L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2026 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE T h e r e a r e c o m - p o s e r s w h o s e l i v e s b e c o m e i n s e p a r a b l e f r o m t h e i r m u s i c , a n d t h e n t h e r e i s Gioachino Rossini, who became famous not only for opera houses and concert halls, but also for his love for food. Truffles, foie gras, s a u c e s , e l a b o r a t e p a s t a dishes: Rossini's name was associated with some of the most extravagant recipes of nineteenth-century Europe. Long before celebrity chefs and food influencers, Rossi- ni was already known for his passion for good cuisine, a n d a s m u c h f o r h i s appetite as for his artistic genius. Born in Pesaro in 1792, Rossini was one of the great stars of Italian opera; by his t h i r t i e s , h e h a d a l r e a d y composed works that would p e r m a n e n t l y e n t e r t h e operatic canon, including The Barber of Seville, L a C e n e r e n t o l a , a n d William Tell. Then, unex- pectedly, he stopped: after William Tell premiered in 1 8 2 9 , R o s s i n i l a r g e l y retired from writing opera at just thirty-seven years old. For many composers, that age would have marked the beginning of maturity a n d p o p u l a r i t y , b u t f o r R o s s i n i , i t m a r k e d t h e beginning of another life a l t o g e t h e r , a s e c o n d l i f e that revolved increasingly around food. He settled for long peri- ods in Paris, which at the time was becoming the cen- ter of European high gas- tronomy. The city's restau- rants, salons, and private dining culture were trans- forming cooking into an art form associated with refine- ment, luxury, and intellec- tual life. Rossini felt imme- d i a t e l y a t h o m e i n t h a t w o r l d : w e a l t h y , f a m o u s , sociable, and intensely curi- ous, he began surrounding h i m s e l f w i t h c h e f s , gourmets, and artists of all kinds. And his dinner par- ties became legendary. Don't make the mistake o f t h i n k i n g t h a t R o s s i n i "only" enjoyed eating well; he actually understood food culture for real. That's why it wasn't unusual to hear h i m d i s c u s s r e c i p e s a n d ingredients with the same seriousness others would r e s e r v e f o r l i t e r a t u r e o r e v e n p o l i t i c s . I n f a c t , accounts from the period d e s c r i b e h i m e x c h a n g i n g ideas with some of the most celebrated chefs of his era, including Marie-Antoine Carême, one of the found- ing figures of modern haute cuisine. Soon, dishes started car- rying his name, the most famous of which remains Tournedos Rossini, still served in restaurants today. The dish is very luxurious: filet steak placed on toasted bread, topped with foie gras and black truffle, then fin- ished with a rich Madeira sauce. Even by nineteenth- century standards, it was very indulgent. Most impor- t a n t l y , h o w e v e r , i t a l s o reflected Rossini's personal tastes perfectly, because he adored intense flavors, rich t e x t u r e s , a n d a b o v e a l l , truffles. Rruffles, in fact, appear constantly in stories about him, almost to the point of obsession. Rossini report- edly considered them one of the highest achievements of civilization: one anecdote, probably exaggerated but c o n t i n u o u s l y r e p e a t e d because it explains his per- sonality so well, claims he cried only three times in his l i f e : o n c e w h e n h i s f i r s t opera failed, once when he heard Niccolò Paganini per- f o r m , a n d o n c e w h e n a turkey stuffed with truffles accidentally fell into a lake during a picnic. The story likely survives still today because it paints Rossini the way people imagine him to have been: dramatic and t h e a t r i c a l , e v e n o u t s i d e music. But, perhaps, there was something more than sheer passion for culinary excess- es in Rossini's love for food; in the end, he belonged to a period in which food was becoming part of cultural identity in a very modern sense. Italy, still politically fragmented for much of his lifetime, already possessed strong regional culinary tra- ditions, and Rossini moved constantly between them. By spending so much time in France, he also carried Italian tastes abroad, while simultaneously absorbing t h e s o p h i s t i c a t i o n o f P a r i s i a n g a s t r o n o m y . I n many ways, he became an e a r l y a m b a s s a d o r o f I t a l i a n f o o d c u l t u r e abroad, though not in the rustic, simple form we often associate with Italy today. Rossini represented elite Italian cuisine: Parmigiano, fine pasta, butter sauces, g o o d w i n e s , m u s h r o o m s , and truffles. Some recipes attributed to him are almost astonish- ingly elaborate. One surviv- i n g M a c c h e r o n i a l l a Rossini recipe combines pasta with truffles, mush- rooms, cream, prosciutto, and cheese: definitely tasty, but perhaps a tad too over- the-top for today's tastes. At the same time, Rossini never lost the playful irony t h a t m a d e h i m f a m o u s socially, something easy to see when we read through s o m e o f h i s s u r p r i s i n g l y modern quotes about food: " E a t i n g , l o v i n g , s i n g i n g , and digesting are the four a c t s o f t h e c o m i c o p e r a known as life," he reported- ly said, condensing plea- sure, art, and humor into a s i n g l e s e n t e n c e . A n o t h e r famous remark described the stomach as "the con- ductor who directs the great orchestra of our emotions." Q u i t e s p o t o n , d o n ' t y o u think? F o r R o s s i n i , f o o d w a s never secondary to culture. It was culture, and this may e x p l a i n w h y h i s c u l i n a r y legacy survived so strongly, e v e n a m o n g p e o p l e w h o know little about opera. In Italy today, Rossini's con- n e c t i o n t o f o o d r e m a i n s e s p e c i a l l y v i s i b l e i n h i s hometown of Pesaro, where Pizza Rossini continues to be a local specialty. To outsiders, the combination can sound strange: tomato pizza topped with slices of hard-boiled egg and may- onnaise. In Pesaro, howev- e r , i t h a s b e c o m e p a r t o f l o c a l i d e n t i t y , a n o t h e r r e m i n d e r t h a t R o s s i n i ' s reputation as a gourmand is still alive and well. Gioachino Rossini and the art of eating well: a life composed in music and flavor LUCA SIGNORINI Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors.

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