Also on the 22nd of February, twenty-five students from the “History of Florence” course attended a Renaissance banquet at the Pentola d’Oro, one of Florence top eateries. Internationally-renowned chef Giuseppe Alessi recreated five meals from the 1300s-1600s for our intrepid visitors to sample. Dishes included a gingery walnut pasta dish that came out of Galileo’s circle and a recipe for wild boar suffused with chocolate from the late Medici court. Chef Alessi spoke to the group before the meal, answered questions after and the students were sent a list of ingredients for the dishes on the morning of the 23rd as several had expressed an ambition to recreate the banquet in their own kitchens!

Simon Young, Ph.D.
Professor of History at ISI Florence