All language subtitles for italy3

[upbeat music]

So Bologna.

I haven'’t been here
for a very long time.

Very happy to be back.

The people of Bologna
have been hit hard

by the Covid pandemic.

But I'’ve arrived during
a brief moment of normality

when lockdown has been lifted

restaurants are filling up
and masks are optional outside.

Bologna is
an ancient university town

the oldest in the western world

brought to life by students
flaunting their youth.

This bread is an aphrodisiac.

I'’m all alone in a hotel.
Why would I want to do that?

This place is rich

and its food is famous.

Some bold souls whisper
that it'’s the best in Italy.

[Massimo] Smell, smell, smell!
The smell is unbelievable.

I'’m Stanley Tucci.
I'’m Italian on both sides

and I'’m traveling
across Italy to discover

how the food in each
of this country'’s 20 regions

is as unique as
the people and their past.

Anger, religion,
and death in one pasta.

It has everything in it.

I'’m here to discover
why this place is home

to the gastronomic superstars
of the nation'’s food...

[Nicola] This is made with love.

...and how an obsession
with perfection...

[woman] Every cut is perfect.

...drives its producers.

Will you marry me?

And people here
really know how to wait

for the best things in life.

[Massimo] Slow, slowly,
slowly

arrive at the point
of excellence.

And because
they'’ve waited...

[man] 25 years old.

Whoa!
It really is good.

So good!
Oh my God!

I don't have to.

So good!

It's just one of the most
delicious things on Earth.

[Upbeat Jazz-style music]

For a greedy man

this place is the gigantic
deli of my dreams.

But don'’t fret, I have
the metabolism of a teenager.

Bologna is the capital
of Emilia-Romagna

a wealthy region
that straddles Italy

and is cocooned
between the Adriatic Sea

and the Apennine mountains.

It'’s a lush land
of fertile river valleys

stuffed with livestock
and billowing soft wheat.

No wonder it'’s also bred one
of the world'’s best chefs.

[Upbeat swing-style music]

Buckle up.

I know you can only see
a blur with glasses

but that'’s me in the car
tearing around the roads

of Modena province

in the tender care
of Massimo Bottura

a man who likes fast cars

slow food

and Michelin stars.

He'’s got three of them.

Next time do it faster.

[Massimo] I love this place.

He'’s taking me
behind the scenes

at the Rosola dairy in Zocca

which is about 30 miles
outside Bologna.

I'’m playing it cool.

[Stanley groaning
enthusiastically]

Che belle!
Really!

Jesus Christ!

This is where
Massimo'’s been coming

to get his beloved Parmigiano
for the past 20 years.

Oh my God!

This is unique.

[Massimo] The only Parmigiano
that can be fire-stamped

is from the white cows.

-Right.
-This is a very, very

small production and
extremely high-quality.

Milk is king
in Emilia-Romagna.

The white cows are
the Bianca Modenese breed

unique to the valley
of theRiver Po

that runs through this region.

[Massimo] Bravo, bravo!

Emilia-Romagna'’s
medieval monks

hungry for a
long-lasting cheese...

It looks like a magic act.

...invented parmigiano.

Thank God for them.

Three, two, one,

Open!

Oh my God.

Smell, smell, smell!
This smell is unbelievable.

-The smell is unbelievable.
-Oh my God!

[Massimo in Italian]
Ladies, ladies.

That's too much.

Wow, fá*ák!

I mean, yes.

Gino'’s up at 5am

pouring the morning
milk into copper vats

massaging the
pampered cheeses

and running them salt baths
that last for 19 days.

[Massimo] You have to love
the ingredients

you have to caress them.

Hi, dear ingredient.
Hi, love parmigiano.

Both Gino and Massimo
see these cheeses

not as mere products,
but as precious babies.

Ones happily
that you can eat.

What am I gonna do with you?

You are just born!

[Massimo] This is the cheese
of this morning.

It'’s called tosone.

Taste it,
it'’s unbelievable.

It'’s so good.

It'’s like...

It's like mozzarella, no?

The back taste of mozzarella
but less intense.

It's so good.
Oh my God!

Five hundred and
fifty liters of milk

compressed into this.

Every morning.

As demand for milk
grew in the 1960s

the white cows
were nearly forsaken

for the more bountiful udders
of foreign Friesian cows.

-Were they almost extinct?
-Almost.

-Really?
-There were very few left.

And how long will you age this?

Thirty-six months...

forty and 50.

One of Massimo'’s iconic dishes

is Five Ages of Parmigiano

which, as the name suggests,

is a love letter to this cheese.

In my mind there was this idea

of expressing
with one ingredient

the slowly aging process
in Emilia-Romagna.

Actually,
the ingredients were two,

Parmigiano-Reggiano and time.

-Time.
-Time.

-Yeah.
-Wait, wait.

Grow slow like a tree,
big, deep roots.

It just gets more
and more intense--

More and more...
More pleasure.

The people here have
perfected the aging process

to create iconic products from
simple, quality ingredients.

And nothing is wasted.

Gino will use the liquid whey

from this parmigiano-making
process

to produce fresh ricotta.

When the milk is coming up,
it'’s ready.

If you'’re feeling
hungry already

you may want to close
your eyes at this point.

- Prego.
-I'll go for this one.

-[Massimo] I know, I know.
-[Stanley] No.

Oh my God!

It'’s so fresh that you can
taste the grass and herbs

the cows have eaten.

It's so good!

-Warm, just baked.
-Mmm.

It makes you feel
like you'’re a child.

- Mamma mia.
- EÈ una bomba.

EÈ una bomba, it's a bomb!

I'’ve never had
ricotta like that.

No, never.

This is... Jesus.
Put that in my car.

-Thank you so much!
-No problem.

[Car engine whirring]

Massimo is whisking me back
to the country home

and art hotel of the Botturas

on the outskirts of Modena,

Casa Maria Luigia

named after his mother.

Because of the pandemic,

his team led by
Canadian chef, Jessica,

have gotten used
to cooking outside.

[Massimo] The ricotta
we had this morning

is going in there.

[Stanley] A pizza oven?

[Massimo] A wood-burning
pizza oven and

we have aggressive cooking

to give it
this crunchiness on top.

With ingredients this good,
simplicity is key.

Local wood is piled high
in the hot oven

and the ricotta is tucked away,
roasting for just a few minutes

to crisp up

while the flatbreads

cook in these traditional
circular flints

at the oven door.

[Massimo] Then we're gonna add
a little bit of vinegar

some honey that we produce
here in Maria Luigia

[Jessica] ...and a little bit
of fire and that'’s it.

You trained with Massimo.
Did you speak Italian before?

-No, I learned it here.
-Wow!

-In the kitchen.
-That's incredibly brave.

I was learning from the cooks

so I was pretty much saying bad
words for the first six months.

So this is
the elderflower vinegar?

Look how crusty and
beautiful it is.

Jesus, look at that.

Almost ready to taste it.

Oh with the balsamic.

[Stanley] Oh come on.

[Massimo] This is like
the crunchy part of the lasagne.

It's exactly the same.

[Stanley] That everybody
fights over.

[Massimo] Yeah.

That'’s beautiful, beautiful.

Mmm, oh my God!

[Massimo laughing]

It's so good.

You can't stop eating
this kind of stuff.

[Massimo] It'’s almost a dessert.

[Stanley] The vinegar
with the honey...

Oh wow!

Wow!
That's delicious.

You forget that you'’re making
a television show

and you'’re like,
"what'’s that guy doing here?"

[Upbeat jazz music]

Bologna is the poster child
for liberal Italy.

Imagine San Francisco
and you'’re in the ballpark.

The city is famously
known as the Fat

for its rich food...

the Wise for the university...

and the Red
for its leftist politics.

I'’ve come to meet
Mattia Santori,

one of the leaders
of the Sardines movement.

That'’s a rebel
alliance by the way

not something bad that happens

after eating
too much oily fish.

He'’s an accidental
political hero

and he loves food.

- Ciao.
-Hi Stanley.

-Nice to meet you.
- Ciao.

Matteo Salvini!

The Sardines mobilized

when right-wing politician,
Matteo Salvini,

campaigned here in
the winter of 2019

during regional
elections for the League,

an anti-immigration
populist party.

Salvini is kind
of a Donald Trump,

a little Donald Trump in Italy

and it was last November

and Salvini was launching
the campaign

in Emilia-Romagna from Bologna.

So we said, "Let's
organize something different"

and we founded the Sardines.

So we said...

"You better better be like
Salvini or like Sardines."

Sardines because in Italy,
we say

to be crowded like sardines.

-Right.
-So we wanted all the people

like 6,000 people to be
on the middle of the square.

[Mattia] And finally 20,000
people came...

-20,000 people showed up?
-...on that night. Yeah.

[Stanley] Jesus.

[Mattia] And the picture
of the square crowd was

the most famous
picture of the day.

[Stanley] And it really
created a movement.

[Mattia] Yeah it was like this
from the south to the far north.

And since then, Salvini?

-Finally, he lost the elections.
-Yeah.

Will you go into politics?

I don'’t think so because I...

I dress like a normal guy,

my hair is a disaster.

I can'’t help thinking that

this dashing
Italian Che Guevara

is too modest.

We'’re gonna eat something

but it'’s lunchtime

and he knows
the best deli in town.

So, I'’m saying nothing.

[Stanley] Oh my God!

If one goes to heaven
this is probably it.

Alright let'’s go get some.

We'’re homing in
on the cold cuts.

-Mortadella.
-[vendor] Mortadella?

One can'’t have too much
mortadella in this life.

This city has always been
a multicultural melting pot

and this finely-ground
pork sausage

definitely has some German
influences cooked into it.

-Two hundred grams.
-Two hundred, yeah

which is a lot but...

I'’m starving,
you're starving too.

I'm starving.

Spiked with peppercorns
and pistachios,

mortadella is also
beautifully bejeweled

with white polka dots
of sweet fat

from pigs' throats.

Back in the 17th century

mortadella became one of the
earliest protected products

with an official
decree from the Church

outlining the recipe
and ingredients.

[Italian music]

[Mattia] Ciao, buongiorno.

[Stanley] Buongiorno.

This osteria dates back
to the 15th century.

Really?

You could buy wine but not food.

So it was only to meet people.

They play cards

they talk about politics.

- Buon appetito.
- Buon appetito.

-So simple, so good.
-Cheers, so good.

That's so good!

Mortadella is what
gave birth to baloney.

-Yeah.
-American baloney

doesn't taste like this.

Mortadella is also known
as Bologna sausage,

hence the slightly
mangled translation

that we have in the States,
baloney.

Give me the original any day.

It'’s so silky,
garlicky and sweet.

I love it.

Food and politics
go hand in hand

for Mattia and his Sardines

and they are now volunteering

to feed
the city'’s most vulnerable

during the pandemic.

The remarkable
Roberto Morgantini

is the founder of these
People'’s Kitchens.

Ah, ciao, ciao.

[greeting in Italian]

Oh, wow!

That's fantastic.

Fresh egg pasta
made from soft wheat

is a great speciality
in this region.

These tortellini

rather charmingly nicknamed
Venus'’ belly button

have been feeding the Bolognesi

for over 500 years.

Food and love combine

as volunteers take
supermarket donations

and whip them up
into little parcels of joy.

The smell is incredible.

Demand has doubled
since the Covid pandemic...

and communal tables

where guests
normally eat together,

lonely retirees,

refugees and the unemployed
rubbing shoulders

have been replaced with daily
takeouts for 500 people.

[Volunteer in Italian]
Forty-six!

-And you are?
-Elsa.

Elsa.

Good food is something that
just makes everything better

and it'’s the key to good health.

This is,
this is a saving grace.

[Upbeat piano music]

-Hello.
-Ciao.

Ciao Stanley, nice to meet you.
Please.

You have such good taste
in clothing.

[Laughing] Absolutely.

I'’m on the trail of another
gastronomic superstar

of the region.

The Giusti company make
traditional balsamic vinegar

using grapes from
just outside Modena.

And this isn'’t just
any old vinegar.

This is black gold.

So, Claudio is it your family?

Yes it'’s actually my family.

We count the generations
and they are 17.

You're kidding, wow!
So what year is that?

Sixteen zero five.

-More than 400 years.
-For more than 400 years.

That's incredible!

Yes my fellow Americans,

the Giusti family has been
making vinegar since 1605

when the Mayflower pilgrims
were still in Sunday school.

So, both red and white grapes?

Both red and white.
We'’ve got Trebbiano...

-Trebbiano.
-San Giovese and Lambrusco.

The nature
of the region'’s grapes

led to the happy accident
of balsamic vinegar.

Low in tannins
and quick to ferment,

they turn more easily
into vinegar than fine wine.

I keep hearing
that it'’s a trait of Emilians

that you take something that
isn'’t quite what it should be

and turn it into
something special.

In the end it becomes
even super special.

-Alright, let's go look at them.
-Okay, please follow me.

But we'’re not heading down
to a damp wine cellar,

we'’re heading
upstairs to an attic,

the traditional place
for aging vinegars

so they're exposed
to changing temperatures.

[Claudio] We actually are

in the heart
of the most ancient collection

of casks that we'’ve got.

[Stanley] This says from 1600.

In balsamic vinegar,
the older the better

because balsamic vinegar

So, a family will never
throw away their old cask.

[Claudio] In each of these rows
of casks

You find your own
balance with the taste.

It'’s a very artisanal method

That's incredible.

[Claudio] With this tool
called "ladro,"

Beppe is actually
moving some vinegar

from the second
to the first cask.

Beppe, straight from his last
film as Pinocchio'’s dad,

is playing
the wise vinegar taster.

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
it's like a ruby red.

so it's ready when the person
will get married.

I love that.

[Stanley] Let's
drink, let's taste.

I've cracked.

Enough of the history

-Let's try it, let's do it.
-Take a spoon.

I'’m thirsty for vinegar.

And you actually
taste it on a spoon.

This is actually the
five gold medals.

The flavor is very long
in your mouth.

[Upbeat swing music]

Ooh.

It really is good.

And here you tasted
the king of balsamic vinegar,

twenty-five years old.

Imagine that to get
one liter of this,

you need to start
from 100kg of grapes.

Wow, look at that!
Oh my God.

See there'’s still more perfume,
more intensity,

it's harmonic.

-Whoa!
-So there is a series--

-It's soft and sweet--
-...of flavors,

harmonic, balanced.

-...and acidy and everything.
-Yes.

I remember when it really
become very popular

and then people were
using it on everything.

-Yes.
-On actually, too many things.

Never too many!

Traditional
balsamic vinegar

is just one of a staggering
44 protected food products

in Emilia-Romagna.

This place has more than
any other region in Italy.

So how are they effortlessly

producing all
of these famous delicacies?

Parmigiano, balsamic vinegar

and prosciutto.

To find out, I'’m heading
to the hills outside Modena

to meet my friend,
Massimo Bottura, again

-What do you have?
-I have some products.

...and his wife,
Lara Gilmore,

who runs
their incredible restaurant...

Many ingredients come out
of what you have available

-Right.
-...in your back yard.

...to discover the secrets

of why this area is
famously known

as Food Valley.

The Po River is
the longest in Italy

and its fertile flood plain
has made this region

an agricultural powerhouse.

The extraordinary
Food Valley

lies between
the Po river in the north

and the Apennine mountains
to the south.

That'’s Modena.

It's hazy today.

-Oh, that's Modena.
-That's Modena

down in the valley

and we have
the Apennines behind us.

So, when you look at
a place like Parma,

the reason those hams
are aged so well

and have a particular flavor
is because a crosswind

blows all the way down
into the valley.

The valley then heads out
to the Adriatic Sea

and creates
this kind of microclimate.

-[Massimo] It's about the fog.
-[Lara laughs]

-Oh fog!
-Oh fog!

Oh fog, thanks to you!

The fog and humidity

really makes
the difference in all this.

The humidity that comes
from the Apennines,

that protects from South

is cool but not too cool.

Hot summer, cold winter

and creates
the perfect microclimate

in Emilia-Romagna.

Even the region'’s
beloved fresh pasta

is explained
by this humid climate

which means soft wheat
can grow here,

a very different breed

from the heat-loving,
dry durum wheat of the south.

If you don'’t believe in God

you believe in Tortellini
in Modena, you know?

You understand?
It'’s like a religion!

And Nobody'’s tortellini

are as good as
your grandmother'’s.

It's true.

Massimo grew up in Modena

and is obsessive
about the local foods

that shaped his childhood.

If you check my blood,
there'’s balsamic vinegar.

In the summer,
the vinegar is alive.

-Right.
-And in the winter

it goes to bed

and stays there
and relaxes for six months

-Right.
-...until spring is coming

and it's getting to life again

and again and again and again.

Slow, slowly, slowly arrives
at the point of excellence.

So the food of Emilia-Romagna
could only be made here

because of this
incredible alchemy

of its unique
geography and climate.

I promise never
to complain about fog again.

[Upbeat jazzy music]

-[Slow, upbeat music]
-[Pigs oink]

This is the land of pig.

Glorious pigs.

The beautiful creatures dot
the hills of Emilia-Romagna

and I'’ve come
to the second biggest city

in the region, Parma,

where these pigs
are used to make

something I can never resist...

prosciutto.

[bells ringing]

[lively violin music]

It's really incredible.

I didn'’t know there were
these many pigs in the world.

Well, there aren'’t anymore.

This is a shrine
to piggies past.

Their sacrifice was worth it.

And fittingly,
for something so heavenly

this ham has
its own guardian angels

to protect its reputation.

I'’ve slipped on
this cute outfit

to join
the ham quality inspectors.

Even my nostrils
are salivating.

Salt is the only
preservative allowed

before the hams are aged
for at least 14 months

with that foggy air
wafting around them

and doing its magic.

They are skewering the hams

with one of the tools
of their trade,

a horse bone,
clean and scentless

to check for quality.

No defects.

This may seem like
the best job in the world,

but it'’s also deadly serious.

DNA tests are now mandatory

to check the pedigree
of these pigs

because
of widespread corruption.

Back in 2017,

a criminal racket was exposed

hustling fake prosciutto
di Parma.

A huge operation
by the fraud squad

involving phone tapping
and undercover surveillance

resulted in
the ringleaders being jailed

and over a million
fake hams confiscated.

The industry is still reeling
from the scandal

-Alessia, nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you too.

I'’m meeting
Alessia Cerantola,

an Italian journalist
who brought the story

of the biggest food fraud
in the country'’s history

to the nation'’s TV screens.

This is what you
see on every ham.

It is what should be protected.

Tell me everything.

Breeders
started importing sperm

from Danish pigs.

-The sperm and the pigs?
-Both the sperm and the pigs.

Why the Danish pigs?

The first is that
they produce more piglets

and the second reason is that
they produce more meat.

More meat.

So breeders have larger
margins of profit.

A DOP product costs

at least twice
more than a normal product.

Under the strict rules
of this protected product,

the pigs must be
of pure Italian bloodstock.

-So, they were just cheating.
-Just cheating...

-Yeah.
-Yes.

and also compromising those

who are still producing
according to traditional rules.

Was there one person in
particular who blew the whistle?

We had a source

who approached us
with the documents.

Then we started our research.

How many different breeders
were doing this?

Dozens of breeders
were involved.

Dozens of them?

-Wow.
-Yes.

[Upbeat music]

Nicola Salvadori is one
of Parma'’s gourmet deli owners

and a prosciutto
di Parma obsessive.

But will I, a devoted foodie,

know a fake
when I taste one side by side

with his premium product?

[Nicola[ For me it'’s like
a religion, it'’s not like a job.

Because the pork here in Parma

is everything.

[Stanley] Fantastic!

When we are babies we grow up
with this more than the milk.

This is all my life.

-Your whole life?
-Yeah.

So, what is this one?

This is 26.

-Twenty-six.
-Months, yeah.

Here you have fiocco

and here you have
the culatello.

This is amazing.

This is my favorite part
because it'’s very fat.

We'’ll mix the taste of both.

It'’s incredible.

-Here...
-Yeah.

-...near to the two bones.
-Okay.

-Oh yeah.
-Here you can taste the fat.

-Yeah.
-Here, you can taste the meat.

-It's more nutty.
-Yeah, exactly.

- Il fiocco.
- Fiocco.

Nicola has rustled up a platter
of the two proscuitti.

But will the Danish
fake be obvious?

So, what do you think?

This doesn't even look
like prosciutto.

No.
It'’s just dry meat.

Yeah.

This is made for the people
who want to go to the gym

and grow up muscles.

Nicola has a point about
the tastes of fitness fanatics.

The lack of visible fat

has definitely been part
of the allure

of this Danish pig prosciutto.

Nothing.

-It's acidy.
-Yeah.

It doesn'’t do it
for me though.

I can'’t believe
that'’s what they were selling.

And the people buying.

This is incredible.

Look at this.
This is made with love.

It's different than the others,
it's amazing.

Look at this.

-That's beautiful.
-Another planet.

[Italian accordion plays]

As soon as it hits your tongue,

-it'’s instantaneous.
-Butter on the tongue.

That'’s the prosciutto
that we all know and love

and this is an interloper.

When that scandal happened...

-Disgusted.
-...you were disgusted by it.

Because you can'’t let
the integrity of this disappear

because that's just one of the
most delicious things on Earth.

[piano plays jazz tune]

[lively music]

So, I just can'’t ignore
Spaghetti Bolognese

any longer.

The dish
that this city of Bologna

famously gave it'’s name to.

Everyone is convinced
that they know

what should be in this recipe.

So I'’m heading east

to the birthplace
of Italy'’s culinary Godfather,

Pellegrino Artusi

to sniff out it'’s roots.

Rural Romagna joined with
the wealthy cities of Emilia

in the 1940s
to create the region.

And the town of Forlimpopoli

is home to the Artusi Museum...

a shrine
for a food lover like me.

[cheerful piano tune]

At the end of the 19th century

Artusi,
a 71-year-old businessman,

wrote the first cookery book

to unify Italy'’s regional
specialities

into a cohesive
national cuisine.

Mmm.

Artusi'’s book was
a sensational hit

and his mailbox

was soon jammed
with recipe suggestions

for the next edition.

Squid ink risotto.
Oh my God,

Literally one of my favorite
things in the world.

Barbara Asioli is
an Artusi disciple

who assists in the cookery
classes here at the museum.

Let's go!

And happily, Barbara'’s
invited me to her place

to try Artusi'’s version
of Bolognese ragu,

the first recorded recipe
of the famous meat sauce.

[Barbara] It'’s similar
but it's different.

Welcome to my house, Mr Tucci.

It's beautiful.

For Italians, Artusi'’s book

"Science in the Kitchen
and the Art of Eating Well"

is their second Bible.

-That'’s fantastic.
-1952.

Yeah.

-Small?
-Small and...

a quarter onion,
and half a carrot.

I have to take my glasses off.

And we chop.

Small.

I think the thing that'’s
interesting about the recipe

is that so many chefs have so
many different versions of this.

Some people say you can use
tomato, no you don'’t use tomato,

use milk, you don'’t use milk,
you use nutmeg.

It shouldn'’t be too tomatoey,
that'’s for sure.

I don'’t think.

Although my mother
makes it tomatoey

and it'’s pretty delicious.

There isn'’t tomato sauce
in here.

-No tomato sauce?
-No.

-This recipe, only butter.
-Only butter?

In Artusi'’s recipe

the meat, delicate veal
and salty bacon,

are cooked at the same time
as the chopped vegetables.

-Everything all together?
-Yes.

So you just put big pieces
of bacon in like that.

-You don't cook that first?
-No.

I've never done that.

Maybe that'’s why
mine isn'’t so good.

and a pinch of nutmeg.

But like most cooks
in this region,

there'’s only one pasta
Barbara would consider using

and it ain'’t spaghetti, folks.

Here are my tagliatelle,

handmade pasta.

Beautiful.

The local, fresh tagliatelle
of Emilia-Romagna

grips the sauce far better

than dried, southern spaghetti
ever could.

Parmigiano Reggiano,

aged 24 months.

-I'm ready.
-You're ready?

-Yeah.
-Oh, thank God.

Don'’t judge me.

I'’ve had to wait 10 torturous
minutes for it to cook.

-Enjoy it.
-Oh, thank you.

Artusi uses lean veal so it'’s
a much quicker ragu to make

than a modern, slow-cooked
beef Bolognese.

Oh, bello.

It'’s smells incredible.

-Oh yes, yes, yes. Cheers.
-Cheers.

Is it good?

Very good.

So good!

This is what
I've been trying to do...

at home...

but I have never achieved it.

Now I know how to do it

-because of you, yes.
-Thank you.

Will you marry me?

Oh, your husband's here,
forget about it.

[jazzy piano music]

I'’ve traveled
further into Romagna

to the coastal town of Rimini.

This place is where ordinary
Italians come to play

flirt and tan by the sea.

This is really beautiful.

Often looked down on
by the rich cities of Emilia,

this is an unpretentious
working-class playground

built on the rubble left
by Second World War bombs.

Obviously, I'’m here to eat.

[soft music]

Director Federico Fellini is
Rimini'’s most famous son

and it's his films
that have given the world

the iconic,
romantic image of Italy

that persists today
and casts Italians

as a fiery, passionate people

driven by their hearts
and stomachs.

Fellini'’s childhood
here in Rimini

was the inspiration for many
of his dreamily surreal

and unbearably sexy movies.

I'’m meeting his niece,
Francesca Fellini.

Amarcord is Fellini'’s
semi-autobiographical movie

about a young boy growing up
in fascist Rimini

in the 1930s

and the tensions in
and out of the home.

He was very particular
about his food

so that when he would come here
and visit he would ask--

My mother,
the sister of Federico.

...to cook very specific things.

Of course.

He'’d taken the phone and say,
"I'’m just arriving

"in a few hours in Rimini,"

and for my mommy,
that was great!

Even when he became
a world-famous director,

Fellini still craved

the simple local dishes
of his hometown.

He said, "Life is a combination
of magic and pasta."

Federico would adore
this kind of place,

this kind of restaurant.

So, Francesca is taking me
to a local place

where they still make
specialities he loved

like cappelletti, pasta parcels

traditionally eaten in broth
on Christmas day.

Can I introduce you
to Alessandra,

the queen of pasta in Romagna?

Yes, yes! Alessandra,
it's nice to meet you.

-Are you hungry?
-Yes.

So cappeletti

-Like a priest'’s hat.
-Yes.

Rural Romagna was
under the control of the Papacy

for centuries

so it'’s not surprising
that this pasta

refers to the Catholic
Cardinals' jaunty hats.

And above all, Romagna smile!

They are good eggs.

It'’s important that
the dough is very thin.

You almost wanna be able to see
your hand through it, right?

-Yes.
-Beautiful.

Oh, I see.

Yeah, she is.

Alessandra is also
makingstrozzapreti

which literally means
"priest choker,"

a speciality born
of necessity and poverty

using just water,
flour and a little salt.

[Alessandra]
Every cut is perfect.

-Would choke.
-Would choke with this pasta.

That'’s funny.

It has everything in it.

Revolution, anger,
religion and death.

-And death.
-In a little thing of pasta.

Fantastic.

-So...
-Cappelletti in broth.

-You have to try it.
-Yes.

[Upbeat jazzy piano]

Something special?

Mmm, oh my God!

That'’s great!

You have to try
also strozzapreti.

Hopefully we're not gonna choke.

Oh my God!

The only reason you
would choke on them

is if you ate them too fast.

Because they were so good.

[Francesca] It'’s really full
of emotion.

[Stanley] Yeah because
you used to come here, right?

[Francesca] Yes.

We'’re ending the day
with an aperitivo

at Fellini'’s favourite haunt,
the Grand Hotel.

I consider Federico
my magician,

a magician in my life.

Grazie.

The pasta of Romagna
demonstrates how ingenious

the people
of this region are.

Cheers.

The unique climate,
some strict rules,

and a few simple,
quality ingredients

are all they need to
conjure up a kind of magic

[Francesca]
Bellissimo!

and create
incredible dishes

that are famous
the world over.