ORONZO EDITIONS,
an independent book publisher in New York, has launched “Italy’s Food Culture”—a series of regional Italian cookbooks originally published as Cucine Regionali in Padova by Franco Muzzio Editore.

Translated for the first time into English, each book contains hundreds of recipes and background histories culled from handwritten family notebooks, nonnas’ memories, and ancient books from the libraries of nobility.

These are not the familiar recipes we find in typical “Italian” cookbooks. From the micro-regional traditions of home cooking to the revelations of restaurant chefs, these are authentic (no substitutions!) and sometimes quite extraordinary “rescued” recipes.

Culinary history and rich traditions come alive through the well-documented research and lively writing of well-known Italian authors and members of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina.

Experts on each region’s dialect review our discerning translations to ensure authenticity.

From the Alps to Sicily, Italy’s micro-regional cultures have always reflected their gastronomic nuances, influenced by complex geography and climate. These authors narrate and preserve a way of life.

Anna del Conte, in her encyclopedic Gastronomy of Italy, referred to the books as “literary and gastronomic gems.”

Italian culture and Italian cuisine are one and the same. Italians have lived the “slow” sustainable life, for hundreds, even thousands, of years, although they wouldn’t call it that. It’s just their life—a tradition of knowing the farmers, fishmongers, bakers, and grocers in their food chain, and a seasonal approach to food and cooking that uses the highest quality of ingredients. We might call these books the “back stories” of the Italian Slow Food movement.

Franco Muzzio Editore began publishing regional cookbooks twenty years ago. Muzzio and his Italian series editor, Marco Guarnaschelli Gotti, commissioned books that delve deeply, written for their Italian audience.

For centuries, visitors to Italy have experienced Italians’ passion for architecture, art, music, fashion, and sports. Now experience Italy’s passion for food through this unique culinary series.