Abstract
Italy is a country which embarks on its tradition, religious value and culture. It takes pride in all aspects of its rich history which is quite apparent in the Italian food served in homes and restaurants. Venice is located in Northern Region of Veneto is home to Italian food customs and food here is different in taste from other regions of Italy. However, it is considered to be an expensive city for food and poor people are well affected by this. Lastly, we will look at some of the history which led to some world famous Italian foods.
Venice, Italy
Venice is a beautiful city situated in northeastern Italy and is a capital of Veneto region. The city is built with a great network of canals instead of streets. The Grand Canal serves as its main canal. The city has been described by many in different ways such as ‘Bride of the Sea’, ‘Queen of Adriatic’, ‘The Most Serene One’, ‘City of Water’, ‘La Dominante’ and ‘The City of Light’ admiring its beautiful and unique setup. Venice is one of Italy’s most historical cities which had been marked with events dating back of 1st century and is a major port besides commercial and industrial center.
Food Customs
The food customs shared by Venice are similar to those across Italy. The Italians love their food and appreciate their time at the table. There are some food customs which are common and important for understanding the food culture in Italy. These food customs can be summarized as follows:
- Italians do not start eating until everyone is seated unless the person who is serving insists.
- Italians eat their salads last.
- There are usually two or more courses mainly a combination of pasta, meat or fish and vegetables.
- The different courses are always served on new clean dishes. This means that Italians do not use the same dish for eating different courses.
- Never drink milk with the meal.
- Fruits and cheese to finish the meal is always served.
- Pairing of food and wine is essential.
- Pasta dishes with sea food are never served with grated cheese on top.
- Knife and fork are held in right hand and left hand respectively.
- Italians do not like watching TV when eating.
- Breads are no eaten with pasta.
- Italians usually eat two times during a day where breakfasts are usually skipped with strong coffee and croissants or pastries.
Climate
Venice is a city of sea shore and the climate here is a typical one. The weather of the city is very high in humidity and moderate in temperatures as compared to other cities such as Rome or Florence. However, the moderate temperatures recorded in the city are by all means unbearable to those not used to this climate. The two months of July and August are at the height of summer where temperatures peak to an average between 86ºF to 91ºF and in actual sometime reaching 100ºF. The winters are relatively cooler where temperatures dropping between 32ºF and 37ºF.
Venice is located on the Adriatic Coast due to which it often experiences thunderstorms and heavy rains particularly in spring and autumn causing flooding on numerous occasions. However, unlike the other cities of Italy, rainfall in Venice is well distributed throughout the year, indicating an average of just over 32 inches on average. The city of Venice is a popular tourist destination and all of its biggest holiday periods are expected to have worse weather conditions.
The climate in Venice effect people’s food habits in many ways. Use of fruit and water becomes excessive with more consumption of salads and light meals. Also being a port city it has abundant sea food which is widely consumed by people.
Availability of Food
Italian as a whole is net importer of food. In the past few decade major transformations in the Italian food industry induced considerable structural changes leading to the creation of large industrial groups, foreign investment, concentration and geographic specialization of small and medium enterprises boosting agri-meat food output. In the recent years, the Mediterranean eating habits are also affected by the rising costs (Italy Mag, 2008) and also foreign fast food influence is getting into main stream (CNN, 1997).
The food in Venice is considered to lack cooking diversity but it offers superior quality. There are number of restaurants, pubs and eat-houses offering different types of Italian and western foods. Ethnic restaurants including Chinese and Indian are getting popular however Venice is best known for its excellent seafood and good Northern Italian cooking. The overall population of the city is had been declining but still millions of tourists flock into the city every year from around the world. The local food industry has been striving hard to revive the best restaurants which have been closed down because of high costs of doing business and bankruptcies.
Economic Factors
Italy is located in the Italian Peninsula which had been of great economic importance for many centuries. Italy had been used as a channel between the western world and Asia which brought about trade and wealth in the region. In 2006, Italy was considered as the seventh largest economy and the people of Italy share a good fortune which years of business have yielded. However, inefficient bureaucracy, corruption and heavy taxes have lead to disparities and poverty amongst population of 58 million people. The prices of food has been regulated by the government to ensure that poor people As majority of the population has high income levels the food prices in restaurants are comparatively on the higher end as compared to shopping from supermarkets. Venice can be very expensive but there are places to eat that do not cost fortune. The reason for expensiveness in Venice is that the city lacks agriculture which means that the most of the fresh food has to be brought in from elsewhere. With recent food inflation of almost 5.7% in Italy the situation is bound to get worse. The prices of the most common food pasta have jumped up by 20%. Recent research has indicated that since 2006, six out of 10 households in Italy have adjusted what they eat in response to the rising cost of fresh produce, according to a study by the Italian agricultural confederation (Walker, 2008).
Types of Food
The food served in Venice remains Mediterranean however convenience food is also becoming popular but still remains an undeveloped market. The typical Italian food is based on some ingredients however the taste of this food is different from others served in the Central and Southern Regions of Italy. The most common food served at homes and restaurants are prepared using beans and nuts, breads and pastries, fruit and vegetable, bacon, extra virgin olive oil and risotto (high starched rice).
The food served in restaurants of Venice is according to the taste of local residents. In northern region of Italy pasta is not considered to be the main course instead risottos and polentas are norms. Sea food is an important ingredient of main course and also vegetables, grains and legumes are more favorable than meat. Olive oil is used more refined and golden in Venice than in the south which is less strong in its odor. The food dishes served at different restaurants and even at homes include a large varieties of antipasti, soups and sauces, breads, pizzas, pasta, risotto, beef, bacon , sea food, desserts and cheeses.
Religious Impact
Italian society now dominated by Christianity had been impacted by other religions in particular Islam with Arabs conquering the region. The cookery of Mediterranean food has a long history dating back to the Roman Empire and the ruins uncovered the distinctive tastes of Italian food. It was during Arabs colonization of Sicily that dried pasta was introduced for nomadic Arab population. Furthermore, cultivation of spices, which took place in the Arabs era, are now part of Italian food. Several Christian groups have encouraged vegetarianism and use of olive is also due to this which is very obvious from the food dishes. Due to the centrality and importance of food for all living things it becomes important in Christian tradition. The most important food traditionally used under influence of Christianity is bread and wine of communion which refers to the body and blood of Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. Christians believe that all good things are a gift of God, every meal has a deep religious significance and all is well reflected in the Italian food.
Even in the recent situation where cost of providing Romans and the Mediterranean diet in Italy has been rising the Catholic Church attempts to provide support through its relief organization, Caritas, which opened a charity supermarket on a pilot basis. In this supermarket, the poor homeless, mentally ill or alcoholic down-and-outs are served using ration tokens per month with which they can pay for Italian food and beverages (Walker, 2008).
References
Estes, P. (2008). Italy’s finest resource: its people. 2008. Web.
Skiff, J. (1997). Fast food threatens Italian healthy eating and traditions. CNN News. 2008. Web.
Steendahl, C. (2007). The History of italian food. 2008. Web.
Walker, M. (2008). Arrivederci, penne? food inflation takes its toll on the italian diet. The Wall Street Journal. 2008. Web.
World Travels. Venice climate and weather. 2008. Web.