In North American or northern European settings, those who observe Easter will feast with friends and family on the evening of Easter Sunday, following a long Lenten fast. And this is generally when the festivities and Easter contemplations end. Not in Italy, however. On Easter Monday, it’s as if they have chosen to celebrate the resurrection of Christ one more time, breaking out Cuddura di Pasqua yet again after the dawn of this new day.
On 27 June, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii announced that a new fresco depicting a focaccia (an Italian flatbread) had been discovered. In recent years, the site has begun excavating previously unexplored areas of the once bustling town that was buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.
Just a few hours ago, on 27 June 2023, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii announced that a fresco of ‘mensa’ flatbread has been discovered during the ongoing excavations of Insula 10 of Region 9! And I am so excited that I cannot sleep! (…it’s 3:24 am in Malibu).
La scoperta dell’anello di pane carbonizzato a Pompeii ci lascia con molte domande senza risposta, ma un archeologo culinario ha rintracciato le sue radici e identificato la ‘ciambella’ di Pompeii.
Have you ever wanted to experience the foods of Ancient Rome? Now you can! Farrell Monaco is a Roman archaeologist, baker, and writer whose research centers on food from the Roman Mediterranean.
Be the first in your insula to own a Signaculum 79 bread stamp today and tell that pesky pistor where to stick that loaf of spelt!
As featured in this month’s issue of National Geographic! Join award-winning culinary archaeologist, Farrell Monaco, for a two-part sensory journey into the world of Roman leavened breads and bread starters. Let’s cook it old school!
As featured in this month’s issue of National Geographic! Join award-winning culinary archaeologist, Farrell Monaco, for a two-part sensory journey into the world of Roman leavened breads and bread starters. Let’s cook it old school!
In A.D. 79 the eruption of Mount Vesuvius buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash and pumice, and carbonized many of their organic contents—including the bread in Pompeii’s bakeries. Farrell Monaco, a culinary archaeologist, researched one popular bread’s history and has re-created the recipe.
Una pestilenza sta prendendo la nostra terra. Gli dei sono incazzati. È tempo di prendere in mano questa situazione con un antico sacrificio greco. Vattene, pestilenza, vattene!
Yup. You read that right. It’s a recipe for an ancient Roman sourdough bread starter made from legumes!
A pestilence is sweeping our land. The gods are pissed. It’s time to take this situation into our own hands with an ancient Greek sacrifice. Be gone, pestilence, be gone!
About the author:
Farrell Monaco is an award-winning Classical archaeologist and food-writer whose research centers on food, food preparation, and bread in the Roman Mediterranean. She writes regularly on the role of food and food preparation in Roman daily life on her site, Tavola Mediterranea, and publishes in both English and Italian. Farrell has also written exclusively for Atlas Obscura and BBC Travel. Her work has been featured prominently by National Geographic, Popular Science, The Atlantic, the BBC, The Guardian, The Economist, Esquire Magazine, SAPIENS Magazine, Verve Magazine, Saveur Magazine and Milk Street. In November of 2020, Farrell co-produced, wrote and presented a video on the history of the date palm fruit with The Getty Museum (Los Angeles, USA).
