Download - Good Food Good Mood

Comenius visit to Italian partner school, Rome, Italy
28th June – 2nd July 2013
Students in Year 12 & 13 celebrated five years of International Leadership
with a visit to our Italian partner school in Rome www.ipsiacattaneo.it
We were hosted by our link teacher Marzia Zabbatino and her team of
International Leaders : Adrian, Valerio, Stefano, Adrian, Giulio, Patrick
and Ovidiu. Our partner school is an engineering school, similar to a technical
college in the UK, where the students study to become mechanics,
technicians, plumbers, electrians & product designers. Our partner school’s
building in Corso Vittorio occupies a building which is 500 years old.
We were guided to: Piazza Venezia, Fori Imperiali (imperial forum),
Colosseo (Colosseum), Altare della patria (Tomb of the unknown soldier),
Aventino Bocca della verita (mouth of the truth), Circo Massimo (great
circuit), the English cemetery, Piramide (pyramid), Testaccio (hill of
shards), Piazza Navona, Fonata di Trevi (the Trevi Fountain) , Piazza del
Popolo, Via del Corso, Pantheon (temple of all gods), Piazza di Spagna,
Eataly & St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City.
Our objectives were linked to our project Good Food Good Mood.
These were our findings:
Employment in the food industry in Italy & the impact of history on food
& drink provision
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The first-ever shopping mall was built by the Emperor Trajan in Rome.
It consisted of several levels and more than 150 outlets that sold
everything ranging from food and spices to clothes
The food industry is the 3rd most important sector (9.5%)
The agri-food sector is estimated at around €208 billion in Italy
Imports 2012
Exports 2012
Subsector
Million
euro
Subsector
Million
euro
Processed meat
4,422.3
Other food products
4,070.8
Dairy products
2,714.6
Beverages
3,776.3
Fish products
2,456.1
Oils and fats
2,274.6
Processed fruits
vegetables
Processed meat
Other food products
2,104.4
Dairy products
1,395.5
Total food-industry
17,338.1
Total food-industry
14,882.0
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and
1,979.3
1,444.8
Much of Italy still relies on local produce markets, particularly for fruit
and vegetables. This is not so prevalent in Rome, where big supermarkets
and a need for space have forced some local markets to close. There are
still some markets, but many people in Rome do not always believe the
food is “local”. The table above suggests a net import surplus balance
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There is still a strong food ethic in Rome, restaurants and shops are keen
to advertise “fresh” produce or that they sell ecologically sound
foodstuffs.
The “dairy” sub-sector plays a relevant role in two regions: EmiliaRomagna ( 16% of employees in that region ) and Campania (11% of
employees).Emilia-Romagna is famous for the cheese “ParmigianoReggiano” and Campania for the cheese known as “Mozzarella”
The “Parmigiano Reggiano” is a union of small enterprises that are located
in the same area between the provinces of Parma and Reggio-Emilia. This
confirms the localisation and the specialisation of the Italian foodindustry in some particular areas, in the same way as champagne in France
and Red Leicester cheese in Britain
“Beverages” are an important sub-sector of the Italian food-industry.
The most significant production is wine, which is the most significant
exported beverage (70%)
The biggest companies in the agro-alimentary industry are “Campari”,
“Coca Cola Italia”, “San Benedetto” and “Heineken Italia”
There is an economic difference between the North and the South of
Italy. In the North, including Milan, Turin, Venice, Florence, and Rome
there are industries such as the motor trade , the fashion business and
tourism.The South is more reliant on the agricultural businesses
The Capuchin Crypt in Rome consists of five chapels and a corridor 60
metres long—and it is decorated with the bones of 4,000 deceased
monks. The coffee drink Cappuccino takes its name from this order of
monks who were known by their custom of wearing a hood or cappucio
with their habits
Wealthy Romans used to eat exotic foods such as stuffed flamingo. Fish
sauce called liquamen or garum made from fish intestines was also
popular
Land ownership was so important that almost all Roman citizens owned at
least a small plot
After the fall of Rome, the Colosseum became overgrown with exotic
plants - seeds had inadvertently been transported with the wild animals
that were used for fighting. During the Middle Ages it became a fortress
for the city's two warrior families
Sporting venues and their history
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On the day the Colosseum officially opened, 5,000 animals were killed.
During its history, it has been estimated that over 500,000 people and
over a million animals were killed there
The Colosseum had a large sun roof that could be stretched over the
crowd to keep the spectators in the shade. The Colosseum took 12
years to build, and the exit time for all 70,000 spectators was only
three minutes
The Circus Maximus, which was a horserace track, could seat nearly
250,000 fans. This was sustained by the money generated by gambling
The Colosseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, took its name from
the Latin word colossous, which means “giant statue.” A huge statue of
Emperor Nero stood near the stadium, giving it its nickname
The geography, history, technological and migratory patterns of Rome
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In response to a 73 B.C. revolt against Rome by Spartacus the
gladiator, 6,000 slaves were crucified
On his journey through the Alps to invade Rome in 218 B.C., the
Carthaginian general Hannibal lost 14,000 men and 25 elephants.
However, it was 17 years before Roman soldiers defeated him
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A man could lose Roman citizenship if he deserted the army, mutilated
himself so he could not serve, or dodged a census to evade taxation
Most In A.D. 64, a huge fire destroyed half of Rome. Some claim Nero
purposely set it so he could rebuild the city how he wanted it. The
saying “Fiddling while Rome burns” comes from the story that Nero
played his lyre while Rome burned
Several religious sources claim that Nero was the Antichrist and will
return as the Antichrist. Some scholars claim that the numbers 666 in
the biblical Book of Revelation is a code for Nero
Rome’s population of more than a million was not matched by any other
European city until London finally over took it in the nineteenth
century
A fasces, which was a bundle of tied rods with a red ribbon that often
included a bronze axe, symbolized the power and unity of Rome. Italian
“fascism” derives its name from fasces
By the early fourth century, the Romans had built a road network of
53,000 miles throughout the empire. Each Roman mile was about 1,000
paces (about 4,800 feet) and was marked by a milestone
The Romans were the first civilisation to use concrete and to create
arches
The Monte Testaccio is a vast, nonbiodegradable rubbish dump where
an estimated 53 million amphorae (ceramic vases) have been thrown.
Roman coins were used to publicise the emperor, his achievements, and
his family in a world with no mass media
The St. Pietro (St. Peter's Basillica) currently displays the chains which
held St. Peter while imprisoned (with St. Paul) in the Carcere
Mamertino (Mamertine Prison)
The Pantheon, built by the emperor Hadrian (118-125), (“Temple of the
Gods”) has a massive dome is made of concrete that has withstood the
elements for almost 2,000 years, with no steel reinforcement.
Rome has a sovereign state located entirely in its city limits, the
Vatican City, which is also the world’s smallest state
Public health and medical research in Roman times
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Roman doctors had a wide range of surgical tools, including catheters
and speculums. Many modern medical terms still have Latin roots. The
knee cap, for example, is the patella, which is Latin for “shallow dish”
The snake was a common image in Roman art and jewellery and was
believed to have powers over a family’s well-being
Sometimes gladiator blood was recommended by Roman physicians as an
aid to fertility
Roman towns were provided with forica, or public lavatories. Instead of
toilet paper, Romans would use a wet sponge. Running water carried the
waste to the main drains
Wealthy Roman women would smear lead paste on their faces to look
fashionably pale. They might also use ass’ milk or crushed snails as a
facial moisturiser. Crushed ant eggs were often used to highlight
women’s eyebrows.
Toothpaste was regularly used by those who could afford it. Nitrum,
probably either potassium or sodium carbonate, was burned and rubbed
on the teeth to restore colour
The Romans did not use soap. To get rid of sweat and grime, they would
cover themselves with oil and then scrape off the oil with special a
scraper made of metal, wood, or bone called a strigil
Romans invented central heating and would warm rooms from under the
floor using what was called a hypocaust, literally “heat from below.”
Homes of some rich people had both running water and central heating
When Romans would visit the temple of Aesculapius (the god of
medicine and healing), they would leave offerings shaped like the part
of their body afflicted, such as an ear or a leg
Girls were expected to marry at the age of 13 or 14 in arranged
marriages. Throwing nuts, symbolic of the casting off of childish toys
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and of fertility, was an important part of the wedding. The bride wore a
saffron-colored wedding gown with a flame-red veil over her hair
Most Roman aqueducts were over 55 feet high. Their great height not
only controlled the flow of water but also made it more difficult for
enemies to steal or poison the water The Roman Aqueduct of Segovia
was built of stones with no mortar and is still used to carry water today
Rome’s “Mouth of Truth” (La Bocca della Verità) was the original lie
detector. Allegedly, it would cut off a person’s hand if it was placed in
the mouth while the person spoke a lie. Later, priests in the Middle
Ages would put scorpions in it to help perpetuate the story
Links to England & the English language in Rome & Italian history
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Shelley and Keats are buried in the English graveyard
Romans were highly superstitious and feared anything to do with the
left, which is why their words for “left” and “left-handed” were sinister
and sinstra, giving us the modern meaning of “sinister”
After the fall of Rome, Latin continued in a variety of dialects which
later developed into the Romance languages such as Portuguese,
Romanian, Italian, French, and Spanish. Though not directly related,
Latin has also significantly influenced English
Arrivederci !