On Friday, November 21, New York welcomed the scent of Italy.
In the bright halls of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, in the heart of Manhattan, the Consulate General of Italy celebrated the tenth edition of Italian Cuisine Week in the World with a day entirely dedicated to Pellegrino Artusi: his genius, his legacy, his ability to bring people together through food.
The Columbus Citizens Foundation—for nearly a century the guardian of the memory and success of Italian Americans—opened its doors to a story that smells of departures, handed-down recipes, and books that have crossed oceans.
Mattia Fiandaca, gastronome at Casa Artusi, guided guests on a journey that began in the kitchens of Italian emigrants and ended with the surprising publishing success of Artusi in the United States. It is a story of suitcases, nostalgia, and tenacity, in which each reprint of the manual becomes a milestone in the bond between Italy and North America.
From a distance, but with a voice that was present, the president of the Casa Artusi Foundation, Andrea Segrè, expressed the pride of a small town – Forlimpopoli – which, through Artusi, continues to speak to the world:
“We are honored to be here. This year, our presence takes on special significance: we are in the midst of the nomination of Italian cuisine as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. A journey we have undertaken together with the other promoters, with the dossier signed by Professor Massimo Montanari, reconfirmed as head of our Scientific Committee.”c
Consul General Fabrizio Di Michele recalled how Italian migration has brought not only hard-working hands to the world, but also flavors, words, and customs capable of becoming identity:
“Artusi continues to tell us who we are: a community that cooks, shares, and recognizes itself through the memory of food.”
The chef at Casa Artusi, Matteo Milandri, brought substance and aroma to the evening with a cooking show dedicated to “cuisine of the roots”: a blend of PDO and PGI ingredients from Emilia-Romagna that traveled from their land of origin to the tables of a hundred New York guests.
The collaboration with I Love Made in Italy amplified the message: the quality of Italian products is not only about taste, but also culture, tradition, and landscape. Once again, Artusi is the ambassador of the excellence that Italy cherishes and that the world continues to recognize.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, another story signed by Casa Artusi intertwined with this one.
A delegation composed of Monica Alba, Filippo Cavalli, and Marietta Manuela Pedrini traveled across Argentina with workshops, conferences, and tastings in Buenos Aires, La Plata, and Mar del Plata. The trip was made possible by the Consulta degli Emiliano-Romagnoli nel Mondo (Council of Emiliano-Romagnoli in the World) and brought Artusi’s legacy to another continent, another language, another home.
Because Artusi, today as then, does not belong to just one place: he belongs to anyone who finds in food a way to feel part of something.
