The Atlas of the language and texts of Italian gastronomic culture from the Middle Ages to the Unification (AtLiTeG) represents an extraordinary initiative in the panorama of historical-linguistic and food and wine studies. This ambitious project, conducted with philological, historical-linguistic, lexicological and lexicographical rigor, aims to reconstruct in a detailed and innovative way the history and geography of the Italian food language from the Middle Ages to the Unification of Italy.
Through in-depth georeferencing, AtLiTeG highlights the evolution of gastronomic terminology over the centuries, allowing us to understand the mutual influences between regional and national culinary cultures. The period examined, between the Middle Ages and Italian unification, is of particular interest as it is characterized by an intense interaction between different traditions and by the presence of multiple centers of textual production that have contributed to shaping the lexicon of Italian gastronomy.
The project is divided into several fundamental lines of action:
The clarification of textual traditions through careful verification of sources and the creation of new philologically reliable editions.
The analysis of production centers, textual typologies and writing subjects for a more precise reconstruction of the history of the language of food.
The creation of a vocabulary of the pre-unification gastronomic language, a resource of fundamental importance that until now was missing in the Italian lexicographic panorama.
The development of a dynamic map of pre-unification gastronomic terminology, made possible thanks to an innovative textual analysis system developed at the University for Foreigners of Siena.
The importance of AtLiTeG goes beyond the simple academic sphere: its cultural value is extraordinary, as it offers an essential contribution to the understanding and valorization of the Italian food and wine heritage. A heritage that is not only made of flavors and culinary traditions, but also of words, stories, uses and customs that have been handed down over the centuries.
This project, therefore, not only enriches linguistic and historical research, but is also a valuable tool for popularizers and educators – myself included – who work to spread the culture of food and the pleasure of the table. Its ability to combine tradition and innovation, thanks to the use of the most modern techniques of Digital Humanities, makes it a cutting-edge initiative, destined to leave an important mark on the study and promotion of Italian gastronomic culture.
In an era in which food is increasingly at the center of cultural and social debates, AtLiTeG proves to be an essential project for understanding the linguistic and historical roots of our gastronomic heritage, thus contributing to spreading and enhancing the pleasure of sitting at the table.