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When in Rome, consider dining as the Romans did. Visitors to the Eternal City can feast on some of the ancients' favorite dishes served in restaurants surrounded by the awe-inspiring ruins of their civilization.
The ancient Romans did much to advance the culinary arts, refining cooking utensils and crockery and introducing an array of new spices to the European continent through their widespread trading networks. Perhaps, no Roman did more to advance cooking, however, than Apicius. Ancient texts refer to at least three historic cooks who went by this name, but scholars generally agree that Marcus Gavius, a wealthy and decadent epicure mentioned in the works of Pliny, authored the first-- century cookbook De Re Coquinaria, (Concerning Culinary Matters).
Apicius delighted in cooking extravagant feasts for his friends, in particular the Emperor Tiberius's son, at his seaside villa at Minturnum between Naples and Rome. His specialties were spicy sauces, prawns (his favorite food), and cakes. Legend has it that after he had blown most of his fortune, Apicius poisoned himself rather than face a life without the best culinary delights.
Luckily, to sample Apicius' recipes, you don't have to translate his Latin. By appointment between mid-- March and Christmas Giulia Passarelli, a disciple of the first-century...