Gastronomic Italy. Map of the Principal Gastronomic Specialties of The Regions of Italy [map-title].

Roma: Ente Nazionale Industrie Turistiche, 1931. Folding brochure with map, 24 x 11 cm; map size, 64 x 45 cm.

An alluring promotional map featuring the gastronomic specialties of the various regions of Italy.

Depicted and labeled on this attractive map is a smorgasbord of world-renowned foods and drinks particular to Italy, including Ostriche, Orvieto, Pizza, Ricotta, Cannoli, Marsala, Bistecca, Pesto, Scampi, Gorgonzola and so forth. Each of these appear near their appropriate Italian regions, which are labeled, as are the various seas surrounding Italy. The Mediterranean Sea lies at the bottom and Greece appears in the right corner, where a musician is shown playing guitar. Also included here are Sicily and Sardinia, which are similarly smothered in food and drink.

Beginning with the motto, “Eat well and simply and you will live long,” the text on the verso covers the particulars of the following regions of Italy: Piédmont, Lombardy, Venetia, Emilia, Tuscany, Latium, Sardinia, Sicily, Campania and Abruzzo. The front-cover illustration, which is signed ‘Zimelli,’ is an appealing cubist depiction of a lively group of women around a kitchen table clutching eggs, wine, and pasta dishes, with one lady apparently singing. The text offers “an extremely rapid survey of the food and drink that the stranger ought to try, no matter what class of restaurant he may patronise.”

Umberto Zimelli (1898–1972) was an Italian painter, designer, and illustrator. He was trained at the School of Art of Forli and the Academy of Fine Arts in Ravenna. During Fascist rule, Zimelli was commissioned by the Italian National Tourist Board to create maps of Italian food, wine and costume.

WorldCat records 6 copies.

A delightful culinary map.

CONDITION: Good, a few minor separations and small holes along old folds, light chipping and one minor loss to upper margin.