Easter Monday is, traditionally, "picnic day" all over Italy. It's affectionately called Pasquetta (little Easter). This video is from RAI 1, one of the principal TV stations in Italy. At this particular picnic, "primordial" cooking is the protagonist.

In Italy, Easter is the time for special, traditional desserts, which, apart from being delicious, were conceived to represent symbols of life and rebirth.

Franco shows us some infused salts that we would never think of off hand. His descriptions are colorful and make us want to try out these delicacies.

This fascinating segment is all about salt: Our spice journey takes us to Sicily, where much of Italy's salt is harvested. Franco talks about how salt is life, salt is gold.

When you blend spices from exotic places, you are a kind of magician. A pinch of this or a pinch of that can make all the difference.

Franco Calafatti knows a great deal about spices but he also loves to experiment. The star of this segment is cinnamon.

Franco is crazy about spices. He draws us into his world, the world of the 7 (not just 5) senses. In his stream of consciousness style, he prepares us for traveling the four corners of the earth to discover all the tastes and fragrances awaiting us.

Franco Calafatti shows us his marvelous shop filled with spices. He brings us into his world, his special relationship with the spices, from traveling the world in search of the plants, to the harvesting, to the sorting, to the crushing.

Arianna finally finishes making panzanella [Tuscan bread salad], which she then enjoys eating while sitting outside under the Tuscan sun.

Arianna prepares the ingredients for the panzanella and stresses that this recipe is easily adaptable to personal tastes. You can't really go wrong. It's also a great recipe for anyone to make while vacationing in Italy, since it's so simple.

Arianna, born and raised in Tuscany, will make panzanella, one of her favorite dishes. The main ingredient is quite humble: stale bread!

Antonino has a visitor from Sorrento on the Amalfi Coast, who brings in some of the world-famous Sorrento lemons. They prepare whole-wheat spaghetti with a simple sauce featuring lemon rind and bottarga (salted fish roe).

Antonino shares a new and easy recipe with grape or cherry tomatoes, buffalo stracciatella, and shrimp. But what makes the dish special is the special pasta: Penne with ridges both inside and out.

Today Antonino cooks special, grooved spaghetti, with garlic, oil and hot peppers. It's a classic pasta recipe, but our chef adds some extra ingredients to give it a different twist.

Antonino is in the kitchen with Michele from Eboli preparing a pasta dish with provola, eggplant and red mullet.