Gastronomic and wellness sciences, cultures and politics

The course aims to provide students with the knowledge to let them understand the main food transformations from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, within the coeval framework of historical-political events and socio-economic changes. Cencelle site (Tarquinia, VT), a medieval city that has been archaeologically investigated for over 30 years (Department of Classics Sapienza), will be analysed as an exemplary case: the interdisciplinary approach employed, which also involved bio-anthropological and molecular analyses on the large skeletal sample (over 1.000 burials) from the late medieval cemetery, he close relationship between humans and the environment (through the study of faunal and floristic remains) and reconstruct dietary (paleo-diet) and cultural habits (food preparation) and their impact on the overall health status of this Alto Lazio community in the Middle Ages.

A. CAPATTI, M. MONTANARI, La cucina italiana, Storia di una cultura, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1999; M. MONTANARI, La fame e l’abbondanza, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1993; M. MONTANARI, Il cibo come cultura, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2004. Handouts and PowerPoint presentations provided by the professor

A. CAPATTI, M. MONTANARI, La cucina italiana, Storia di una cultura, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1999; M. MONTANARI, La fame e l’abbondanza, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1993; M. MONTANARI, Il cibo come cultura, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2004. Handouts and PowerPoint presentations provided by the professor