Food and Women in Italian Literature, Culture and Society - by Claudia Bernardi & Francesca Calamita & Daniele de Feo (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This book explores how women's relationship with food has been represented in Italian literature, cinema, scientific writings and other forms of cultural expression from the 19th century to the present.

Italian women have often been portrayed cooking and serving meals to others, while denying themselves the pleasure of the table. The collection presents a comprehensive understanding of the symbolic meanings associated with food and of the way these intersect with Italian women's socio-cultural history and the feminist movement.

From case studies on Sophia Loren and Elena Ferrante, to analyses of cookbooks by Italian chefs, each chapter examines the unique contribution Italian culture has made to perceiving and portraying women in a specific relation to food, addressing issues of gender, identity and politics of the body.

Review Quotes

This book offers an enticing exploration of modern and contemporary Italy through cultural issues linked to food and the role of women. It is a good tool for those interested in food studies as a way of discussing social concerns and literary texts. Courses in food studies or Italian culture will find in this book the key elements for students' readings and students can be reassured that this book will prove to be a profound learning experience.
Ernesto Livorni, Professor of Italian, University of Wisconsin, USA

This book presents a varied and complex study of the deep relationship between food and its highly symbolic value ... an interesting collection.

Modern Italy

About the Author

Claudia Bernardi is a Senior Lecturer in Italian at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Francesca Calamita is Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia, USA.

Daniele De Feo is Lecturer in the Department of French and Italian at Princeton University, USA.