The Gastronomic Library
“I should not like my interest in gastronomy to give me the reputation of being a gourmand or glutton.” Pellegrino Artusi
Casa Artusi houses the gastronomic library with the Collezione Artusiana (Artusi Collection) and the Raccolta di Gastronomia Italiana (Italian Gastronomy Collection), a space open to visitors and scholars within the framework of the municipal library of Forlimpopoli. Artusi specified in his will that he wished for it to be “the foundation and beginning of the creation of a public library to be set up in Forlimpopoli.”
Besides various editions of La Scienza in Cucina and literature about the well-known gastronomist, the Collezione Artusiana also consists of an archive and library which once belonged to Pellegrino Artusi, and which he bequeathed to Forlimpopoli Town Council upon his death. The library houses several of Artusi’s possessions, too, amongst which his drawing-room, study and documents such as letters, registers, a painting and an autobiography hand-written by Artusi. The Raccolta di Gastronomia Italiana (Italian Gastronomy Collection) features an extensive collection of books, magazines, films and other multimedia documents about food culture, with a special reference to home cookery.
The Book
Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, the Artusi, is a practical manual of Italian cookery by antonomasia. Published in 1891, the first edition was curated by Pellegrino Artusi until 1911 with new recipes and stories. It is the classic of both gastronomy and the Italian language, enjoyed and translated all over the world.
Correspondence
The heritage of letters addressed to Pellegrino Artusi is preserved in Casa Artusi, Forlimpopoli, but is also available for consultation online. Postcards, letters expressing requests, providing recipes, asking for clarifications and advice to which the author answered, still today tell of unpublished aspects of Italian culture.
Recipe books
Casa Artusi undertakes to collect new recipes and domestic stories daily, those hidden in the home cookbooks sitting on a shelf somewhere or in the attic, thus continuing the work begun by Pellegrino Artusi in telling the story of the Italian gastronomic heritage.
