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Italian Food Perception as a Marker of the Spread of Italian Identity in Germany

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Food Across Cultures

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Abstract

Food can be considered a means of communicating and symbolising cultural peculiarities. In this sense, it is comparable to language as a marker of cultural and ethnic identity and as a tool that ‘lends form’ to the world. Both language and food “are used to maintain and create human relationships. The dinner table is a rich site for socialisation and language acquisition. Moreover, eating and talking are used to construct social hierarchies” (Gerhardt 2013, p. 4). Consequently, culinary habits and ways of consuming food, such as the sequence of courses in a meal, the ingredients in a dish and the subdivision of meals during the day disclose cultural identity. Thus, food consumption can be seen as a real identity marker since it is related to the domains of both linguistic and cultural identification and/or representation. Finally, food and the language of food unavoidably travel across cultures and transnational food migration becomes a key element in the (re)definition of ethnic identities. Moving on from such considerations, in this study, we investigate some features of perceptions of Italian food in Germany as regards cultural and societal representation, image and/or integration of Italian (culinary) identity into that society.

Research for this paper has been carried out jointly by the two authors. Amelia Bandini, in particular, is responsible for Sects. 1, 2 and 3 while Marcella Corduas for Sects. 4, 4.1 and 4.2. Section 5 have been elaborated together.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See http://www.ifd-allensbach.de/uploads/tx_reportsndocs/prd_0313.pdf.

  2. 2.

    Beim Essen geht es den Italienern nicht nur ums Sattwerden, vielmehr ist Essen für sie ein kommunikatives Erlebnis - ein Ausdruck von Lebensfreude. Die entspannte Lebensweise ist sicher ein Grund dafür, dass die Bewohner der Mittelmeerregion nicht so häufig an Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen leiden wie wir. Die mediterrane Küche ist traditionell leicht, bekömmlich und abwechslungsreich. See http://www.bella-cucina.de/italienische-kueche.php.

  3. 3.

    Last visit November 2015.

  4. 4.

    Cfr footnote 1: Allensbach report 2003.

  5. 5.

    At Marco’s you take 2–3 hours for a journey through the Sardinian cuisine. He takes time for each guest, it’s like being a member of the family.

  6. 6.

    You should have time. This is Mediterranean.

  7. 7.

    Italians celebrate “La Dolce Vita” […] loud and thoroughly happy with hours of banquets according to traditional recipes. See http://www.lecker.de/rezepte/rezeptregister/artikel-22856-rezeptregister-detail/Rezepte-aus-Italien.html.

  8. 8.

    Wie in Italien, Italien in Berlin, so ist man nur in Italien. “As in Italy, Italy in Berlin, so it is only in Italy”.

  9. 9.

    Hier findet man ein italienische Paar, das zwar etwas Probleme mit der deutschen Sprache hat, aber sich sehr viel Mühe gibt einem die Speisekarte zu erklären.

  10. 10.

    Hospitality and enjoyment. Warm welcome, attentive service and excellent food—if Italian food in Berlin, then in Focaccino! The boss is present, taking care of all aspects […]. Employees are attentive and friendly.

  11. 11.

    Der Patron ist selbst an Dienst, Herzlicher Padrone di casa.

  12. 12.

    Der Service war sehr nett und aufmerksam, Sehr freundlicher Service, Der Service war perfekt und das Personal sehr freundlich, Marco und Daniela sind sehr freundlich.

  13. 13.

    Everything was fresh and delicious! The pasta is also homemade.

  14. 14.

    Very highly recommended! […] then two pasta courses and even desserts, all fresh and in a friendly and familiar atmosphere.

  15. 15.

    I had the gnocchi with ragu alla Mama Franca, my girlfriend tortellacci with cheese parsley filling …and that blew us away with taste. We noticed that they have been self-made and with love.

  16. 16.

    Caponata to dream. Absolutely to order as a starter the Sicilian caponata.

  17. 17.

    Although the original German text presents language mistakes, the authors have decided to leave them unamended. The text states: “The green gnocchi with lardo di Colonnata, rosemary and parmesan were fabulous, as are the gnocchi with authentic Bolognese sauce. […] Everything was freshly prepared from a very attentive and nice cook. After many “Primi” came fresh tigelle and gnocco fritto with a selection of Italian cold cuts”. Notice that gnocchi and gnocco fritto are very different dishes.

  18. 18.

    https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marcella_Corduas/contributions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy

    Amelia Bandini & Marcella Corduas

Authors
  1. Amelia Bandini
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  2. Marcella Corduas
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Correspondence to Amelia Bandini .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Literary, Linguistics and Comparative Studies, University of Naples “L’Orientale”, Naples, Italy

    Giuseppe Balirano

  2. Department of Humanities, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Salerno, Italy

    Siria Guzzo

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Bandini, A., Corduas, M. (2019). Italian Food Perception as a Marker of the Spread of Italian Identity in Germany. In: Balirano, G., Guzzo, S. (eds) Food Across Cultures. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11153-3_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11153-3_1

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