New publication: Publication on medieval cuisine
Paolo Santonino as an Informant of Culinary Knowledge and Practice in the Alps-Adriatic Region in the 1480s
2025/03/12
New Open Access publication by our colleague Stephan Ebert from the Middle Ages Section. Dr Ebert's article examines the travel diary of the Italian lawyer Paolo Santonino (ca. 1440-1507) focusing on the history of food and consumption at the end of the Middle Ages and shows, among other things, how new culinary trends from Italy are tangible in the south-east of the German-speaking world. There, for example, early forms of spaghetti were already being served in the 1480s.
Between 1485 and 1487, the Patriarch of Aquileia sent the bishop of Caorle (Italy) to the Alps-Adriatic region to re-consecrate churches, chapels, and cemeteries that had been desecrated during the Turkish invasions. Among the travelers was the bishop’s private secretary, Paolo Santonino (ca. 1440–1507).
He kept a diary of the journeys and recorded not only ecclesiastical matters but especially the daily meals served to the travel group. Since the travelers were of high status, the dishes were primarily late-medieval haute cuisine, as many recipes matched contemporary culinary literature.