Berkley Center

At Georgetown’s Villa Le Balze in Florence, I’m taking a class called European Globalization, in which we study the structure and effectiveness of the European Union as an example of a current, supranational body. Both the strengths and the weaknesses of the European Union stem from the diversity of its member countries. Much like the EU, Italy is made up of 20 different regions, all of which have their own very distinctive linguistic, culinary, and cultural traditions.

After traveling throughout Italy, I have eaten the local cuisine and drank the local wines of more than half of these regions. I’m eating the best food I’ve ever had here. There are absolutely no pesticides or preservatives in Italian food. Before I left, everyone back home told me that I would gain a lot of weight in Italy. Yet, after more than two months abroad, I haven’t gained any weight whatsoever.

How is this possible, you might ask? To start, Italians do not eat an entire pizza and three scoops of gelato in one sitting, the way Americans do. Portion sizes are much smaller here. Most recipes only have four to eight ingredients. Instead, Italians focus on the quality of ingredients, and most recipes are handed down from generation to generation rather than read out of a book. My host mom can never give me exact measurements or cooking times when I ask her to write her recipes down.

Breakfast is very small here. It usually consists of a cappuccino and a pastry. Lunches are three course affairs, but eating our largest meal in the middle of the day gives us the rest of the day to digest it. We always start with a primo, which is usually pasta or soup, followed by a secondo, which is usually some kind of meat served with a variety of vegetable side dishes known as contorni. We end lunch with a dolce, dessert, and an optional espresso.

Dinners are medium-sized but never followed by dessert. My host family and I usually drink wine with dinner, and the meal can last anywhere from one to two hours. After dinner, Italians usually take a leisurely stroll around town, known as a passeggiata, to help with digestion.

What I’ve learned is that Americans in Italy are fat. Italians aren’t fat. The Mediterranean diet has long been considered one of the healthiest in the world. It consists of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, olive oil, nuts, cheese, and lean meats. In Italy, I generally only see fruits and vegetables in the grocery store when they’re in season.

Talking to my host mother at dinner tonight, she told me she remembered feeling very overwhelmed when she visited the United States and went to a grocery store. With such beautiful weather year-round, the Italian climate is also ideal for cooking delicious, healthy food. Italians do not snack the way Americans do and rarely eat processed foods.

Many Italian cities pride themselves on their one or two distinctive products. In 1963, Italy instituted a certificate of supervised origin, known as the Denominazione di origine controllata (DOC), to protect authentic Italian food. Only foodstuffs genuinely from that region are allowed to label themselves as such, narrowing competition in existing markets and creating so-called “ethical food markets,” where producers are able to demand a higher price for their foods. In the 1980s, the Italian government introduced the more stringent Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) to crack down on cheap imitators. These laws protect many types of wines, olive oils, balsamic vinegars, cheeses, fresh produce, meat, and seafood.

Last month, I attended an annual wine festival in Chianti, the world-famous region of Tuscany known for producing wine of the same name. Every single wine producer I talked to proudly pointed out the label with a black rooster on the neck of the bottle, identifying himself as the producer of a true Chianti wine and a member of the gallo nero consortium, a group of producers who work to ensure authenticity and fair prices. To be a true Chianti wine, each bottle must contain at least 80 percent of Sangiovese grapes.

In 1992, the European Union created the DOP, IGP, and STG seals as part of its own system of food farming protection. The first stands for Denominazione di origine protetta, which identifies products as coming from a specific geographical area, such as prosciutto from Parma. IGP stands for Indicazione Geografica Protetta, in which only part of a product’s production must occur in a certain area, such as balsamic vinegar from Modena.

STG means Specialità tradizionale garantita, in which the method of production is protected, rather than a particular geographical area. As of today, only mozzarella cheese is a STG product. Italy has more protected foodstuffs than any European country, with 164 designated DOP/IGP products.

Naturally, in today’s globalized society, the Italian lifestyle has been influenced by fast food and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. However, stringent food protection laws are preserving traditional preparation methods and encouraging producers to continue to value the quality of their foodstuffs. Italian food is one of the most popular cuisines worldwide and rightly so. However, much of the Italian food I have eaten in the United States is a poor imitator of true Italian cuisine.