L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano T h e l o v e s t o r y between Italy and spices is a long- l a s t i n g o n e . T h e a n c i e n t R o m a n s already used them to create medicines, perfumes and cos- metics, and as a tasty addition to their food. Most of the fla- vorings used by our ancestors came from India and China and reached the Eternal City thanks to a well-developed trading network, without for- getting, of course, the spices originating from North Africa and the Middle East, both part of the Empire. Anise, cinna- mon, coriander, cloves and black pepper were all known a n d v a s t l y u s e d b y t h e Romans. And while they lost their allure in the early years of the Middle Ages, after the fall of the Roman Empire, s p i c e s r e t u r n e d t o I t a l i a n tables in the 11th century, when Europe got involved in the Crusades and the Arab conquest of the South brought into our cuisine new, exotic flavors that we still enjoy. A f t e r t h e d i s c o v e r y o f t h e A m e r i c a n c o n t i n e n t , n e w spices and trade routes were developed, especially with the C a r i b b e a n s , f r o m w h e r e Europe - and Italy - obtained vanilla and sugar. For many centuries, spices remained a precious delicacy that only the rich could afford, a n d a s o u r c e o f e n o r m o u s wealth for their traders, even in more recent times: many Italians are familiar with the Florio family, at the heart of a series of recently published historical novels, who made t h e i r f o r t u n e i n P a l e r m o exporting and selling spices. This is all to say that spices have quite a pedigree in the Belpaese. So it's not surpris- ing to learn that our Made in Italy got involved in their diffusion. In 2016, young entrepre- neur Riccardo Vozzolo and his team created Italia Spezie, a small start-up with one aim in mind: offering to its customers the best spices out there, following the trad- i n g r o u t e s a n d t r a d i t i o n s inherited from our past, but w i t h a n e n t i r e l y m o d e r n attention to sustainability, quality and the environment. V o z z o l o u n d e r s t o o d t h a t spices, along with dried fruit and nuts, were enjoying a new lease of life in our coun- t r y , t h a n k s t o a r e n e w e d attention to traditional cook- ing and a fresh interest in international cuisine and healthy eating. His aim, since the beginning, and in a quin- tessentially "Made in Italy" way, is to provide high-quali- ty products that are sourced ethically and produced in a sustainable manner. As it is nowadays normal for young, vibrant compa- nies, Italia Spezie aims at "enhancing the recognized value of spices and other nat- ural foods by providing a quality offer, obtained in full respect of all those involved in the supply chain: suppli- ers, customers and collabora- tors," that is to say, giving customers quality products while respecting all those involved in their production and trade: an essential trait, in today's day and age. All these characteristics brought Italia Spezie to enjoy exponential growth, even during the past two difficult years marked by the pan- demic. This is also because of its intelligent use of a hybrid form of commerce, active both online and in brick-and- m o r t a r s t o r e s s o t h a t a l l t y p e s o f c u s t o m e r s a r e catered to. While the focus of Italia Spezie remains spices, their offer has expanded greatly to include a series of other qual- ity products, including dried and dehydrated fruits and nuts, as well as organic dried fruit spreads and specialty flours, very popular nowa- days, especially because of t h e r i s e , a l s o i n I t a l y , o f gluten intolerances and coeli- ac disease. On their website and stores, you can also find legumes, cereals, teas and an interesting selection of salts from all over the world, from the popular pink Himalayan salt to lesser-known varieties like purple or blue salts from India and Hawaii. V e r y i n t e r e s t i n g i s t h e store section entirely dedicat- ed to Italian products, which include chocolate, a great variety of artisanal honey, extra virgin olive oil, dried herbs, including oregano, coriander and garlic, but also n u t s , l i k e o u r r e n o w n e d hazelnuts, and a selection of organic tomato preserves, perfect to enrich every dish. With its mix of tradition - we've been using spices for millennia! - and innovation, especially when it comes to its attention to sustainable trade and organic products, Italia Spezie embodies the very essence of the Made in Italy philosophy: looking - and moving - forward, while respecting the past. W h o i s n ' t f a m i l i a r w i t h - and tried to solve - the ubiquitous crosswords? Some of them, like those of the Settimana Enigmistica in Italy, the Guardian and the Times in the UK or the New York Times in the US, have legendary status. It is traditionally believed that they were invented at the beginning of the 20th century either by a Brit, Vic- tor Orville, or an American, Arthur Wynne. The first would have come out with the idea while imprisoned in a South African jail; the sec- ond had his "word-cross puz- zle" published in 1913 on the F u n , a s u p p l e m e n t o f t h e New York World. Italy was to enter this narrative only on the 8th of February 1925, when an "indovinello delle parole crociate" was pub- lished by La Domenica del Corriere, officially Italy's first cruciverba. However, things may not be quite like that. According to many, the true father of the crossword puzzle was an Italian, Giuseppe Airoldi, who had his invention - a c r o s s w o r d w i t h o u t b l a c k squares - published in Il Sec- olo Illustrato, a daily based in Milan, on the 14th of Sep- tember 1890, 23 years before Wynne's own crosswords. He had called it parole incroci- ate, which means literally "crossed words," and which was the way our grandpar- ents would call them. It was e x a c t l y w h a t y o u w o u l d expect: a series of vertical and horizontal numbered defini- tions, whose solutions criss- crossed with one another. There are two reasons why not many know about Airoldi and his invention: first of all, it was published anonymous- ly and, second of all, it had very little success, so it wasn't p r o p o s e d a g a i n . A i r o l d i would die only one year after having his parole incrociate published, in 1914, and his name was forgotten until the 1 9 6 0 s , w h e n r e s e a r c h e r s found out about him. Howev- er, it was only in 2013 that he became - almost - a house- hold name, after the publica- tion of L'uomo delle parole i n c r o c i a t e b y G i o r g i o Spreafico who, for the first time, recounted the story of t h e t r u e - b u t u n k n o w n - father of crossword puzzles to the world. If you are interest- ed in it, you can find the book o n A m a z o n f o r a b o u t 1 5 bucks, but only in Italian! LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE The crosswords Crosswords are among the most popular past times around the world and they have Italian roots! (Photo: Michal Jesensky/Dreamstime) Italia Spezie is a large online market with spices and products from all over the world and Italy (Photo: Stefanopez/Dreamstime) Our Made in Italy: trading spices with Italia Spezie

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