they, and the entire town of Forlimpopoli, had been subjected by the a band of brigands led by the notorious (and controversially romantic) Stefano Pelloni, better known as the
Passatore
(Ferryman), a nickname he inherited from his father, who was a real
passatore
on the River Lamone. 85
It was in Florence that Artusi found the world he had always been looking for. Having become an investment banker, and a very wise investor, 86 in less than thirteen years, he had earned enough money to be able to dedicate himself more freely to intellectual pursuits and to attending university lectures, which were then public. Above all, his prosperity and changed family situation (having buried his parents and overcome “the nightmare” of his sisters 87 ) enabled him to be inducted into what we might call a self-styled club of permanent bachelorhood, characterized, as the editors of his autobiography have not failed to notice, by “a modest hedonism, an elegant wardrobe, and a real passion for food.” 88 Perfectly harmonious with the “philosophical” premises in which it was grounded, the third of Artusi’s predilections would become a very special labor of love, leading to a pot of gold at the end of a savory rainbow.
Whatever reticence may have hindered him at the beginning, the insistence of the many gentlemen and ladies “of my acquaintance, who honored me with their friendship” led to his resolve to proceed with the project of publishing
Scienza in cucina
. The “materials had long been prepared,” he writes in a paragraph of the preface, “and served only for my personal use. I thus present it to you now as the simple amateur that I am, certain that I shall not disappoint you, having tried and retried these dishes many times myself.” 89 These modest and yet highly informative lines shed light on both Artusi’s social life and the specific environment within which he cultivated his culinary talents.
A bachelor who enjoyed the covenient intimacy of a fair number of female friends, as he somberly but unequivocally declares in his
Autobiografia
, Artusi basked in the reflected light of acquaintances whom he could admire without losing his own balance, and in the trust he inspired in people seeking either gastronomic advice or ways to improve their assets. Nothing illustrates his notion of “covenient familiarity” better than his “strategic” retreat from the proximity of a “good oil and fresco painter, judged to be among the best in Florence,” whom Artusi had befriended for the purpose of “forming an idea of artistic beauty.” 11I used to visit his studio to admire his work and, to make sure that I would be tolerated, I wasn’t negligent in using those courtesies practiced among friends.” 90 When, however, the painter suggests that Artusi consider buying a painting the
gradus ad amicitiam
is rudely interrupted. Clearly Artusi did not care to include this gentleman artist in the cohort to which Mantegazza and many other members of the upper bourgeoisie and Anglo-Florentine aristocracy contributed social lustre and intellectual vitality. 91 Numbered among the luminaries were Enrico Hillyer Giglioli 92 and Adolfo Targioni Tozzetti, both of them colleagues of Mantegazza’s at the Regio Istituto di Studi Superioiri, 93 poet Renato Fucini, 94 critic Alessandro D’Ancona, 95 marquis and marchioness Almerici, and even the controversial English writer Walter Savage Landor. 96
If the marrige of friendship and patronage was not meant to be, that of friendship and free professional service encountered no obstacle whatsoever. It is again Artusi who informs us of how well-disposed he could be towards people whom he hardly knew, as in the case of Domenico P., better known as Mengone, from Faenza. On moving to Florence, “he came over to my bank and introduced himself, imploring me to invest a sum of money, the fruit of his savings. I could see that he was a gentleman and that he had promise, and what’s more, he
Passatore
(Ferryman), a nickname he inherited from his father, who was a real
passatore
on the River Lamone. 85
It was in Florence that Artusi found the world he had always been looking for. Having become an investment banker, and a very wise investor, 86 in less than thirteen years, he had earned enough money to be able to dedicate himself more freely to intellectual pursuits and to attending university lectures, which were then public. Above all, his prosperity and changed family situation (having buried his parents and overcome “the nightmare” of his sisters 87 ) enabled him to be inducted into what we might call a self-styled club of permanent bachelorhood, characterized, as the editors of his autobiography have not failed to notice, by “a modest hedonism, an elegant wardrobe, and a real passion for food.” 88 Perfectly harmonious with the “philosophical” premises in which it was grounded, the third of Artusi’s predilections would become a very special labor of love, leading to a pot of gold at the end of a savory rainbow.
Whatever reticence may have hindered him at the beginning, the insistence of the many gentlemen and ladies “of my acquaintance, who honored me with their friendship” led to his resolve to proceed with the project of publishing
Scienza in cucina
. The “materials had long been prepared,” he writes in a paragraph of the preface, “and served only for my personal use. I thus present it to you now as the simple amateur that I am, certain that I shall not disappoint you, having tried and retried these dishes many times myself.” 89 These modest and yet highly informative lines shed light on both Artusi’s social life and the specific environment within which he cultivated his culinary talents.
A bachelor who enjoyed the covenient intimacy of a fair number of female friends, as he somberly but unequivocally declares in his
Autobiografia
, Artusi basked in the reflected light of acquaintances whom he could admire without losing his own balance, and in the trust he inspired in people seeking either gastronomic advice or ways to improve their assets. Nothing illustrates his notion of “covenient familiarity” better than his “strategic” retreat from the proximity of a “good oil and fresco painter, judged to be among the best in Florence,” whom Artusi had befriended for the purpose of “forming an idea of artistic beauty.” 11I used to visit his studio to admire his work and, to make sure that I would be tolerated, I wasn’t negligent in using those courtesies practiced among friends.” 90 When, however, the painter suggests that Artusi consider buying a painting the
gradus ad amicitiam
is rudely interrupted. Clearly Artusi did not care to include this gentleman artist in the cohort to which Mantegazza and many other members of the upper bourgeoisie and Anglo-Florentine aristocracy contributed social lustre and intellectual vitality. 91 Numbered among the luminaries were Enrico Hillyer Giglioli 92 and Adolfo Targioni Tozzetti, both of them colleagues of Mantegazza’s at the Regio Istituto di Studi Superioiri, 93 poet Renato Fucini, 94 critic Alessandro D’Ancona, 95 marquis and marchioness Almerici, and even the controversial English writer Walter Savage Landor. 96
If the marrige of friendship and patronage was not meant to be, that of friendship and free professional service encountered no obstacle whatsoever. It is again Artusi who informs us of how well-disposed he could be towards people whom he hardly knew, as in the case of Domenico P., better known as Mengone, from Faenza. On moving to Florence, “he came over to my bank and introduced himself, imploring me to invest a sum of money, the fruit of his savings. I could see that he was a gentleman and that he had promise, and what’s more, he
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