like like dumplings,

Speck Knoedel...

-Mm-hmm.

-...or this Sauerkraut, this is typically Bavarian.

-Yeah. Yeah.

-And then you, Lasagna, what we have...

-Yes. Yeah.

-...seen here or other Italian pasta.

-Right.

-And we live also the Italian lifestyle with Aperitivo time.

-Well, that’s good. Yeah. -Yeah, that's very good...

-Yeah. -...yeah.

-Yeah. -So you find also.

-It’s an incredible mix. Yeah -This mix of the culture...

-Yeah. -...in the cuisine.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

We feel the roots, our root...

-Mm-hmm.

-...very strongly you know. -Right.

-I think this is the, the thing what,

what makes this region so special, no.

-Yeah. -Maybe you could wear a dirndl?

-A Dirndl? I could. I could wear a dirndl.

I mean, my career would be over.

The hearty cuisine on these snowcapped mountains comes

from both sides of the border, Austrian,

with a hint of Italian.

The remote villages of Alpe di Siusi are perched

along mountainsides that reach nearly two miles

above sea level.

The air is thin and produce is sparse,

which influences what’s eaten here.

Not far from Baita Sanon, I’m meeting Franz Mulser,

who like his forebears, grew up speaking German.

He’s a chef known for foraging the few unexpected

ingredients of this area and turning them

into delicious cuisine.

So, Franz.

Where are we going?

We're going to get some ingredients

for our dish.

You should bear in mind,

that in winter here it's really hard

to find food to use.

So, here is my favorite tree.

This is a stone pine.

I collect this mainly in this season.

Its scent is almost indescribable.

-Oh yeah it’s beautiful, beautiful.

And we use this...

to make our pesto.

Franz is taking me to a very special place,

a 200-year-old hut that his family has used as both

home and dairy.

-Oh my God. This is fantastic!

He’s going to show me two family recipes made with his

unique mountain ingredients.

This type of pasta’s called

schlutzkrapfen.

So take it here on one side

and then you pull it a little.

-Uh huh.

And then you stick these two sides together.

Just like that.

Oh, you’re good at that!

-Incredible.

Perfect.

The schlutzkrapfen dough is made with a mixture of

durum wheat and dried pear flour.

They’re stuffed with a variety of Franz’s homemade cheeses

and topped with a tomato compote.

Then at the end...

Pesto.

Our stone pine pesto.

-Woah.

Wow.

That's amazing.

It’s really complex.

Franz’s second dish is perhaps even more special

because it played an important part in his family’s history.

We make a really special dish from all these herbs.

It’s this cream made with herbs and flowers.

This cream is made of a mix of 25 herbs

all picked by hand.

This recipe was Franz's grandfather's.

He was Austrian, drafted unwillingly into the

Italian army in World War II.

Forced to leave his pregnant wife and family behind,

he eventually fled.

So when all the soldiers were on the train

going towards Stalingrad,

he jumped off the train at night.

There was another man with him.

They killed him.

So, my grandfather had to survive in the forest.

For how long?

For four years.

Four years in the woods?

So grandfather made this soup with herbs

from the woods.

-Incredible.

Now we’ll serve our herb and flower soup.

There we go.

Lovely.

Do you want to put the little flowers on top?

Small flowers?

Super.

So.

-Oh my god that's delicious. That is so good.

-Thank you. -Oh my god that’s good.

Franz’s food is a powerful, personal response to survival

in this conflicted region, while slopeside fare is a mix

of national influences.

So how do these mixed identities present themselves

when food is more elevated?

Trentino-Alto Adige is the wealthiest region

in Italy per capita.

Because of this,

it boasts one of the most efficient rail networks

in the entire country.

-It's so nice traveling by train.

And um, it's just vineyard after vineyard after vineyard,

and very good wine up here, by the by.

Next stop Bozen Kaiserhau.

Next stop Bolzano Casanova.

I’m heading to Merano,

the spa-filled leisure capital of the region,

where Austrian influence and Italian sensibility collide,

creating some of the most luxurious cooking in this part

of the country.

In this well-heeled community, the cold alpine peaks can

comfortably be admired from the warm and sunny terraces.

This makes Merano an oasis from which to enjoy the

region's complex fare.

You have all this pasta, all these Italian products,

and then you have sauerkraut.

That's Merano in a nutshell.

This little town's affluence has made it a hotspot for

Michelin-starred restaurants.

At Castel Fragsburg, one of these starred restaurants is

run by Egon Heiss,

who has a high-end take on the duality of

the region’s cuisine.

Today he’s making dumplings.

Knoedel from the Austrian tradition and gnocchi

from the Italian.

How long has knoedel been around?

-I think um, the the first knoedel,

they are about the 13th century,

some soldiers came in from, I think from Bavaria.

-Uh-huh.

-And then they went to a farm and they were very hungry.

So they told to the ladies that they are hungry and

they want to have something to eat.

They had nothing else than some old bread,

some milk and eggs.

So they were just boiling it for eight minutes doing these

knoedel and you know the soldiers they were so happy.

So we got the onions with the speck.

Egon has elevated the knoedel,

way beyond these basic origins.

-So we’re gonna do some flat knoedels.

When we go to have the speck knoedel,

Stan it's very important never use a knife to cut your

knoedels only with a fork and a spoon.

They are very tender so if you.

-Oh they should just fall apart? -Definitely.

He makes a trio of knoedel,

the classic speck, his own colorful beetroot.

So, that is gorgonzola.

And a Tyrolian grey cheese,

which is crumbly and sharp and gets its name from the

color of the mold that grows on its outside,

which sounds gross but isn’t.

Now we're going to do the gnocchi.

The most important thing if you do gnocchi is the potato.

You have to get the right potatoes.

-Yeah, what do you use?

-So, this is a Keebec.

-It has to have the right amount of starch...

-Mm-hmm. Definitely.

-...but it has to have the depth of flavor.

-Exactly.

-But it can’t be too starchy. -Exactly.

-Oh you don’t do it with a ricer.

-This, no, no, no, no,

this you have to do whilst the potato is very, very hot.

And now we're gonna...

-Yeah. -...add just some butter.

A bit of butter.

-And one egg yolk. -Just the yolk. Yeah.

-Just the yolk.

And very important,

you just finish the base whilst the potato is still hot.

-See, this is why you have a Michelin star.

-Now I got cheese fondue.

-Yeah, so what kind of cheese is that?

-We've got some alp cheese,

and we got some parmesan cheese.

Now this I'm gonna put them in the freezer.

And then you see I got all those little.

-And that’s what it becomes? -That’s what it becomes.

So you’re gonna eat the gnocchi and you’ll get like this

creamy soft fondue in them.

-That’s so genius.

-Nice small gnocchis.

The finishing touches are made to the dumplings,

and they’re whisked to the table.

First up, Knoedel.

Thanks.

-There you go. -Stop it.

Cheers.

-Cheers. -Salute.

-Bon Appetito. -Cheers.

-Cheers.

We’re joined by Alexander Ortner,

owner of Castel Fragsburg.

See I almost went for my knife.

-Don’t use the knife, remember.

You remember?

-I won’t, I won’t, he told me

-Yeah, no. -He told me.

Oh my god. It's so good. It's so good.

Mmm.

So, this place has been in your family for how long?

-So my grandfather bought this place in 1955.

–Mm-hmm.

-And at that time this place was a very poor place,

ruined by fascism.

-Okay so Mussolini basically imposed laws that prohibited

you from speaking German.

-I'll tell you a short story about my father.

At that time my father was very,

he loved to playing guitar, to sing songs and so on,

to have fun with, with his friends.

So, one day they went to a mountain hut...

-Mm-hmm...

-...they had a party and sang some German songs.

-Mm-hmm. -Which was normal for everyone.

And then the police, the Italian police came.

-Uh-huh.

-They put him in jail because of that,

because he sang German songs.

It sounds incredible, but it was at that time.

But now it changed, it changed completely.

So, maybe my family,

my sons, they’ve never spoken an Italian word together.

-Really? -They never do this.

We use sometimes we use Italian words.

So, maybe for the number plate of a car,

we never say number plate,

we say targa, which is an Italian word.

But it’s funny.

-What, what would it be in German?

-Nummernschild. -Nummernschild.

-Yeah. A number shield. Yeah.

-A number shield. -Yeah. That makes sense.

It’s so long though.

-Yeah, yeah. Targa is easier.

-Targa is easier. -Yeah.

We can laugh about these things but at that time.

-No you couldn’t.

-The people had a really terrible time.

But it’s good to to, to think about, to to speak about,

and to forget about, I think so.

-Yeah.

Thankfully now the people here can choose their language

and their cultural identity and the region

is all the richer for it.

-Our little gnocchi.

-Come on, look at that.

And you have a different herb on top of each one.

-Exactly.

Usually, normally we put on top of each gnocchi the

herb you have inside the cream.

-That’s really incredible.

-Good? -Mm.

Gnocchi and knoedel, a delicious unification of two

cultures in one meal.

-Thanks guys, thank you so much.

-Cheers. -It’s a great honor.

Thank you.

But does this balance exist further from the border?

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah gentle.

Is more important, a bit more energy to go back than,

than the energy to need to go in front.

I’m under the expert supervision of local angler

Stefano Fedrizzi.

-Okay, yes.

This morning we’re trying to catch lunch,

with his two pals, Diego and Paolo.

Stefano and Paolo grew up fishing these waters.

- Oh. - Rock!

It was a stick fish.

-Very common in these parts. -Yeah.

We're on the banks of the Sarca River.

The Sarca flows through the Genova Valley in Trentino,

the southern half of the region.

At the end of the winter,

the Adamello Glacier melts into these waters.

That glacial water creates the perfect environment for

slow-growing fish that are lean and full of flavor.

But of course, you have to catch one first.

-What are we fishing for?

-We are fishing for marble trout.

-For marble trout? -Marble trout.

-Which is just like, from this area?

Yeah, it’s a timid fish, it’s a predator,

he likes to live under the rocks,

feed during the night.

So, is a, a unicorn, for a fisherman.

-Okay. Should we go hunting instead?

Yeah, hunting is easier.

Happily I've brought a backup meal.

Want a beer?

-Gladly.

I'm cooking the second-best fish

in these parts, the alpine arctic char.

-Do you eat the fish you catch?

Yes, sometimes we, we like to eat fish and

what we catch.

-Yeah. -My best dish is...

-Bread and Nutella.

-I'm really bad at cooking.

-I’m just gonna put some herbs in it.

The char of the Dolomites.

It’s really restricted, right?

-Yeah. -How many can you catch?

-Two per day. -Two per day per fisherman?

-Per fisherman, thirty per year.

-Oh, that’s not so bad.

You grew up here, right?

-Yeah. -You too?

-Yes. -From this area?

-Yes. -Why do you like fishing?

-It’s a good office and a good way to live and explore

the nature around me and our area.

-I’ve found in fly fishing my church,

you know, my religion.

-Really? -Yeah. I’m not joking.

I’m not kidding.

What does that mean?

-When I, when I’m in the river alone,

I can touch the sky.

I can talk to God.

-Really? -Yeah

-Nice. -Nice, you smell that?

Mmm-mmm-mmm

-Yeah.

Okay so how is it different than other

regions in Italy?

-The, the main difference is we still have a lot of heritage,

of our ancient time.

My grandfather and grandmother were born in Austria.

Because here it was Austria.

Even here, down in the Southern Valleys,

the Germanic influence seems just as strong.

-Nice. -Alright, plates.

Hey, Diego.

C'mon.

Obviously you're not catching anything so you might

as well eat.

I’m coming!

Let’s eat!

Buon appetito.

Buon appetito.

-That’s a beautiful fish.

Do you like it?

-It’s very well cooked.

-Very good.

-Do you consider yourselves Italian?

Do you consider yourselves more Austrian, what?

It’s different.

-I think everyone is different here.

I’m definitely proud to be Trentino

but I’m Italian.

Paolo?

-Trentino.

-Just Trentino!

100%.

What about you, how do you feel?

Italian, Trentino, or German?

I feel... whatever... I don't know!

I feel like Diego! Diego! I'm just Diego!

They may not share one cultural identity,

but the people here do share a deep

connection with their land,

bringing them produce that's both

hard earned and delicious.

Understandable in these surroundings,

but is the city different?

The capital of South Tyrol province, Bolzano,

has long been a stopping point for outsiders

crossing over the Dolomites.

I'm in a market,

on a street named after Goethe.

And it's really beautiful.

Puntarelle.

Artichokes.

-So totally different than Southern Italy.

It's very quiet. Very organized.

Very tidy. It might be too quiet.

On its surface,

Bolzano appears similarly divided between

the Italian and Austrian influences.

I’m gonna get a wurst.

Hi, sorry.

A sandwich.

-Hot dog-o?

-No, this one.

-This one, right?

Yes, alright.

Thank you, thank you.

-That is so good with that, like, perfect mustard.

Not spicy but it has all that beautiful peppery flavor

and the smoked wurst.

C'mon.

I just love that you can get all the great Italian produce,

the Austrian bread and sausage and it's amazing,

a great mix of two different kitchens.

But the city has more to offer than just those two kitchens.

The number of immigrants here has tripled over the

last two decades.

Its position near the Brenner Pass at the border

means there's a constant flow of new arrivals bringing

with them their culture and cuisine.

Rahma, who came here from Ethiopia 14 years ago,

is preparing a meal to celebrate

that growing diversity.

She’s part of a community supper club called

Cooking Without Borders,

which brings together recent immigrants with local

Bolzani to share in a home-cooked meal from one

member’s country of birth.

What’s this called, again?

-Teklel gomen.

-Okay

-Teklel gomen.

-Yeah. Gor, gornan?

Teklel gomen.

-I can’t say that.

-What’s in these pots?

The smell is amazing.

-Yes, this is the zigni gravy.

Yes, with beef, onion

and Ethiopian spices.

This is called alicha.

It’s cabbage, carrots and potatoes.

-So potatoes, but no onions?

-Yes, there are.

-Always onions.

Always.

I like onions.

Here’s the dough, it was made three days ago.

I should put two ladelfuls.

What kind of flour?

Teff, it's a grain that's also from Ethiopia.

Rahma uses the teff dough to make a

classic injera bread,

a sour fermented flatbread served

all over Ethiopia.

Look at all of these little holes!

-That’s beautiful.

At the table today are some of Rahma’s family,

others raised in Alto Adige, and still others who moved here

from places as far away as Japan and Peru.

-This is the traditional platter.

Heavy!

-Ok.

-OK, let’s eat.

There you go.

-Thanks.

Over Rahma’s injera platter,

this group of diners has space to discuss their different

points of view on life in Bolzano.

-That’s tasty.

Are you friends?

-Yes.

Why?

-We met because her younger sister

and my daughter went to school together.

Then one thing led to another

and we started talking about cultures

and organizing these dinners.

-OK. I like this idea

of Cooking Without Borders.

What’s it like here?

-I’ve been accepted and I’ve got friends like Gloria

I’m happy and content.

-Yes, it’s good.

But as we’re foreigners it was hard to begin with

to speak the language, to know things, to meet people.

-Bolzano, the way I see it

from my experience,

has some difficulties with foreigners.

For example, you can't find a home.

-You can’t find a home?

-Because when you reply to a listing,

we write emails to all of them

we then view four or five houses.

Then they see us and are like, "No, they're not available."

After they've seen you?

-Yes, exactly.

I have a studio apartment.

It's about 25 or 23 square meters.

There are six of us.

Seven with my mom.

-Italy doesn't have a huge tradition of immigration.

We’re just the first generation to experience it.

As for this region,

there are Germans, Italians and then after that

new populations come in, new fellow citizens.

They're not immigrants, they're new fellow citizens

to get to know.

Italy is slow to change,

but when it does, it gets there in its own time.

-Do your children speak Italian?

-German.

German? Right.

-They go to a German school.

-Really complicated.

-Yes, very!

With immigration levels remaining high,

Rahma and her friends represent hope in this

historically troubled region,

when what side of the border you come from,

will matter less than what you bring to the table.

But there’s one community in this region that’s been here

since before borders as we know them even existed,

one with a very different take on identity.

Deep in the mountains,

is the town of San Vigilio.

It is in Badia, one of only five valleys in the Dolomites

populated by an ancient community speaking a

2,000-year-old language.

They're known as the Ladins.

The family I’m visiting have been farming

here for generations.

With the fluctuating identities in this area,

the Ladins are the ones who have just moved forward,

and stayed the same for centuries and centuries.

So I'm very interested to go and meet them.

How old is this farm?

-So the first trace, written trace, is 1296

This is Uli Ties, she and her husband take pride in

preserving the area’s traditional ways of living.

The Ladin communities are spread amongst some of the

highest and least arable regions of Italy.

Ingredients here are few and far between.

-Here we are.

So traditionally, food preservation is an

important skill.

Oh my God.

This is our speck cellar.

The Ladins been making speck for centuries.

It’s pork, cured and smoked in a mixture of juniper,

bay leaves, and other spices before being hung to

age for months.

-That smell, it’s incredible.

-Every piece has a special taste.

The piece I love more is this one here...

-Yeah.

-...because I am ah, very, yes, a tough girl...

-Yeah.

-...and it's, it's quite spicy. It's very--

-Yeah, yeah.

Very pronounced.

-Yes. -Yes.

-It’s interesting the profumo--

The aroma...

because it’s a bit sweet

a bit

smoky?

A bit

strong

fragrant.

A bit intense,

-Yeah, yeah.

like us Ladins!

Yes.

I’m so hungry.

-Yeah come on. -Alright, let’s go.

-Come on. -I’m like starving.

-That’s my job.

It’s not just speck Uli preserves.

She makes it her mission to preserve Ladin traditions

through time-honored recipes.

Oh I love this.

Which they serve in the family’s restaurant

Tlo Plazores.

So, what are we making?

-Now we are going with canci checi.

It’s potato yeast dough.

Yeah.

-And it’s filled seasonally now with potato and ricotta.

So, ready?

-Yeah. -Go.

What type of oil?

I work with refined lard.

It's what was used in the past

because they didn't have the money to buy oil.

-My appreciation is more for the ladies cooking here

inside this house maybe for 24 people with

a little bit of flour, with a little bit of speck, with a...

-Yeah.

-...little bit of herbs they have in summer.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And ricotta and potatoes and cabbage in winter, and not more.

-Yeah. And that’s it?

-And that’s great. -Yeah.

You had what you had and that was it.

-You had what you had and nothing else.

-Yeah.

It’s called canci checi.

-Would be translated to red ravioli because of the color.

-Red ravioli? -Yes.

-Yeah.

-Because the ladies cooking here um.

-Oh my God, that smells so good.

Five centuries ago,

they had very less ingredients but they always

tried to work it out in another way so that

people has the imagine of another dish.

-Yes, right, right.

-And that’s what I find amazing.

-Yeah. -Oh so beautiful

-Beautiful, aren’t they?

-Oh. Oh-ahah!

-So here we have toasted poppy.

-Toasted poppies!

And you put it on here and it’s...

Crushed.

-And now to make the thing more interesting we

have melted butter.

-Ah that’s gorgeous.

-Smell.

-Yeah, yeah. -Oh.

So that’s an authentic Ladin dish.

-With dried raspberries?

-Yes, a little bit to have a little bit of color.

-How pretty.

-This is one of my adds to this tradition,

but I like it because it adds a little bit of sourness.

-Yeah, yeah.

-And it’s quite tasty. -Yeah.

-Do you want to open one?

-Sure, can we? -You see?

-Oh yes!

-Here we have the ricotta e patate.

Yes.

Then, we could also do this, see?

"Bom pro" like we say here!

-Yeah.

-“Bom pro.”

-Bon appetito. -Bon...

Mm.

It’s not bad, is it?

No, it’s not bad!

No, it’s perfect!

But this is just an appetizer.

Inside the family’s restaurant, Uli’s prepared a multi-course

feast imbued with the flavors of the past.

I'm joining Uli, her husband Roman,

her sons Andre and Jan,

and her father Jep for a typical Sunday Ladin meal

made with ingredients produced only in this area.

Tell me, what do we have?

Here I cut some speck.

The traditional cut is from the thigh.

Yes.

Then we have pancetta.

This is a coppa.

Coppa?

Pork coppa, the neck.

-Buon appettito. -Bon appétit.

-Bom pro.

What kind...

when you smoke it,

what kind of wood do you use?

-From larch to fir

to ash.

It depends on what I have.

And juniper

-That’s delicious

-Pancetta is the most wonderful thing in the world.

-Yeah. Yeah. Oh boy.

What is in there?

Furtaies

Furtaias are a sweet, funnel cake-like dish.

-Do I dip? -Yes.

Today served with cranberry and strawberry jam.

Mmm, I love that.

I love it.

So, Ladin is a combination of different languages, right?

-Two languages. -Two.

-Yes. -Which, which are what?

-The old population from this region...

-Mm-hmm.

-...was called the Rhaetic people.

The languages mixed with Roman and with Rhaetic.

-Yeah. -So, yeah.

There you go.

A special kind of potato gnocchi.

With pancetta and sour cabbage.

-Oh my God.

-And now for you, another working out of speck,

here you get a little bit of speck powder.

-Speck powder!

-Yes. -That's truly exciting.

Mmm.

Oh my god, but with the sauerkraut.

It's Italian, it's Austria-Hungarian,

it's Ladin.

-Yes.

It’s everything

Yes.

Because all the cultures left something behind.

We are still Ladins but we can pick and choose.

But without compromising our way of life.

-How do tourists react to the food and to the place?

-We see very different reactions but most of them are

amazed by the beauty of our,

of our ancient house that we have here...

Yeah.

-...and because it's, it's really something that you don't

see that often in nowadays.

-It, it is amazing that, that, that you have sustained this

culture for thousands of years.

We talk about the,

the warring factions that have decided now we’re Austria,

now we’re Italy but you’ve stayed the same.

-Yes.

-Like the mountains. -Yes, something like that.

-We never really had like a national identity,

because we are just a language group and not like

a country or a nation...

-Right.

-...and I believe because we always had these insecurities,

like unsure where we belong to...

Mm-hmm...

-...our identity stayed strong because we knew

that us as a small population,

we need to be strong to live out our language.

For me personally, I'm not an Italian and I'm not an Austrian.

I'm a Ladin.

-We, we belong to ourselves so it’s not a problem if on my

pass there’s written Italian citizen or Austrian citizen,

it, that’s no matter.

-That doesn’t matter. -No.

-Yeah. -We are...

-Yeah. -...that what we are and...

-Yeah.

-...uh, we are also very tolerant with other people.

-How do you stay cheers again?

-Viveres! -Alla vita.

-Alla vita! Viveres. -Viveres. Alla vita.

Trentino-Alto Adige is a complex region.

The resilience of its communities shows that their

identity means so much more than just some lines drawn

on a map.

The more the people here have to flex with political whims,

the richer their pantry becomes,

in spite of a sparse landscape.

They take the best from all cultures,

wherever they originate,

to enrich their food and their sense of self.