All language subtitles for italy6

[TUCCI] I have driven
in Italy quite a bit.

But I did say to one guy
when I was doing a movie,

I said, "It's very interesting,

people don'’t really stop
at stop lights that much."

And he goes, "No, no, no.

The stop light is
just a suggestion."

There's nowhere on Earth
quite like Tuscany.

The land is idyllic,

the art is divine

and the food is out
of this world.

[TUCCI] Oh my god.

It just melts in your mouth.

[LAUGHS]

I'm Stanley Tucci,

I'm fascinated
by my Italian heritage.

So, I'm traveling across Italy

to discover how the food,

in each of this country's
twenty regions,

is as unique
as the people and their past.

The creations of famous Tuscans
are known the world over.

Michelangelo, I think if he were
to come back today, he'd be able

to walk around Florence.
It hasn'’t changed.

But it's the hands
of the ordinary people...

[Chef] We fold it like this.

...that have crafted
the incredible food here.

It's like a Christmas
in your mouth, yeah.

This is a place built
on human ingenuity,

mind-boggling riches
and an insane amount of bread.

I really don'’t know how
they eat this much bread.

It's delicious but so hot.

All great love affairs
start somewhere.

And for me...

my love of Italy started
right here, in Florence,

when I was just 12 years old.

That's delicious.

You have to taste that.

Like this tartlet filled with
rice pudding, I mean, come on.

There'’s always
something wonderful

to discover in Florence.

The city is the capital
of Tuscany.

500 years ago,
it was the playground

of some of the richest
families on Earth.

In the countryside,

they used their land
to cultivate

the finest produce and cattle

And in the city they bankrolled

the incredible
explosion of art,

science and architecture
known as the Renaissance.

I love that just about
everywhere you turn

there'’s something incredible to
see.

The chance to actually
live among these treasures,

even just for a year,

lured a young family from
suburban New York to Florence

nearly 50 years ago.

It seems that no matter
where you are,

you can always see
that Duomo.

My family.

Meet Joan and Stan Tucci.

[STAN] I have a photograph
of this, do you remember?

Back in 1972 we moved here

because my dad was
a high school art teacher

taking a year off
to follow his dream.

-[STAN] Oh my Lord.
-[TUCCI] That's unbelievable.

-[STAN] All that foreshortening.
-[TUCCI] I know.

-[STAN] How incredible is that?
-That's incredible.

My Dad came to study figure
drawing and sculpture here.

[TUCCI] Look at it, when you
really look

and you see that perspective,

-I can't see that far.
-It's staggering.

-It hurts my neck.
-Does it?

-Yeah.
-Lay down.

[LAUGHS]

At nearly 400 feet,

the Duomo is still the tallest
structure in Florence.

It took 16 years to build,

and to hurry things along,

the genius architect,
Brunelleschi,

came up with a way
to slash lunch breaks.

The workmen,
when they were building this,

guys had to come down
and make their lunch,

they would lose all this time.

So he found out what
they were cooking

and he put ovens
up there

and he would just cook up there,
make their lunch up there.

-That doesn'’t sound... Really?
-Supposedly.

Money was tight
on our year abroad,

so our family lived in slightly
less grandeur than this...

This is a lot cleaner than
it used to be.

It'’s very clean.

...just north of the city
center, in this building.

Not the whole thing,
you understand.

[TUCCI] So our apartment was
those four windows?

One, two, three, four?
That was us

-on the end there, right?
-Yeah.

[JOAN] It was nice.

-[TUCCI] You'd never traveled.
-[JOAN] No.

My parents, you know,
mom and pop, said,

"Why are you going?"
You know.

Your parents, who
came from Italy?

Who came from Italy

-It was Florence, not Colobraro.
-Didn'’t want you to go to Italy.

But it worked out.

It was fun.
-I think everybody ended up

getting a great deal out of it.

I came for sculpture,
certainly Joan,

with all the food, cooking...

-It changed everything.
-It changed everything.

-It changed everything
for me, certainly.

While my father
was studying art,

my mom was studying something
just as beautiful,

the local cuisine.

One of these because
it'’s so big?

No, a little more.

Little more.

It didn'’t know how to cook
when we got married.

Didn't even know
how to boil water.

While she was here,

my mother was also inspired by
the spirit of the Renaissance

and set out to discover
the art of Italian cooking.

When we lived in Florence
when everyone was in school,

I would learn to make
different recipes. I loved it.

My mother soon found the key

that unlocks so much
of Italian cooking.

A simple combination of
carrots, celery, and onions.

Fried up together,
it'’s called the soffritto.

[JOAN] Looking good,
what do you think, Stan?

[TUCCI] Yeah, it's good.

[JOAN] Throw the tomato in?

It'’s the base of countless
Italian dishes,

including today'’s offering.

A Tucci family favorite called
Salsa Maria Rosa.

[TUCCI] Now, put some
water in it.

[JOAN] Put some water
in it, yeah.

It'’s a delicious
vegetable sauce

and we named it after
a beloved neighbor

here in Florence,

who showed mom how to
make it all those years ago.

In the fine tradition
of Tuscan home cooking,

it'’s cheap, nutritious
and full of tomato.

-[TUCCI] I make it quite often.
-[JOAN] Do you? Yeah.

[TUCCI] Of course, yeah.
The kids love it.

But here'’s the thing,

every time my mother comes
to visit, which is too often.

-Alright.
-Alright, anyway.

I always go, "Can you
show me how to make this?",

but mine still doesn'’t turn out
the way hers turns out.

I don'’t get it.

-I think that's it, Stan.
-I think we did it.

[JOAN] We did it.

-We did it.
-Nice.

[TUCCI] There we go.

[JOAN] It'’s nice to have help.
I love it, it'’s fun.

That's my hobby.

But I don'’t have anyone

to cook for anymore.
I miss my grandchildren.

Oh don'’t, don't.

But you could move to England.
If this series does well...

-If this series does well.
-Which series?

The one we'’re shooting
right now.

I got news for ya.

[LAUGHS]

The time we shared in Florence
changed everything for us.

-Finally, you're here.
-Yes.

After a year spent in the
home of the Renaissance,

we returned to America
as a family reborn.

It'’s so delicate,
this sauce too, isn'’t it?

You smell the sweetness
of the carrot and the butter.

Our eyes had been opened

to some of the
greatest treasures on Earth

and some pretty good food too.

It's so good.

For me, it was the start

of a lifelong love affair
with Italy.

-Cheers.
-Cheers.

Thank you,
thank you.

-To Florence.
-Thank you, cheers.

There'’s a family whose name
hangs over this region

like the hot Tuscan sun.

Their astonishing wealth

made them one of the most
powerful families

on Earth
back in the 1500s.

They practically bankrolled
the Renaissance,

paying for artists
and scientists

like Michelangelo and Galileo

to remake the world.

[TUCCI] How many days
a week are you here?

They are the Medici.

So come in.

And I'm going to meet
one of them.

You are in a place

that the Florentines call
'‘The Casino de Medici'’.

And this is a place created
as a scientific laboratory

the Medici wanted all the
bright minds in Europe

to come here

and to create new things

and to experiment with science,
with the arts,

with food, with spices.

So it was like you say
a think tank.

A think tank.

-Or a taste tank.
-Exactly.

Expert Art Restorer,
Daniela Murphy,

is sneaking me in
for an audience

with the most powerful
Medici of them all.

-Where is he?
-He's right, right there.

Oh my.

Meet Cosimo Primo de Medici.

He led the family at their
dizzying height

in the 1500s.

In this fresco,
undergoing restoration,

he'’s become so powerful

he'’s being crowned
Grand Duke of Tuscany

by the Pope himself

He marries an extremely
wealthy woman,

the Spanish princess'
Eleanor de Toledo.

Not only does she bring
a lot of money

but she brings a lot of the new
spices from the New World.

The chocolates, the coffee,

Everything that is the cuisine.

That'’s when the tomato arrived?

That's when it arrives
more or less in that era then.

Which completely
altered Italian...

Completely.

-Completely.
-...cuisine

Medici money cultivated this
city, and the arts

and the ideas that grew here
in the Renaissance

changed how we all
see the world.

But this family also changed
the way things taste.

It may seem a long way
from Michelangelo

to the greatest T-bone steak
you'’ve ever eaten,

but the Medici
had a hand in that too.

Secret.

Fabio Picchi may look

like he'’s fallen out of
a Renaissance painting,

but he'’s actually
a renowned chef,

a born and bred Florentine,

and a master of meat.

Back in the 1500s

most people wouldn'’t even
get close

to cuts of meat this good.

Tuscany'’s famous Chianina
cattle needed lots of land,

that was hugely expensive
to run.

Of course, the Medici didn'’t
need to worry about that.

But why?

500 years later, thankfully
you don'’t need to be

a Grand Duke to enjoy
steaks this big,

and Fabio wants to cook for me
Tuscany'’s signature dish,

the magnificent
bistecca alla Fiorentina.

Good.

And in case lunch isn'’t looking
worthy enough

of, like, ten men,

Fabio picks out
a little appetizer,

yet another cut of meat.

We head back to the deli
Fabio owns.

Thank you. Oh, look at that,
look at the flowers.

He hurries us past any food
that hasn'’t had a pulse.

And we head up to his hideaway
on the roof,

where he does his cooking.

Oh my god. Come on.

We'’re starting with
the Chianina beef,

the Medici family
favorite.

The cattle has grazed
the Tuscan fields

for 2,000 years.

They'’re of such high quality,

that we'’re eating it raw.

Oh my god.

That's the best sushi
I've ever had.

[LAUGHS]

And now, the main event.

So what he'’s doing now
he says, this is, the secret--

[FABIO] The family secret.

Besides excessive
amounts of salt.

So the little sort of wisps
of olive branch

like this in the fire.

So you're getting,
you're getting

the flavor of those
olive branches.

It gives it a very
distinctive taste.

During the Renaissance,

the Medici lit fires around
the city on feast days

and handed out roast beef
to the common people.

Most of the time though,

they kept this amazing
meat for themselves.

This one actually
comes from the same area

where the Medici
family originated.

Jesus.

This is like no steak
I've ever eaten.

It'’s both crisp and delicate

and the smoke carries
the taste of the land.

God damn it!
It just melts in your mouth.

It'’s what makes
the regional cooking of Italy

about so much more
than just a tasty meal.

But the palate is the organ
that connects Italy.

-I'll drink to that.
-Yeah.

Cheers.

There comes a time in any show
about Tuscany

where the host heads out
to the spectacular hills

and tells you how
the Mediterranean sun

has blessed the Tuscan
vineyards for 3000 years.

They may even have
a thoughtful sip

of a world famous Tuscan wine

like Chianti Classico.

But I'’m not going to do that.

I'’m going on a good
old fashioned bar crawl.

And when I say '‘old fashioned'’,
I mean, like, the Renaissance.

I'’m going to meet a friend
of mine, Elisabetta,

who is a Renaissance scholar.

She'’s incredibly boring,
but we'’ll make it through.

My God, I can'’t believe
you came.

-Hi.
-How are you?

-How are you?
-Good to see you.

Nice to see you too.

This little bar has just
reintroduced

a 500-year-old tradition.

In 1559, our old friend,

the Grand Duke Cosimo
Primo de Medici,

decreed that wealthy
Florentines

could sell the wine
they produced

on their country estates
direct from little windows

cut into the walls
of their city palaces

instead of through taverns
and inn keepers.

So, you would walk by, and
you would buy, not by the glass,

but you'd buy by the bottle.

-You'd buy a flask.
-You buy a flask.

They had a little wooden door,
there was a bell.

Sometimes they would also
place things like a flask on top

like an advertisement to say,
"Hey guys, we sell wine."

Because I remember living here
when I was a kid.

I'’d see these things,

I always thought they
were for, you know,

where you'’d put
a little statue or something.

-Yeah, like a tabernacle.
-Yeah, exactly.

-Let's order some wine.
-OK

-Let's order some wine.
-How do you. Do I pull this?

-Ring
-Oh, it's a bell.

-Will someone come?
-Well, they're awfully slow.

Oh, hi. That's wonderful.
Hi, how are you?

-Here you go.
-Oh, thank you so much.

Thank you,
thank you so much, thank you.

That's good.

-That's good.
-I always thought wine,

the taste is better
when it comes through a window.

Yeah.

You get another wine?

-Yeah, oh yeah.
-Yeah.

It seems to be empty.

Oh, hi. How are you?

Can I get...

Five hundred years ago,

everyone was encouraged
to drink

at least a liter of wine a day.

Not for the winemaker'’s
profit but for health reasons.

-Come on.
-Let's sit.

So tell me everything
else you know.

And some people needed to be
more healthy than others.

If you were pregnant
you could have one at any time.

-You could have one at any time?
-Yeah.

-If you were pregnant.
-Yeah.

Because it was considered...

My mother did that too.
No, she didn'’t.

-Really?
-Yeah.

Like a nourishment.

So, it's sort of the opposite
of today?

-Yeah, of today.
-Okay.

-Come on.
-Let's go, come on.

This could be a disappointingly
short wine crawl

as Bar Babae is currently
the only

functioning wine window
in Florence.

Even if there are still
130 or so defunct ones

around the city.

These little Wine Windows

don't exist anywhere
outside of Tuscany,

another example
of Renaissance genius.

-There are too many of them.
-Yeah.

And then, completely by chance,
we come across another.

But the sign would be from when?

That sign.

-The little doors of paradise.
-Paradise, yeah.

Hi, hi, there you are again.

Hi, how are you?

Thank you so much.

To end of the evening

we head out for Tuscany's
favorite nightcap.

the local dessert wine, Vin
Santo, the holy wine.

It's called Vin Santo because
when you drink it, a halo...

-A halo comes?
-A halo is on your head.

Anyway.

Tuscan tradition dictates you
dip almond biscotti,

known in Italy as cantucci,
in your vin santo.

Oh, angle, is that what
it means?

Yeah.

The result is a sweet, crunchy
and heady delight.

Maybe too heady.

Anything that ends in Tucci,
I like.

[LAUGHS]

-That's the end of that episode.
-That's so funny.

Cantucci, right.

Tuscany may be renowned

for incredible meat
and fine wines,

but this food of the rich
is only half the story.

The other branch
of Tuscan cooking

grew out of biting poverty
and humble ingredients.

So, where do you wanna go first?

Historian Leonardo Romanelli

is taking me to Florence'’s
central market

to show me the ingredients
of what the Italians call

'‘Cucina Povera'’, poor food.

So, you wanna show me some beans

which are a staple
of Florentine cooking.

-So you have different types.
-For different dishes.

The best are zolfini.

These type of beans are solid

but you don'’t need to put in
the water before cooking.

-Oh really?
-And they taste so...

You don'’t have to
soak them beforehand?

No, that's the difference.

It means the Florentines
eat the beans.

The bean eaters.

Yeah, because we are using
so many different--

Oh no, now you're going to
mix them all up.

[LAUGHS]

The cooking is really,
very poor, simple cooking.

That's true.

I read that during
the Renaissance

the wealthier people
would have meat.

Whereas the poorer people
basically just had beans,

some kind of soup and
some bread and that was it.

I have to say, we use
what we have.

It says something about
the character

of the Tuscany people.

We have Tuscan bread
without salt.

I know, I remember
when I was a kid

and we came here

and we tasted the
bread and I was like,

"This is terrible, this is the
worst thing

I've ever had in my life."

We never got used to it.

Seeing these basic ingredients

here in the city market
is one thing,

but the only way to truly
understand Tuscan '‘poor food'’

is to get out of the city

and go deep into the endlessly
beautiful countryside.

Isn't that kind of amazing
when you look around,

is that, I mean,
you really don't see

a contemporary building
for miles.

Look at that.

I'’m following the River Arno,
50 miles south of Florence,

to a small village
called Ponte Buriano,

where I'’ve been invited
to a wheat threshing festival.

Do I know what threshing
of the wheat is?

Are you kidding?

I grew up threshing wheat.

Now, if memory serves,

threshing is where the grains
of wheat are shaken loose

so they can be
ground down to make flour.

[TUCCI] Oh that's the steam,
that'’s the steam engine.

[RENATO] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Renato Viscovo, a local teacher,
organizes this event.

Tonight there'’s a huge feast
for the villagers.

They'’re coming together
to give thanks

for the good times
in this region

that was once ravaged
by famines

and where farmers were
treated as indentured servants

by their oppressive
aristocratic landowners,

until relatively recently.

This is a world away

from the huge steaks and
fine wines of Florence.

The people here cook
what they grow

and after the toil
of harvesting

and milling the wheat,

what they're left with
is bread.

Lots and lots of bread.

So here the dough is rising
and you cook it in that oven.

Like it was done many years ago.

Over in the kitchens,

some of the 200 villagers

are hard at work
preparing the feast,

and here too, bread plays
a starring role

in pretty much everything.

[TUCCI] What are they making?

[TUCCI] Oh, the Gander.

Oh my god.

-[RENATO] Good?
-It's delicious but it's so hot.

I go out back and discover
wood-fired ovens

full of roasting ganders.

These male geese were one
of the few farm animals

that peasants were allowed
to keep for themselves

and not have to share with
their landlords.

They were saved for
special occasions

like weddings and festivals.

The smell is incredible.

Come on.

You know? Really, it's like
a Christmas in your mouth.

Yeah, wow.

Well, you're great cooks.

Over the centuries,

the food of the working people
here in the Tuscan countryside

developed into its own cuisine.

It'’s not as showy
as the food in Florence

but it's one that
is just as glorious

as the landscape from
which it comes.

[LAUGHS]

My night at the wheat
threshing festival

has reminded me of the epic,
insatiable obsession

Tuscany has with bread.

It'’s a love that has echoed
through the ages

and there are recipes for
every stage of a loaf'’s life.

The best ones however are
saved for the advanced years,

when bread is old and stale.

That'’s when Tuscan
cooks get really creative.

[TUCCI] And here we are.

-Yeah.
-Yeah, it's very exciting.

I'’m having lunch
at the Cinghiale Bianco,

one of my favorite restaurants
in Florence.

So nice to see you.
Really nice to see you.

And I'’m joined again
by local food expert,

Professor Leonardo Romanelli,

and my friend the art restorer,
Daniella Murphy.

-Hi, Stanley.
-[TUCCI] Uh-oh.

-[LEONARDO] Oh, hi.
-[TUCCI] Hi.

This place specializes in
'‘poor food'’

and their recipes
are so heavenly.

I'’m sure it's where old bread
would choose to come and die.

Marco Maselli
is the restaurant'’s owner

This is the ribolita.

Basically, the main ingredients
are bread and the black cabbage.

And then, we have
the tomato and bread soup,

Pappa al pomodoro.

The base is olive oil
and garlic,

Tuscan bread and tomato.

It sounds very simple.

-Not so simple to prepare.
-[TUCCI] Not simple to make.

[MARCO] To make good.

But, in my opinion, the queen
of the Tuscan dishes

is the Panzanella.

I was hoping that was mine.

Also, a very simple
and 'poor' dish.

Tuscan bread soaked in vinegar
and onion and tomato.

-[MARCO] Enjoy.
-[TUCCI] Thank you.

[Daniella] This Panzanella
is very good.

[TUCCI] And this Pappa
al pomodoro, perfecto.

This is one of my
favorite things,

I make it for my kids,
they'll just eat.

Like it's ice cream,
practically.

We have good tomatoes,
good olive oil and Tuscan bread.

Maybe not Tuscan bread.

Maybe, OK. [LAUGHS]

I have to admit,

that I much prefer Tuscan bread
cooked in dishes like this

because on its own
it can taste quite bland

and that'’s an understatement.

It actually tastes like
cardboard.

That'’s because it's unsalted.

One theory is that Florence
refused to pay

its arch-rival town of Pisa
for its salt.

They were willing to spend
money with other people

but never give money to Pisa.

-Yeah, especially Pisa.
-Even today.

But of course,
this being Italy,

food rivalries go deep but
no-one can quite remember why.

Another idea is this,

if they don'’t use salt the bread
could stay for a long time.

Really, without salt?

-I didn't know that.
-Because, because

-the salt, the salt...
-The salt breaks it down.

The salt became brine.

For sure the most convincing one

is we don'’t want to give money
to the Pisani.

That's the most convincing.
[LAUGHS]

I believe that,
actually, most of all.

-Yeah.
-[LAUGHS]

For me panzanella is one of the
greatest dishes

of Tuscan poor food.

Giving brittle old bread new
life by using fresh tomatoes

to create a surprisingly
refreshing salad.

Knowing my love
of food and art,

Daniela has invited me
to a festival this evening.

A very fancy festival.

The one thing that everybody
has in common is the food.

Yeah.

This event is about
as far as you can get

from the wheat threshing
festival.

Here Florence'’s richest and most
powerful families have gathered,

as they have for centuries,

to toast the city'’s new creative
talent from chefs and musicians,

to artists hoping
to follow in the footsteps

of Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

You are right now
in a situation where,

more or less
500 years ago,

the Medici would have done
something like this.

So we'’re going to go
and have some food now.

She knows me too well.

Really?

It's a very sophisticated
form of Panzenella.

This looks very different

to the rustic bread salad
we had for lunch.

[DANIELLA] But it tastes
of Panzanella.

It completely tastes of
Panzanella.

Panzanella was what
the farmers would eat.

And now it's turned
into this very sophisticated--

-[TUCCI] Foam.
-Foam.

You see, the past being
rediscovered.

[TUCCI] It'’s a little
Renaissance in a bowl.

[DANIELLA] There's a little
Renaissance in it

and a lot of the future.

[CROWD CHATTING]

[BUSTLING CROWDS]

After tasting this new version
of panzanella,

we made some inquiries and
found the chef who created it.

Nerina Martinelli and her team

are just about to open Nugolo,
a brand-new restaurant

that re-imagines Tuscany'’s rural
food in the heart of the city.

[NERINA] The idea around the
menu and the dishes that we do

is to take traditional dishes,
traditional recipes

and then add something new.

All the team of the restaurant,

we are all under 30 years old
so we are all really young.

These young chefs

are seeing old Tuscan
dishes with new eyes.

[NERINA] So, the Panzanella foam

is an example
of a traditional Tuscan dish.

So, farmers.

Basically made with
the simplest...

Exactly.

-...poorest ingredients.
-Onion, tomato, bread, vinegar.

Cucumber, that's it.

And normally we do it
with old bread.

-[TUCCI] With old bread. Right.
-With old bread.

But you're taking it to another
level by foaming it.

The air inside it becomes
very light

but still keeping the flavor
of the panzanella.

And we finish with
the basil oil.

Couple of drops.

I love that you did this.

-Extra virgin olive oil.
-It's so smart.

It's, it's delicious.

[ANTONIO] Especially for summer
time, it's really fresh.

Yeah, it's like, it really is
the perfect appetizer, isn't it.

-Exactly.
-Exactly.

Wow, you've taken tomatoes
to a whole other place.

And the simplest dishes
to a whole other level.

This simple bread salad has
woven its way

through Tuscan society.

From peasants ensuring food
doesn'’t go to waste

to Florentine aristocrats.

It'’s great to see
these definitive Tuscan flavors

now inspiring a new generation,

making exciting food
that looks to the future

while respecting
the land and its history.

The food of rich cities
and the poor countryside

are the two great pillars
of Tuscan cuisine.

But what unites them
is a blast of fresh sea breeze

blowing in from
Tuscany'’s fabulous coastline.

I'’ve come 50 miles
west of Florence

to the city of Livorno.

In the late 16th Century,
the Medici family

turned it into one of the
great trading ports of Italy,

where Tuscany welcomed
the world.

Chef Fabio Picchi is never
happier than when he's here,

with friends, and the prospect
of a good meal on the horizon.

During the Renaissance,

migrants were actively
encouraged to settle in Livorno

and its reputation
as a free-thinking

big-hearted city by the sea...

[TUCCI] Oh yeah, nice.

...drew people from
across Europe and beyond.

In the town center,

is a tiny place called
Torteria Da Gagarin.

It opened in 1959
and sells just one thing.

Known as "the cake",

it'’s a pancake
made from chickpea flour.

The torteria is a local
institution,

serving up "the cake" in,
what else, a huge hunk of bread.

[TUCCI] This is good,
I like this.

It's absolutely delicious.

And he says that he makes it
because he loves it.

He makes it at home but he
can't make it as good as this.

[FABIO] Yeah.

After that little appetizer,

we head up to the house
of one of Fabio'’s friends

in the hills above the town.

He'’s gathered together
the ingredients

for a Livornese classic.

He's making a fish stew.

-This is a fake Cacciucco.
-It's a fake.

I need to keep my voice down
so the neighbors don'’t hear

but if you'’re not from Livorno,

you'’re not supposed
to be making this stew.

[TUCCI] There's always this,
sort of, battle between

whether you're from here or
from there, or from there.

Whatever you're making. Right?

You can make the same thing
but you can't call it the thing.

It is maybe a little
bit different.

[CHOPPING]

Cacciucco is a rich fish stew
that dates back over 500 years.

It was the way Livorno'’s
fishermen

would use up whatever
they hadn'’t sold that day.

This is an imperial cacciucco.

He's using this
really beautiful fish,

he's also using lobster which
is not a 'poor' fish, obviously.

So, he's taking this
and amping it up a bit.

Like so many Italian dishes,

the base of Fabio'’s stew
is the trusty tomato.

It'’s hard to imagine Italian
cuisine without tomatoes

but scholars only date
their arrival

to that fortuitous
Medici marriage

to Spanish nobility
in the 1540s.

Here in Livorno though...

Sweet.

...legend says that the tomato
was brought by newcomers

fleeing oppression.

Tomatoes were
a popular ingredient

among the Jews
of Southern Europe.

Unless you want.

Yeah, I think so, yeah.

As the incredible
smell drifts outside,

Fabio'’s friends
take their seats.

The density of that flavor
is just--

[TUCCI] Wow.

[APPLAUSE]

Fabio may not be from Livorno

but he can definitely
cook a cacciucco.

These are ingredients rooted

in both the poor fishing
community

and in Livorno's
immigrant past.

It's a part of Tuscany's
history on a plate.

And Fabio's not finished.

In true Tuscan tradition,

creativity is everything
and nothing goes to waste,

so he whips up a whole second
course with the leftover sauce.

You have all the flavors
of the sea,

otherwise what would you
do with that?

Beautiful.

A sauce that he had left,
it only makes sense.

It's the best,
best thing in the world.

[SPEAKS ITALIAN]

Cheers.

I feel very lucky that my
parents followed their hearts

and moved us across the world

for a year when we
were just kids.

I saw how the food of both rich
and poor came together

in this corner of Italy
that'’s like nowhere on Earth...

Wow

...and nearly 50 years later,

I still keep coming
back for more.