1 00:00:07,500 --> 00:00:09,266 [TUCCI] I have driven in Italy quite a bit. 2 00:00:09,333 --> 00:00:11,233 But I did say to one guy when I was doing a movie, 3 00:00:11,300 --> 00:00:13,266 I said, "It's very interesting, 4 00:00:13,333 --> 00:00:15,333 people don't really stop at stop lights that much." 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:16,733 And he goes, "No, no, no. 6 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,033 The stop light is just a suggestion." 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:27,066 There's nowhere on Earth quite like Tuscany. 8 00:00:27,133 --> 00:00:29,200 The land is idyllic, 9 00:00:29,266 --> 00:00:31,000 the art is divine 10 00:00:31,066 --> 00:00:34,200 and the food is out of this world. 11 00:00:34,266 --> 00:00:35,633 [TUCCI] Oh my god. 12 00:00:35,700 --> 00:00:37,200 It just melts in your mouth. 13 00:00:37,266 --> 00:00:38,233 [LAUGHS] 14 00:00:38,300 --> 00:00:40,166 I'm Stanley Tucci, 15 00:00:40,233 --> 00:00:42,266 I'm fascinated by my Italian heritage. 16 00:00:42,333 --> 00:00:44,500 So, I'm traveling across Italy 17 00:00:44,566 --> 00:00:46,166 to discover how the food, 18 00:00:46,233 --> 00:00:48,033 in each of this country's twenty regions, 19 00:00:48,100 --> 00:00:50,700 is as unique as the people and their past. 20 00:00:55,533 --> 00:00:58,466 The creations of famous Tuscans are known the world over. 21 00:00:58,533 --> 00:01:01,000 Michelangelo, I think if he were to come back today, he'd be able 22 00:01:01,066 --> 00:01:03,400 to walk around Florence. It hasn't changed. 23 00:01:03,466 --> 00:01:05,466 But it's the hands of the ordinary people... 24 00:01:05,533 --> 00:01:07,400 [Chef] We fold it like this. 25 00:01:07,466 --> 00:01:10,433 ...that have crafted the incredible food here. 26 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:13,700 It's like a Christmas in your mouth, yeah. 27 00:01:13,766 --> 00:01:17,500 This is a place built on human ingenuity, 28 00:01:17,566 --> 00:01:23,133 mind-boggling riches and an insane amount of bread. 29 00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:25,266 I really don't know how they eat this much bread. 30 00:01:28,666 --> 00:01:30,366 It's delicious but so hot. 31 00:01:46,533 --> 00:01:49,666 All great love affairs start somewhere. 32 00:01:57,566 --> 00:02:00,133 And for me... 33 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:03,033 my love of Italy started right here, in Florence, 34 00:02:03,100 --> 00:02:05,733 when I was just 12 years old. 35 00:02:06,033 --> 00:02:07,366 That's delicious. 36 00:02:07,433 --> 00:02:09,200 You have to taste that. 37 00:02:09,266 --> 00:02:11,700 Like this tartlet filled with rice pudding, I mean, come on. 38 00:02:11,766 --> 00:02:13,633 There's always something wonderful 39 00:02:13,700 --> 00:02:15,200 to discover in Florence. 40 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:20,100 The city is the capital of Tuscany. 41 00:02:20,166 --> 00:02:22,433 500 years ago, it was the playground 42 00:02:22,500 --> 00:02:26,100 of some of the richest families on Earth. 43 00:02:26,166 --> 00:02:27,433 In the countryside, 44 00:02:27,500 --> 00:02:29,466 they used their land to cultivate 45 00:02:29,533 --> 00:02:32,066 the finest produce and cattle 46 00:02:32,133 --> 00:02:34,166 And in the city they bankrolled 47 00:02:34,233 --> 00:02:36,400 the incredible explosion of art, 48 00:02:36,466 --> 00:02:40,733 science and architecture known as the Renaissance. 49 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,166 I love that just about everywhere you turn 50 00:02:43,233 --> 00:02:47,066 there's something incredible to see. 51 00:02:47,133 --> 00:02:49,633 The chance to actually live among these treasures, 52 00:02:49,700 --> 00:02:51,566 even just for a year, 53 00:02:51,633 --> 00:02:55,200 lured a young family from suburban New York to Florence 54 00:02:55,266 --> 00:02:57,300 nearly 50 years ago. 55 00:02:57,366 --> 00:02:59,333 It seems that no matter where you are, 56 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:01,500 you can always see that Duomo. 57 00:03:01,566 --> 00:03:02,700 My family. 58 00:03:04,533 --> 00:03:07,400 Meet Joan and Stan Tucci. 59 00:03:07,466 --> 00:03:10,133 [STAN] I have a photograph of this, do you remember? 60 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:11,533 Back in 1972 we moved here 61 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:14,333 because my dad was a high school art teacher 62 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:16,200 taking a year off to follow his dream. 63 00:03:16,266 --> 00:03:18,633 -[STAN] Oh my Lord. -[TUCCI] That's unbelievable. 64 00:03:18,700 --> 00:03:21,333 -[STAN] All that foreshortening. -[TUCCI] I know. 65 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:24,433 -[STAN] How incredible is that? -That's incredible. 66 00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:28,000 My Dad came to study figure drawing and sculpture here. 67 00:03:28,066 --> 00:03:29,633 [TUCCI] Look at it, when you really look 68 00:03:29,700 --> 00:03:31,433 and you see that perspective, 69 00:03:31,500 --> 00:03:33,300 -I can't see that far. -It's staggering. 70 00:03:33,366 --> 00:03:35,000 -It hurts my neck. -Does it? 71 00:03:35,066 --> 00:03:36,366 -Yeah. -Lay down. 72 00:03:36,433 --> 00:03:37,366 [LAUGHS] 73 00:03:37,433 --> 00:03:39,166 At nearly 400 feet, 74 00:03:39,233 --> 00:03:42,100 the Duomo is still the tallest structure in Florence. 75 00:03:42,166 --> 00:03:43,633 It took 16 years to build, 76 00:03:43,700 --> 00:03:45,366 and to hurry things along, 77 00:03:45,433 --> 00:03:47,700 the genius architect, Brunelleschi, 78 00:03:47,766 --> 00:03:50,666 came up with a way to slash lunch breaks. 79 00:03:50,733 --> 00:03:52,700 The workmen, when they were building this, 80 00:03:52,766 --> 00:03:55,166 guys had to come down and make their lunch, 81 00:03:55,233 --> 00:03:57,033 they would lose all this time. 82 00:03:57,100 --> 00:03:58,733 So he found out what they were cooking 83 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:00,600 and he put ovens up there 84 00:04:00,666 --> 00:04:04,000 and he would just cook up there, make their lunch up there. 85 00:04:04,066 --> 00:04:07,633 -That doesn't sound... Really? -Supposedly. 86 00:04:07,700 --> 00:04:09,633 Money was tight on our year abroad, 87 00:04:09,700 --> 00:04:14,300 so our family lived in slightly less grandeur than this... 88 00:04:16,533 --> 00:04:20,066 This is a lot cleaner than it used to be. 89 00:04:20,133 --> 00:04:21,600 It's very clean. 90 00:04:21,666 --> 00:04:24,266 ...just north of the city center, in this building. 91 00:04:24,333 --> 00:04:26,600 Not the whole thing, you understand. 92 00:04:26,666 --> 00:04:30,133 [TUCCI] So our apartment was those four windows? 93 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,400 One, two, three, four? That was us 94 00:04:32,466 --> 00:04:34,566 -on the end there, right? -Yeah. 95 00:04:34,633 --> 00:04:36,100 [JOAN] It was nice. 96 00:04:36,166 --> 00:04:38,133 -[TUCCI] You'd never traveled. -[JOAN] No. 97 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:39,700 My parents, you know, mom and pop, said, 98 00:04:39,766 --> 00:04:41,200 "Why are you going?" You know. 99 00:04:41,266 --> 00:04:43,066 Your parents, who came from Italy? 100 00:04:43,133 --> 00:04:44,666 Who came from Italy 101 00:04:44,733 --> 00:04:47,333 -It was Florence, not Colobraro. -Didn't want you to go to Italy. 102 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:48,633 But it worked out. 103 00:04:48,700 --> 00:04:50,266 It was fun. -I think everybody ended up 104 00:04:50,333 --> 00:04:52,400 getting a great deal out of it. 105 00:04:52,466 --> 00:04:55,100 I came for sculpture, certainly Joan, 106 00:04:55,166 --> 00:04:57,066 with all the food, cooking... 107 00:04:57,133 --> 00:04:58,700 -It changed everything. -It changed everything. 108 00:04:58,766 --> 00:05:00,566 -It changed everything for me, certainly. 109 00:05:03,333 --> 00:05:05,333 While my father was studying art, 110 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:07,766 my mom was studying something just as beautiful, 111 00:05:08,033 --> 00:05:09,566 the local cuisine. 112 00:05:09,633 --> 00:05:12,033 One of these because it's so big? 113 00:05:12,100 --> 00:05:13,366 No, a little more. 114 00:05:14,366 --> 00:05:15,700 Little more. 115 00:05:15,766 --> 00:05:19,133 It didn't know how to cook when we got married. 116 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,100 Didn't even know how to boil water. 117 00:05:21,166 --> 00:05:23,000 While she was here, 118 00:05:23,066 --> 00:05:25,400 my mother was also inspired by the spirit of the Renaissance 119 00:05:25,466 --> 00:05:28,466 and set out to discover the art of Italian cooking. 120 00:05:28,533 --> 00:05:31,600 When we lived in Florence when everyone was in school, 121 00:05:31,666 --> 00:05:35,633 I would learn to make different recipes. I loved it. 122 00:05:35,700 --> 00:05:37,333 My mother soon found the key 123 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:39,733 that unlocks so much of Italian cooking. 124 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,600 A simple combination of carrots, celery, and onions. 125 00:05:43,666 --> 00:05:47,633 Fried up together, it's called the soffritto. 126 00:05:47,700 --> 00:05:49,366 [JOAN] Looking good, what do you think, Stan? 127 00:05:49,433 --> 00:05:50,466 [TUCCI] Yeah, it's good. 128 00:05:50,533 --> 00:05:52,100 [JOAN] Throw the tomato in? 129 00:05:52,166 --> 00:05:54,333 It's the base of countless Italian dishes, 130 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:56,133 including today's offering. 131 00:05:58,466 --> 00:06:00,733 A Tucci family favorite called Salsa Maria Rosa. 132 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:02,433 [TUCCI] Now, put some water in it. 133 00:06:02,500 --> 00:06:04,000 [JOAN] Put some water in it, yeah. 134 00:06:04,066 --> 00:06:05,600 It's a delicious vegetable sauce 135 00:06:05,666 --> 00:06:07,066 and we named it after a beloved neighbor 136 00:06:07,133 --> 00:06:08,600 here in Florence, 137 00:06:08,666 --> 00:06:11,166 who showed mom how to make it all those years ago. 138 00:06:11,233 --> 00:06:13,466 In the fine tradition of Tuscan home cooking, 139 00:06:13,533 --> 00:06:16,733 it's cheap, nutritious and full of tomato. 140 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,233 -[TUCCI] I make it quite often. -[JOAN] Do you? Yeah. 141 00:06:19,300 --> 00:06:21,366 [TUCCI] Of course, yeah. The kids love it. 142 00:06:21,433 --> 00:06:23,233 But here's the thing, 143 00:06:23,300 --> 00:06:26,500 every time my mother comes to visit, which is too often. 144 00:06:26,566 --> 00:06:28,266 -Alright. -Alright, anyway. 145 00:06:28,333 --> 00:06:30,233 I always go, "Can you show me how to make this?", 146 00:06:30,300 --> 00:06:34,100 but mine still doesn't turn out the way hers turns out. 147 00:06:34,166 --> 00:06:36,000 I don't get it. 148 00:06:36,066 --> 00:06:38,233 -I think that's it, Stan. -I think we did it. 149 00:06:38,300 --> 00:06:39,766 [JOAN] We did it. 150 00:06:40,033 --> 00:06:41,166 -We did it. -Nice. 151 00:06:41,233 --> 00:06:42,633 [TUCCI] There we go. 152 00:06:42,700 --> 00:06:45,166 [JOAN] It's nice to have help. I love it, it's fun. 153 00:06:45,233 --> 00:06:47,500 That's my hobby. 154 00:06:47,566 --> 00:06:50,366 But I don't have anyone 155 00:06:50,433 --> 00:06:53,066 to cook for anymore. I miss my grandchildren. 156 00:06:53,133 --> 00:06:54,666 Oh don't, don't. 157 00:06:54,733 --> 00:06:59,300 But you could move to England. If this series does well... 158 00:06:59,366 --> 00:07:01,400 -If this series does well. -Which series? 159 00:07:01,466 --> 00:07:03,366 The one we're shooting right now. 160 00:07:03,433 --> 00:07:05,133 I got news for ya. 161 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:08,600 [LAUGHS] 162 00:07:08,666 --> 00:07:12,466 The time we shared in Florence changed everything for us. 163 00:07:12,533 --> 00:07:14,666 -Finally, you're here. -Yes. 164 00:07:14,733 --> 00:07:17,600 After a year spent in the home of the Renaissance, 165 00:07:17,666 --> 00:07:21,533 we returned to America as a family reborn. 166 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:24,566 It's so delicate, this sauce too, isn't it? 167 00:07:24,633 --> 00:07:28,666 You smell the sweetness of the carrot and the butter. 168 00:07:28,733 --> 00:07:30,266 Our eyes had been opened 169 00:07:30,333 --> 00:07:32,400 to some of the greatest treasures on Earth 170 00:07:32,466 --> 00:07:34,700 and some pretty good food too. 171 00:07:34,766 --> 00:07:37,566 It's so good. 172 00:07:37,633 --> 00:07:39,500 For me, it was the start 173 00:07:39,566 --> 00:07:42,300 of a lifelong love affair with Italy. 174 00:07:42,366 --> 00:07:43,333 -Cheers. -Cheers. 175 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:44,566 Thank you, thank you. 176 00:07:44,633 --> 00:07:47,000 -To Florence. -Thank you, cheers. 177 00:08:00,333 --> 00:08:03,633 There's a family whose name hangs over this region 178 00:08:03,700 --> 00:08:06,166 like the hot Tuscan sun. 179 00:08:06,233 --> 00:08:08,400 Their astonishing wealth 180 00:08:08,466 --> 00:08:10,700 made them one of the most powerful families 181 00:08:10,766 --> 00:08:12,733 on Earth back in the 1500s. 182 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,633 They practically bankrolled the Renaissance, 183 00:08:15,700 --> 00:08:18,233 paying for artists and scientists 184 00:08:18,300 --> 00:08:20,400 like Michelangelo and Galileo 185 00:08:20,466 --> 00:08:23,300 to remake the world. 186 00:08:25,566 --> 00:08:27,400 [TUCCI] How many days a week are you here? 187 00:08:27,466 --> 00:08:30,333 They are the Medici. 188 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:31,666 So come in. 189 00:08:31,733 --> 00:08:33,666 And I'm going to meet one of them. 190 00:08:34,766 --> 00:08:36,500 You are in a place 191 00:08:36,566 --> 00:08:39,333 that the Florentines call ‘The Casino de Medici'. 192 00:08:39,400 --> 00:08:42,500 And this is a place created as a scientific laboratory 193 00:08:42,566 --> 00:08:45,600 the Medici wanted all the bright minds in Europe 194 00:08:45,666 --> 00:08:47,133 to come here 195 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:48,566 and to create new things 196 00:08:48,633 --> 00:08:52,166 and to experiment with science, with the arts, 197 00:08:52,233 --> 00:08:53,666 with food, with spices. 198 00:08:53,733 --> 00:08:55,600 So it was like you say a think tank. 199 00:08:55,666 --> 00:08:56,733 A think tank. 200 00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:58,766 -Or a taste tank. -Exactly. 201 00:08:59,033 --> 00:09:01,100 Expert Art Restorer, Daniela Murphy, 202 00:09:01,166 --> 00:09:03,166 is sneaking me in for an audience 203 00:09:03,233 --> 00:09:06,166 with the most powerful Medici of them all. 204 00:09:06,233 --> 00:09:08,700 -Where is he? -He's right, right there. 205 00:09:08,766 --> 00:09:10,100 Oh my. 206 00:09:10,166 --> 00:09:12,366 Meet Cosimo Primo de Medici. 207 00:09:12,433 --> 00:09:15,200 He led the family at their dizzying height 208 00:09:15,266 --> 00:09:16,733 in the 1500s. 209 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,600 In this fresco, undergoing restoration, 210 00:09:19,666 --> 00:09:21,333 he's become so powerful 211 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:24,633 he's being crowned Grand Duke of Tuscany 212 00:09:24,700 --> 00:09:26,166 by the Pope himself 213 00:09:26,233 --> 00:09:28,633 He marries an extremely wealthy woman, 214 00:09:28,700 --> 00:09:31,433 the Spanish princess' Eleanor de Toledo. 215 00:09:31,500 --> 00:09:33,433 Not only does she bring a lot of money 216 00:09:33,500 --> 00:09:36,233 but she brings a lot of the new spices from the New World. 217 00:09:36,300 --> 00:09:38,033 The chocolates, the coffee, 218 00:09:41,366 --> 00:09:43,166 Everything that is the cuisine. 219 00:09:43,233 --> 00:09:45,233 That's when the tomato arrived? 220 00:09:45,300 --> 00:09:48,666 That's when it arrives more or less in that era then. 221 00:09:48,733 --> 00:09:50,533 Which completely altered Italian... 222 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:51,766 Completely. 223 00:09:52,033 --> 00:09:53,566 -Completely. -...cuisine 224 00:09:56,333 --> 00:09:59,566 Medici money cultivated this city, and the arts 225 00:09:59,633 --> 00:10:02,733 and the ideas that grew here in the Renaissance 226 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:06,533 changed how we all see the world. 227 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:09,566 But this family also changed the way things taste. 228 00:10:09,633 --> 00:10:12,300 It may seem a long way from Michelangelo 229 00:10:12,366 --> 00:10:15,433 to the greatest T-bone steak you've ever eaten, 230 00:10:15,500 --> 00:10:18,533 but the Medici had a hand in that too. 231 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:20,400 Secret. 232 00:10:20,466 --> 00:10:22,100 Fabio Picchi may look 233 00:10:22,166 --> 00:10:24,466 like he's fallen out of a Renaissance painting, 234 00:10:24,533 --> 00:10:27,100 but he's actually a renowned chef, 235 00:10:27,166 --> 00:10:29,100 a born and bred Florentine, 236 00:10:29,166 --> 00:10:31,733 and a master of meat. 237 00:10:41,766 --> 00:10:43,400 Back in the 1500s 238 00:10:43,466 --> 00:10:45,166 most people wouldn't even get close 239 00:10:45,233 --> 00:10:46,566 to cuts of meat this good. 240 00:10:49,733 --> 00:10:53,566 Tuscany's famous Chianina cattle needed lots of land, 241 00:10:53,633 --> 00:10:55,433 that was hugely expensive to run. 242 00:10:55,500 --> 00:10:58,700 Of course, the Medici didn't need to worry about that. 243 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:13,000 But why? 244 00:11:20,033 --> 00:11:23,533 500 years later, thankfully you don't need to be 245 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,766 a Grand Duke to enjoy steaks this big, 246 00:11:27,033 --> 00:11:30,300 and Fabio wants to cook for me Tuscany's signature dish, 247 00:11:30,366 --> 00:11:34,566 the magnificent bistecca alla Fiorentina. 248 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:43,600 Good. 249 00:11:43,666 --> 00:11:45,766 And in case lunch isn't looking worthy enough 250 00:11:46,033 --> 00:11:47,333 of, like, ten men, 251 00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:50,166 Fabio picks out a little appetizer, 252 00:11:50,233 --> 00:11:52,166 yet another cut of meat. 253 00:11:55,566 --> 00:11:57,666 We head back to the deli Fabio owns. 254 00:11:57,733 --> 00:12:01,166 Thank you. Oh, look at that, look at the flowers. 255 00:12:01,233 --> 00:12:05,266 He hurries us past any food that hasn't had a pulse. 256 00:12:05,333 --> 00:12:07,666 And we head up to his hideaway on the roof, 257 00:12:07,733 --> 00:12:09,333 where he does his cooking. 258 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:12,000 Oh my god. Come on. 259 00:12:12,066 --> 00:12:14,366 We're starting with the Chianina beef, 260 00:12:14,433 --> 00:12:16,533 the Medici family favorite. 261 00:12:16,600 --> 00:12:19,633 The cattle has grazed the Tuscan fields 262 00:12:19,700 --> 00:12:21,366 for 2,000 years. 263 00:12:21,433 --> 00:12:23,133 They're of such high quality, 264 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,300 that we're eating it raw. 265 00:12:41,566 --> 00:12:42,700 Oh my god. 266 00:12:44,566 --> 00:12:47,233 That's the best sushi I've ever had. 267 00:12:47,300 --> 00:12:48,266 [LAUGHS] 268 00:12:52,433 --> 00:12:54,700 And now, the main event. 269 00:13:12,700 --> 00:13:16,300 So what he's doing now he says, this is, the secret-- 270 00:13:16,366 --> 00:13:17,600 [FABIO] The family secret. 271 00:13:17,666 --> 00:13:20,133 Besides excessive amounts of salt. 272 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:24,766 So the little sort of wisps of olive branch 273 00:13:25,033 --> 00:13:27,400 like this in the fire. 274 00:13:31,566 --> 00:13:34,100 So you're getting, you're getting 275 00:13:34,166 --> 00:13:36,300 the flavor of those olive branches. 276 00:13:36,366 --> 00:13:38,200 It gives it a very distinctive taste. 277 00:13:42,266 --> 00:13:44,033 During the Renaissance, 278 00:13:44,100 --> 00:13:47,133 the Medici lit fires around the city on feast days 279 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,300 and handed out roast beef to the common people. 280 00:13:50,366 --> 00:13:51,733 Most of the time though, 281 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,300 they kept this amazing meat for themselves. 282 00:13:59,366 --> 00:14:02,033 This one actually comes from the same area 283 00:14:02,100 --> 00:14:04,533 where the Medici family originated. 284 00:14:07,666 --> 00:14:09,700 Jesus. 285 00:14:09,766 --> 00:14:13,033 This is like no steak I've ever eaten. 286 00:14:13,100 --> 00:14:15,466 It's both crisp and delicate 287 00:14:15,533 --> 00:14:19,166 and the smoke carries the taste of the land. 288 00:14:19,233 --> 00:14:23,666 God damn it! It just melts in your mouth. 289 00:14:23,733 --> 00:14:25,600 It's what makes the regional cooking of Italy 290 00:14:25,666 --> 00:14:29,033 about so much more than just a tasty meal. 291 00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:44,566 But the palate is the organ that connects Italy. 292 00:15:16,700 --> 00:15:19,400 -I'll drink to that. -Yeah. 293 00:15:19,466 --> 00:15:20,600 Cheers. 294 00:15:30,433 --> 00:15:33,066 There comes a time in any show about Tuscany 295 00:15:33,133 --> 00:15:36,633 where the host heads out to the spectacular hills 296 00:15:36,700 --> 00:15:38,533 and tells you how the Mediterranean sun 297 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,433 has blessed the Tuscan vineyards for 3000 years. 298 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:46,766 They may even have a thoughtful sip 299 00:15:47,033 --> 00:15:48,400 of a world famous Tuscan wine 300 00:15:48,466 --> 00:15:50,266 like Chianti Classico. 301 00:15:52,266 --> 00:15:54,633 But I'm not going to do that. 302 00:15:54,700 --> 00:15:58,500 I'm going on a good old fashioned bar crawl. 303 00:15:58,566 --> 00:16:03,300 And when I say ‘old fashioned', I mean, like, the Renaissance. 304 00:16:08,766 --> 00:16:12,166 I'm going to meet a friend of mine, Elisabetta, 305 00:16:12,233 --> 00:16:14,466 who is a Renaissance scholar. 306 00:16:14,533 --> 00:16:19,133 She's incredibly boring, but we'll make it through. 307 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:21,266 My God, I can't believe you came. 308 00:16:21,333 --> 00:16:23,400 -Hi. -How are you? 309 00:16:23,466 --> 00:16:24,600 -How are you? -Good to see you. 310 00:16:24,666 --> 00:16:26,566 Nice to see you too. 311 00:16:26,633 --> 00:16:28,433 This little bar has just reintroduced 312 00:16:28,500 --> 00:16:29,733 a 500-year-old tradition. 313 00:16:32,133 --> 00:16:33,700 In 1559, our old friend, 314 00:16:33,766 --> 00:16:36,733 the Grand Duke Cosimo Primo de Medici, 315 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,400 decreed that wealthy Florentines 316 00:16:39,466 --> 00:16:41,266 could sell the wine they produced 317 00:16:41,333 --> 00:16:44,066 on their country estates direct from little windows 318 00:16:44,133 --> 00:16:47,066 cut into the walls of their city palaces 319 00:16:47,133 --> 00:16:49,766 instead of through taverns and inn keepers. 320 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:18,333 So, you would walk by, and you would buy, not by the glass, 321 00:17:18,400 --> 00:17:19,666 but you'd buy by the bottle. 322 00:17:19,733 --> 00:17:21,366 -You'd buy a flask. -You buy a flask. 323 00:17:21,433 --> 00:17:24,066 They had a little wooden door, there was a bell. 324 00:17:24,133 --> 00:17:27,066 Sometimes they would also place things like a flask on top 325 00:17:27,133 --> 00:17:30,333 like an advertisement to say, "Hey guys, we sell wine." 326 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:32,400 Because I remember living here when I was a kid. 327 00:17:32,466 --> 00:17:33,766 I'd see these things, 328 00:17:34,033 --> 00:17:35,500 I always thought they were for, you know, 329 00:17:35,566 --> 00:17:37,633 where you'd put a little statue or something. 330 00:17:37,700 --> 00:17:40,500 -Yeah, like a tabernacle. -Yeah, exactly. 331 00:17:40,566 --> 00:17:42,500 -Let's order some wine. -OK 332 00:17:42,566 --> 00:17:45,766 -Let's order some wine. -How do you. Do I pull this? 333 00:17:46,033 --> 00:17:48,100 -Ring -Oh, it's a bell. 334 00:17:50,033 --> 00:17:52,500 -Will someone come? -Well, they're awfully slow. 335 00:17:52,566 --> 00:17:55,600 Oh, hi. That's wonderful. Hi, how are you? 336 00:18:00,566 --> 00:18:02,433 -Here you go. -Oh, thank you so much. 337 00:18:02,500 --> 00:18:04,500 Thank you, thank you so much, thank you. 338 00:18:08,333 --> 00:18:09,533 That's good. 339 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,333 -That's good. -I always thought wine, 340 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,566 the taste is better when it comes through a window. 341 00:18:14,633 --> 00:18:15,566 Yeah. 342 00:18:16,633 --> 00:18:18,133 You get another wine? 343 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:19,533 -Yeah, oh yeah. -Yeah. 344 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:20,566 It seems to be empty. 345 00:18:20,633 --> 00:18:22,466 Oh, hi. How are you? 346 00:18:22,533 --> 00:18:24,066 Can I get... 347 00:18:24,133 --> 00:18:26,000 Five hundred years ago, 348 00:18:26,066 --> 00:18:28,333 everyone was encouraged to drink 349 00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:30,400 at least a liter of wine a day. 350 00:18:30,466 --> 00:18:33,433 Not for the winemaker's profit but for health reasons. 351 00:18:33,500 --> 00:18:35,233 -Come on. -Let's sit. 352 00:18:35,300 --> 00:18:37,600 So tell me everything else you know. 353 00:18:37,666 --> 00:18:41,600 And some people needed to be more healthy than others. 354 00:18:41,666 --> 00:18:47,166 If you were pregnant you could have one at any time. 355 00:18:47,233 --> 00:18:49,300 -You could have one at any time? -Yeah. 356 00:18:49,366 --> 00:18:51,333 -If you were pregnant. -Yeah. 357 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:53,033 Because it was considered... 358 00:18:53,100 --> 00:18:55,166 My mother did that too. No, she didn't. 359 00:18:55,233 --> 00:18:56,166 -Really? -Yeah. 360 00:18:56,233 --> 00:18:57,466 Like a nourishment. 361 00:18:57,533 --> 00:18:59,066 So, it's sort of the opposite of today? 362 00:18:59,133 --> 00:19:01,000 -Yeah, of today. -Okay. 363 00:19:01,066 --> 00:19:02,466 -Come on. -Let's go, come on. 364 00:19:06,233 --> 00:19:09,066 This could be a disappointingly short wine crawl 365 00:19:09,133 --> 00:19:10,600 as Bar Babae is currently the only 366 00:19:10,666 --> 00:19:13,200 functioning wine window in Florence. 367 00:19:13,266 --> 00:19:16,733 Even if there are still 130 or so defunct ones 368 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:18,166 around the city. 369 00:19:18,233 --> 00:19:19,566 These little Wine Windows 370 00:19:19,633 --> 00:19:21,700 don't exist anywhere outside of Tuscany, 371 00:19:21,766 --> 00:19:24,766 another example of Renaissance genius. 372 00:19:25,033 --> 00:19:26,566 -There are too many of them. -Yeah. 373 00:19:26,633 --> 00:19:30,466 And then, completely by chance, we come across another. 374 00:19:32,433 --> 00:19:34,266 But the sign would be from when? 375 00:19:34,333 --> 00:19:36,266 That sign. 376 00:20:05,533 --> 00:20:08,366 -The little doors of paradise. -Paradise, yeah. 377 00:20:10,300 --> 00:20:12,766 Hi, hi, there you are again. 378 00:20:13,033 --> 00:20:14,566 Hi, how are you? 379 00:20:14,633 --> 00:20:16,133 Thank you so much. 380 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:20,766 To end of the evening 381 00:20:21,033 --> 00:20:24,266 we head out for Tuscany's favorite nightcap. 382 00:20:24,333 --> 00:20:28,033 the local dessert wine, Vin Santo, the holy wine. 383 00:20:28,100 --> 00:20:31,500 It's called Vin Santo because when you drink it, a halo... 384 00:20:31,566 --> 00:20:33,533 -A halo comes? -A halo is on your head. 385 00:20:34,666 --> 00:20:36,300 Anyway. 386 00:20:36,366 --> 00:20:38,766 Tuscan tradition dictates you dip almond biscotti, 387 00:20:39,033 --> 00:20:43,133 known in Italy as cantucci, in your vin santo. 388 00:20:46,500 --> 00:20:48,233 Oh, angle, is that what it means? 389 00:20:48,300 --> 00:20:49,700 Yeah. 390 00:20:49,766 --> 00:20:53,766 The result is a sweet, crunchy and heady delight. 391 00:20:54,033 --> 00:20:55,400 Maybe too heady. 392 00:20:55,466 --> 00:20:59,033 Anything that ends in Tucci, I like. 393 00:20:59,100 --> 00:21:00,433 [LAUGHS] 394 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:03,400 -That's the end of that episode. -That's so funny. 395 00:21:05,466 --> 00:21:08,166 Cantucci, right. 396 00:21:20,133 --> 00:21:21,600 Tuscany may be renowned 397 00:21:21,666 --> 00:21:24,333 for incredible meat and fine wines, 398 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:27,666 but this food of the rich is only half the story. 399 00:21:27,733 --> 00:21:29,666 The other branch of Tuscan cooking 400 00:21:29,733 --> 00:21:34,400 grew out of biting poverty and humble ingredients. 401 00:21:34,466 --> 00:21:36,033 So, where do you wanna go first? 402 00:21:36,100 --> 00:21:38,000 Historian Leonardo Romanelli 403 00:21:38,066 --> 00:21:40,533 is taking me to Florence's central market 404 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:43,300 to show me the ingredients of what the Italians call 405 00:21:43,366 --> 00:21:45,600 ‘Cucina Povera', poor food. 406 00:21:45,666 --> 00:21:47,500 So, you wanna show me some beans 407 00:21:47,566 --> 00:21:51,700 which are a staple of Florentine cooking. 408 00:21:51,766 --> 00:21:55,033 -So you have different types. -For different dishes. 409 00:21:55,100 --> 00:21:57,333 The best are zolfini. 410 00:21:57,400 --> 00:21:59,500 These type of beans are solid 411 00:21:59,566 --> 00:22:03,100 but you don't need to put in the water before cooking. 412 00:22:03,166 --> 00:22:06,300 -Oh really? -And they taste so... 413 00:22:06,366 --> 00:22:08,333 You don't have to soak them beforehand? 414 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,000 No, that's the difference. 415 00:22:13,566 --> 00:22:16,300 It means the Florentines eat the beans. 416 00:22:16,366 --> 00:22:17,666 The bean eaters. 417 00:22:17,733 --> 00:22:20,633 Yeah, because we are using so many different-- 418 00:22:20,700 --> 00:22:23,433 Oh no, now you're going to mix them all up. 419 00:22:23,500 --> 00:22:25,233 [LAUGHS] 420 00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:29,333 The cooking is really, very poor, simple cooking. 421 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,600 That's true. 422 00:22:31,666 --> 00:22:34,133 I read that during the Renaissance 423 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,566 the wealthier people would have meat. 424 00:22:36,633 --> 00:22:39,633 Whereas the poorer people basically just had beans, 425 00:22:39,700 --> 00:22:43,366 some kind of soup and some bread and that was it. 426 00:22:43,433 --> 00:22:46,533 I have to say, we use what we have. 427 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:48,666 It says something about the character 428 00:22:48,733 --> 00:22:50,466 of the Tuscany people. 429 00:22:50,533 --> 00:22:53,166 We have Tuscan bread without salt. 430 00:22:53,233 --> 00:22:55,100 I know, I remember when I was a kid 431 00:22:55,166 --> 00:22:56,366 and we came here 432 00:22:56,433 --> 00:22:58,366 and we tasted the bread and I was like, 433 00:22:58,433 --> 00:23:00,400 "This is terrible, this is the worst thing 434 00:23:00,466 --> 00:23:02,500 I've ever had in my life." 435 00:23:02,566 --> 00:23:04,700 We never got used to it. 436 00:23:04,766 --> 00:23:06,533 Seeing these basic ingredients 437 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:08,666 here in the city market is one thing, 438 00:23:08,733 --> 00:23:12,733 but the only way to truly understand Tuscan ‘poor food' 439 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:14,466 is to get out of the city 440 00:23:14,533 --> 00:23:19,400 and go deep into the endlessly beautiful countryside. 441 00:23:19,466 --> 00:23:21,533 Isn't that kind of amazing when you look around, 442 00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,733 is that, I mean, you really don't see 443 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,733 a contemporary building for miles. 444 00:23:28,033 --> 00:23:29,666 Look at that. 445 00:23:29,733 --> 00:23:33,000 I'm following the River Arno, 50 miles south of Florence, 446 00:23:33,066 --> 00:23:35,566 to a small village called Ponte Buriano, 447 00:23:35,633 --> 00:23:39,566 where I've been invited to a wheat threshing festival. 448 00:23:39,633 --> 00:23:42,266 Do I know what threshing of the wheat is? 449 00:23:42,333 --> 00:23:43,333 Are you kidding? 450 00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:45,300 I grew up threshing wheat. 451 00:23:52,366 --> 00:23:54,100 Now, if memory serves, 452 00:23:54,166 --> 00:23:56,533 threshing is where the grains of wheat are shaken loose 453 00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:59,400 so they can be ground down to make flour. 454 00:23:59,466 --> 00:24:02,400 [TUCCI] Oh that's the steam, that's the steam engine. 455 00:24:02,466 --> 00:24:04,100 [RENATO] Yeah, yeah, yeah. 456 00:24:04,166 --> 00:24:08,100 Renato Viscovo, a local teacher, organizes this event. 457 00:24:37,166 --> 00:24:40,533 Tonight there's a huge feast for the villagers. 458 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:42,566 They're coming together to give thanks 459 00:24:42,633 --> 00:24:44,500 for the good times in this region 460 00:24:44,566 --> 00:24:46,433 that was once ravaged by famines 461 00:24:46,500 --> 00:24:49,433 and where farmers were treated as indentured servants 462 00:24:49,500 --> 00:24:52,000 by their oppressive aristocratic landowners, 463 00:24:52,066 --> 00:24:55,166 until relatively recently. 464 00:25:03,700 --> 00:25:05,466 This is a world away 465 00:25:05,533 --> 00:25:08,533 from the huge steaks and fine wines of Florence. 466 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,666 The people here cook what they grow 467 00:25:11,733 --> 00:25:13,433 and after the toil of harvesting 468 00:25:13,500 --> 00:25:14,733 and milling the wheat, 469 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,166 what they're left with is bread. 470 00:25:25,333 --> 00:25:28,200 Lots and lots of bread. 471 00:25:28,266 --> 00:25:32,733 So here the dough is rising and you cook it in that oven. 472 00:25:36,133 --> 00:25:37,700 Like it was done many years ago. 473 00:25:41,266 --> 00:25:43,066 Over in the kitchens, 474 00:25:43,133 --> 00:25:44,566 some of the 200 villagers 475 00:25:44,633 --> 00:25:46,733 are hard at work preparing the feast, 476 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,100 and here too, bread plays a starring role 477 00:25:50,166 --> 00:25:52,166 in pretty much everything. 478 00:25:52,233 --> 00:25:53,666 [TUCCI] What are they making? 479 00:26:07,366 --> 00:26:09,433 [TUCCI] Oh, the Gander. 480 00:26:15,400 --> 00:26:16,700 Oh my god. 481 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,066 -[RENATO] Good? -It's delicious but it's so hot. 482 00:26:27,666 --> 00:26:31,133 I go out back and discover wood-fired ovens 483 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,333 full of roasting ganders. 484 00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:36,766 These male geese were one of the few farm animals 485 00:26:37,033 --> 00:26:39,000 that peasants were allowed to keep for themselves 486 00:26:39,066 --> 00:26:42,133 and not have to share with their landlords. 487 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:44,266 They were saved for special occasions 488 00:26:44,333 --> 00:26:45,700 like weddings and festivals. 489 00:26:45,766 --> 00:26:48,466 The smell is incredible. 490 00:26:54,466 --> 00:26:55,500 Come on. 491 00:26:59,433 --> 00:27:02,466 You know? Really, it's like a Christmas in your mouth. 492 00:27:02,533 --> 00:27:03,566 Yeah, wow. 493 00:27:21,666 --> 00:27:23,200 Well, you're great cooks. 494 00:27:29,500 --> 00:27:31,733 Over the centuries, 495 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:34,466 the food of the working people here in the Tuscan countryside 496 00:27:34,533 --> 00:27:36,333 developed into its own cuisine. 497 00:27:36,400 --> 00:27:39,166 It's not as showy as the food in Florence 498 00:27:39,233 --> 00:27:41,666 but it's one that is just as glorious 499 00:27:41,733 --> 00:27:44,566 as the landscape from which it comes. 500 00:27:44,633 --> 00:27:46,433 [LAUGHS] 501 00:27:58,566 --> 00:28:00,433 My night at the wheat threshing festival 502 00:28:00,500 --> 00:28:05,200 has reminded me of the epic, insatiable obsession 503 00:28:05,266 --> 00:28:07,533 Tuscany has with bread. 504 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,000 It's a love that has echoed through the ages 505 00:28:10,066 --> 00:28:13,766 and there are recipes for every stage of a loaf's life. 506 00:28:14,033 --> 00:28:17,500 The best ones however are saved for the advanced years, 507 00:28:17,566 --> 00:28:20,600 when bread is old and stale. 508 00:28:20,666 --> 00:28:24,366 That's when Tuscan cooks get really creative. 509 00:28:28,033 --> 00:28:29,166 [TUCCI] And here we are. 510 00:28:29,233 --> 00:28:31,166 -Yeah. -Yeah, it's very exciting. 511 00:28:31,233 --> 00:28:34,233 I'm having lunch at the Cinghiale Bianco, 512 00:28:34,300 --> 00:28:36,600 one of my favorite restaurants in Florence. 513 00:28:36,666 --> 00:28:38,633 So nice to see you. Really nice to see you. 514 00:28:38,700 --> 00:28:41,166 And I'm joined again by local food expert, 515 00:28:41,233 --> 00:28:42,600 Professor Leonardo Romanelli, 516 00:28:42,666 --> 00:28:45,566 and my friend the art restorer, Daniella Murphy. 517 00:28:45,633 --> 00:28:47,066 -Hi, Stanley. -[TUCCI] Uh-oh. 518 00:28:47,133 --> 00:28:49,200 -[LEONARDO] Oh, hi. -[TUCCI] Hi. 519 00:28:49,266 --> 00:28:51,500 This place specializes in ‘poor food' 520 00:28:51,566 --> 00:28:53,433 and their recipes are so heavenly. 521 00:28:53,500 --> 00:28:57,000 I'm sure it's where old bread would choose to come and die. 522 00:28:59,666 --> 00:29:01,700 Marco Maselli is the restaurant's owner 523 00:29:01,766 --> 00:29:03,500 This is the ribolita. 524 00:29:03,566 --> 00:29:07,100 Basically, the main ingredients are bread and the black cabbage. 525 00:29:07,166 --> 00:29:10,633 And then, we have the tomato and bread soup, 526 00:29:10,700 --> 00:29:12,233 Pappa al pomodoro. 527 00:29:12,300 --> 00:29:14,566 The base is olive oil and garlic, 528 00:29:14,633 --> 00:29:16,333 Tuscan bread and tomato. 529 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:18,333 It sounds very simple. 530 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,133 -Not so simple to prepare. -[TUCCI] Not simple to make. 531 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:22,033 [MARCO] To make good. 532 00:29:22,100 --> 00:29:26,633 But, in my opinion, the queen of the Tuscan dishes 533 00:29:26,700 --> 00:29:28,366 is the Panzanella. 534 00:29:28,433 --> 00:29:30,066 I was hoping that was mine. 535 00:29:30,133 --> 00:29:33,366 Also, a very simple and 'poor' dish. 536 00:29:33,433 --> 00:29:39,133 Tuscan bread soaked in vinegar and onion and tomato. 537 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:40,666 -[MARCO] Enjoy. -[TUCCI] Thank you. 538 00:29:40,733 --> 00:29:42,400 [Daniella] This Panzanella is very good. 539 00:29:42,466 --> 00:29:46,366 [TUCCI] And this Pappa al pomodoro, perfecto. 540 00:29:46,433 --> 00:29:47,733 This is one of my favorite things, 541 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,700 I make it for my kids, they'll just eat. 542 00:29:50,766 --> 00:29:53,066 Like it's ice cream, practically. 543 00:29:53,133 --> 00:29:56,400 We have good tomatoes, good olive oil and Tuscan bread. 544 00:29:56,466 --> 00:29:57,700 Maybe not Tuscan bread. 545 00:29:57,766 --> 00:29:59,400 Maybe, OK. [LAUGHS] 546 00:29:59,466 --> 00:30:01,166 I have to admit, 547 00:30:01,233 --> 00:30:03,300 that I much prefer Tuscan bread cooked in dishes like this 548 00:30:03,366 --> 00:30:06,633 because on its own it can taste quite bland 549 00:30:06,700 --> 00:30:08,433 and that's an understatement. 550 00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:10,700 It actually tastes like cardboard. 551 00:30:10,766 --> 00:30:13,066 That's because it's unsalted. 552 00:30:13,133 --> 00:30:15,433 One theory is that Florence refused to pay 553 00:30:15,500 --> 00:30:19,466 its arch-rival town of Pisa for its salt. 554 00:30:19,533 --> 00:30:21,700 They were willing to spend money with other people 555 00:30:21,766 --> 00:30:23,500 but never give money to Pisa. 556 00:30:23,566 --> 00:30:25,566 -Yeah, especially Pisa. -Even today. 557 00:30:25,633 --> 00:30:28,200 But of course, this being Italy, 558 00:30:28,266 --> 00:30:33,366 food rivalries go deep but no-one can quite remember why. 559 00:30:33,433 --> 00:30:35,466 Another idea is this, 560 00:30:35,533 --> 00:30:40,000 if they don't use salt the bread could stay for a long time. 561 00:30:40,066 --> 00:30:41,333 Really, without salt? 562 00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,066 -I didn't know that. -Because, because 563 00:30:43,133 --> 00:30:44,600 -the salt, the salt... -The salt breaks it down. 564 00:30:44,666 --> 00:30:46,266 The salt became brine. 565 00:30:46,333 --> 00:30:47,666 For sure the most convincing one 566 00:30:47,733 --> 00:30:49,500 is we don't want to give money to the Pisani. 567 00:30:49,566 --> 00:30:51,600 That's the most convincing. [LAUGHS] 568 00:30:51,666 --> 00:30:53,200 I believe that, actually, most of all. 569 00:30:53,266 --> 00:30:55,200 -Yeah. -[LAUGHS] 570 00:30:55,266 --> 00:30:57,633 For me panzanella is one of the greatest dishes 571 00:30:57,700 --> 00:30:59,500 of Tuscan poor food. 572 00:30:59,566 --> 00:31:03,533 Giving brittle old bread new life by using fresh tomatoes 573 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,066 to create a surprisingly refreshing salad. 574 00:31:11,633 --> 00:31:13,733 Knowing my love of food and art, 575 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:18,233 Daniela has invited me to a festival this evening. 576 00:31:18,300 --> 00:31:20,400 A very fancy festival. 577 00:31:22,700 --> 00:31:27,233 The one thing that everybody has in common is the food. 578 00:31:27,300 --> 00:31:28,533 Yeah. 579 00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,000 This event is about as far as you can get 580 00:31:31,066 --> 00:31:33,033 from the wheat threshing festival. 581 00:31:33,100 --> 00:31:36,566 Here Florence's richest and most powerful families have gathered, 582 00:31:36,633 --> 00:31:38,666 as they have for centuries, 583 00:31:38,733 --> 00:31:43,233 to toast the city's new creative talent from chefs and musicians, 584 00:31:43,300 --> 00:31:46,166 to artists hoping to follow in the footsteps 585 00:31:46,233 --> 00:31:49,200 of Da Vinci and Michelangelo. 586 00:31:49,266 --> 00:31:52,566 You are right now in a situation where, 587 00:31:52,633 --> 00:31:54,766 more or less 500 years ago, 588 00:31:55,033 --> 00:31:57,333 the Medici would have done something like this. 589 00:31:57,400 --> 00:31:59,300 So we're going to go and have some food now. 590 00:31:59,366 --> 00:32:01,366 She knows me too well. 591 00:32:12,100 --> 00:32:13,400 Really? 592 00:32:13,466 --> 00:32:16,400 It's a very sophisticated form of Panzenella. 593 00:32:16,466 --> 00:32:18,033 This looks very different 594 00:32:18,100 --> 00:32:20,633 to the rustic bread salad we had for lunch. 595 00:32:20,700 --> 00:32:22,100 [DANIELLA] But it tastes of Panzanella. 596 00:32:22,166 --> 00:32:24,300 It completely tastes of Panzanella. 597 00:32:24,366 --> 00:32:27,700 Panzanella was what the farmers would eat. 598 00:32:27,766 --> 00:32:31,400 And now it's turned into this very sophisticated-- 599 00:32:31,466 --> 00:32:33,333 -[TUCCI] Foam. -Foam. 600 00:32:35,333 --> 00:32:38,266 You see, the past being rediscovered. 601 00:32:38,333 --> 00:32:40,133 [TUCCI] It's a little Renaissance in a bowl. 602 00:32:40,200 --> 00:32:41,733 [DANIELLA] There's a little Renaissance in it 603 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:43,066 and a lot of the future. 604 00:32:44,566 --> 00:32:46,733 [CROWD CHATTING] 605 00:32:51,666 --> 00:32:53,333 [BUSTLING CROWDS] 606 00:32:56,233 --> 00:32:58,366 After tasting this new version of panzanella, 607 00:32:58,433 --> 00:33:03,633 we made some inquiries and found the chef who created it. 608 00:33:03,700 --> 00:33:05,366 Nerina Martinelli and her team 609 00:33:05,433 --> 00:33:09,100 are just about to open Nugolo, a brand-new restaurant 610 00:33:09,166 --> 00:33:13,433 that re-imagines Tuscany's rural food in the heart of the city. 611 00:33:13,500 --> 00:33:16,166 [NERINA] The idea around the menu and the dishes that we do 612 00:33:16,233 --> 00:33:20,400 is to take traditional dishes, traditional recipes 613 00:33:20,466 --> 00:33:22,433 and then add something new. 614 00:33:22,500 --> 00:33:24,366 All the team of the restaurant, 615 00:33:24,433 --> 00:33:27,333 we are all under 30 years old so we are all really young. 616 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:29,166 These young chefs 617 00:33:29,233 --> 00:33:32,200 are seeing old Tuscan dishes with new eyes. 618 00:33:32,266 --> 00:33:33,666 [NERINA] So, the Panzanella foam 619 00:33:33,733 --> 00:33:37,766 is an example of a traditional Tuscan dish. 620 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,133 So, farmers. 621 00:33:43,200 --> 00:33:45,200 Basically made with the simplest... 622 00:33:45,266 --> 00:33:46,733 Exactly. 623 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:50,033 -...poorest ingredients. -Onion, tomato, bread, vinegar. 624 00:33:50,100 --> 00:33:51,733 Cucumber, that's it. 625 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,033 And normally we do it with old bread. 626 00:33:54,100 --> 00:33:57,200 -[TUCCI] With old bread. Right. -With old bread. 627 00:33:57,266 --> 00:34:00,333 But you're taking it to another level by foaming it. 628 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,200 The air inside it becomes very light 629 00:34:03,266 --> 00:34:06,700 but still keeping the flavor of the panzanella. 630 00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:12,766 And we finish with the basil oil. 631 00:34:13,033 --> 00:34:15,033 Couple of drops. 632 00:34:15,100 --> 00:34:16,466 I love that you did this. 633 00:34:16,533 --> 00:34:18,633 -Extra virgin olive oil. -It's so smart. 634 00:34:25,266 --> 00:34:27,500 It's, it's delicious. 635 00:34:27,566 --> 00:34:30,266 [ANTONIO] Especially for summer time, it's really fresh. 636 00:34:30,333 --> 00:34:34,566 Yeah, it's like, it really is the perfect appetizer, isn't it. 637 00:34:34,633 --> 00:34:36,500 -Exactly. -Exactly. 638 00:34:36,566 --> 00:34:41,200 Wow, you've taken tomatoes to a whole other place. 639 00:34:41,266 --> 00:34:45,633 And the simplest dishes to a whole other level. 640 00:34:45,700 --> 00:34:48,266 This simple bread salad has woven its way 641 00:34:48,333 --> 00:34:50,066 through Tuscan society. 642 00:34:50,133 --> 00:34:52,533 From peasants ensuring food doesn't go to waste 643 00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:55,533 to Florentine aristocrats. 644 00:34:55,600 --> 00:34:58,366 It's great to see these definitive Tuscan flavors 645 00:34:58,433 --> 00:35:00,466 now inspiring a new generation, 646 00:35:00,533 --> 00:35:03,266 making exciting food that looks to the future 647 00:35:03,333 --> 00:35:06,733 while respecting the land and its history. 648 00:35:18,233 --> 00:35:21,533 The food of rich cities and the poor countryside 649 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:24,233 are the two great pillars of Tuscan cuisine. 650 00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:28,333 But what unites them is a blast of fresh sea breeze 651 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:32,266 blowing in from Tuscany's fabulous coastline. 652 00:35:32,333 --> 00:35:34,566 I've come 50 miles west of Florence 653 00:35:34,633 --> 00:35:37,200 to the city of Livorno. 654 00:35:37,266 --> 00:35:40,300 In the late 16th Century, the Medici family 655 00:35:40,366 --> 00:35:43,233 turned it into one of the great trading ports of Italy, 656 00:35:43,300 --> 00:35:45,466 where Tuscany welcomed the world. 657 00:35:45,533 --> 00:35:49,133 Chef Fabio Picchi is never happier than when he's here, 658 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:53,300 with friends, and the prospect of a good meal on the horizon. 659 00:36:09,366 --> 00:36:11,066 During the Renaissance, 660 00:36:11,133 --> 00:36:13,700 migrants were actively encouraged to settle in Livorno 661 00:36:13,766 --> 00:36:16,066 and its reputation as a free-thinking 662 00:36:16,133 --> 00:36:17,733 big-hearted city by the sea... 663 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:19,566 [TUCCI] Oh yeah, nice. 664 00:36:19,633 --> 00:36:22,133 ...drew people from across Europe and beyond. 665 00:36:23,466 --> 00:36:25,066 In the town center, 666 00:36:25,133 --> 00:36:28,233 is a tiny place called Torteria Da Gagarin. 667 00:36:28,300 --> 00:36:31,633 It opened in 1959 and sells just one thing. 668 00:36:31,700 --> 00:36:33,300 Known as "the cake", 669 00:36:33,366 --> 00:36:36,366 it's a pancake made from chickpea flour. 670 00:36:47,666 --> 00:36:50,033 The torteria is a local institution, 671 00:36:50,100 --> 00:36:55,300 serving up "the cake" in, what else, a huge hunk of bread. 672 00:37:07,700 --> 00:37:09,366 [TUCCI] This is good, I like this. 673 00:37:09,433 --> 00:37:11,000 It's absolutely delicious. 674 00:37:11,066 --> 00:37:13,266 And he says that he makes it because he loves it. 675 00:37:13,333 --> 00:37:16,400 He makes it at home but he can't make it as good as this. 676 00:37:16,466 --> 00:37:18,100 [FABIO] Yeah. 677 00:37:20,066 --> 00:37:21,666 After that little appetizer, 678 00:37:21,733 --> 00:37:24,300 we head up to the house of one of Fabio's friends 679 00:37:24,366 --> 00:37:26,366 in the hills above the town. 680 00:37:26,433 --> 00:37:28,666 He's gathered together the ingredients 681 00:37:28,733 --> 00:37:30,266 for a Livornese classic. 682 00:37:30,333 --> 00:37:32,600 He's making a fish stew. 683 00:37:41,733 --> 00:37:46,000 -This is a fake Cacciucco. -It's a fake. 684 00:37:46,066 --> 00:37:49,100 I need to keep my voice down so the neighbors don't hear 685 00:37:49,166 --> 00:37:51,033 but if you're not from Livorno, 686 00:37:51,100 --> 00:37:53,600 you're not supposed to be making this stew. 687 00:38:03,333 --> 00:38:05,266 [TUCCI] There's always this, sort of, battle between 688 00:38:05,333 --> 00:38:07,733 whether you're from here or from there, or from there. 689 00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:09,533 Whatever you're making. Right? 690 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:12,600 You can make the same thing but you can't call it the thing. 691 00:38:12,666 --> 00:38:15,366 It is maybe a little bit different. 692 00:38:21,433 --> 00:38:23,600 [CHOPPING] 693 00:38:23,666 --> 00:38:29,233 Cacciucco is a rich fish stew that dates back over 500 years. 694 00:38:29,300 --> 00:38:31,333 It was the way Livorno's fishermen 695 00:38:31,400 --> 00:38:34,766 would use up whatever they hadn't sold that day. 696 00:38:35,033 --> 00:38:37,166 This is an imperial cacciucco. 697 00:38:37,233 --> 00:38:39,566 He's using this really beautiful fish, 698 00:38:39,633 --> 00:38:43,300 he's also using lobster which is not a 'poor' fish, obviously. 699 00:38:43,366 --> 00:38:47,633 So, he's taking this and amping it up a bit. 700 00:38:58,166 --> 00:39:00,466 Like so many Italian dishes, 701 00:39:00,533 --> 00:39:04,633 the base of Fabio's stew is the trusty tomato. 702 00:39:04,700 --> 00:39:08,400 It's hard to imagine Italian cuisine without tomatoes 703 00:39:08,466 --> 00:39:10,633 but scholars only date their arrival 704 00:39:10,700 --> 00:39:12,766 to that fortuitous Medici marriage 705 00:39:13,033 --> 00:39:15,500 to Spanish nobility in the 1540s. 706 00:39:15,566 --> 00:39:17,466 Here in Livorno though... 707 00:39:17,533 --> 00:39:19,200 Sweet. 708 00:39:19,266 --> 00:39:21,666 ...legend says that the tomato was brought by newcomers 709 00:39:21,733 --> 00:39:23,100 fleeing oppression. 710 00:39:43,733 --> 00:39:45,633 Tomatoes were a popular ingredient 711 00:39:45,700 --> 00:39:48,033 among the Jews of Southern Europe. 712 00:40:04,300 --> 00:40:05,433 Unless you want. 713 00:40:07,166 --> 00:40:10,233 Yeah, I think so, yeah. 714 00:40:10,300 --> 00:40:12,766 As the incredible smell drifts outside, 715 00:40:13,033 --> 00:40:15,366 Fabio's friends take their seats. 716 00:40:15,433 --> 00:40:17,700 The density of that flavor is just-- 717 00:40:31,333 --> 00:40:32,633 [TUCCI] Wow. 718 00:40:41,633 --> 00:40:44,066 [APPLAUSE] 719 00:40:44,133 --> 00:40:45,633 Fabio may not be from Livorno 720 00:40:45,700 --> 00:40:49,766 but he can definitely cook a cacciucco. 721 00:40:58,066 --> 00:40:59,500 These are ingredients rooted 722 00:40:59,566 --> 00:41:01,566 in both the poor fishing community 723 00:41:01,633 --> 00:41:05,166 and in Livorno's immigrant past. 724 00:41:05,233 --> 00:41:08,033 It's a part of Tuscany's history on a plate. 725 00:41:11,633 --> 00:41:13,466 And Fabio's not finished. 726 00:41:13,533 --> 00:41:15,266 In true Tuscan tradition, 727 00:41:15,333 --> 00:41:18,300 creativity is everything and nothing goes to waste, 728 00:41:18,366 --> 00:41:22,700 so he whips up a whole second course with the leftover sauce. 729 00:41:27,100 --> 00:41:29,300 You have all the flavors of the sea, 730 00:41:29,366 --> 00:41:31,500 otherwise what would you do with that? 731 00:41:31,566 --> 00:41:33,033 Beautiful. 732 00:41:33,100 --> 00:41:36,033 A sauce that he had left, it only makes sense. 733 00:41:38,233 --> 00:41:41,166 It's the best, best thing in the world. 734 00:41:41,233 --> 00:41:43,466 [SPEAKS ITALIAN] 735 00:41:43,533 --> 00:41:45,000 Cheers. 736 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:50,166 I feel very lucky that my parents followed their hearts 737 00:41:50,233 --> 00:41:51,466 and moved us across the world 738 00:41:51,533 --> 00:41:54,400 for a year when we were just kids. 739 00:41:54,466 --> 00:41:57,766 I saw how the food of both rich and poor came together 740 00:41:58,033 --> 00:42:01,433 in this corner of Italy that's like nowhere on Earth... 741 00:42:01,500 --> 00:42:02,500 Wow 742 00:42:02,566 --> 00:42:04,200 ...and nearly 50 years later, 743 00:42:04,266 --> 00:42:07,200 I still keep coming back for more.