In cucina!

In cucina! Lingua e cultura gastronomica italiana is an intermediate-level Italian language program that explores Italy’s rich culinary heritage as a gateway to language and culture. Its dual purpose is to develop students’ proficiency in Italian while deepening their understanding of Italian history, society, and cultural traditions through the study of one of the nation’s most enduring and beloved expressions of identity: its cuisine.

Spanning the culinary history of Italy from Etruscan times to the present day and featuring the distinctive food traditions of all twenty Italian regions, the book’s ten chapters present a wide range of authentic cultural materials. Literary texts, poetry, works of art, historical illustrations, traditional and contemporary recipes, and original readings by the authors are integrated with communicative activities that foster both linguistic development and cultural engagement.

Each chapter includes contextualized interactive exercises; opportunities for individual, pair, and group research projects through In cucina’s Companion Website; self-assessment activities; and a grammar appendix that revisits and expands upon grammatical structures introduced in elementary language courses.

A long-awaited resource for intermediate Italian language learners, In cucina! offers an engaging and interdisciplinary approach to language, culture, and gastronomy. Rich in linguistic, historical, and culinary insights, it serves up food for thought for a new generation of students in English-speaking institutions as well as for those studying abroad in Italy.

About the Authors:

Romana Capek-Habeković served for many years as Director of the Elementary Italian Language Program at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, where she also earned her Ph.D. in Italian. 

Gina Pietrantoni is Senior Instructor of Italian at Arizona State University and holds an M.A. in Foreign Language Pedagogy from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.