In Italian families, the role of women has always been one of fundamental importance. Women were able to create wonderful meals with humble ingredients, but as talented as they might have been, their place was in the home, running the family, not travelling abroad learning haute cuisine.

Massimo Montanari, an expert in historical food studies, discusses the role of women in the development of regional cooking.

Marchesi shows us a delicious dessert made from leftover panettone. Panettone is an Italian fruitcake from the Lombardy region that is traditionally served during the Christmas season. Cinepanettoni are comic movies served up during the holidays.

Not only does the race go from Brescia to Rome, it goes back to Brescia, and the last part, uphill, is very tricky. This historical footage and commentary is priceless! Fasten your seat belt for the finish line.

Artist Nanda Vigo, a friend of Gualtiero Marchesi's, tells us what it was like to be an artist back in those days, and how Marchesi was involved.

From Puglia, a description of olive picking the modern way, and some of the rules agricultural business are required to follow, in order to obtain top quality extra virgin olive oil.

From the heart of Tuscany, famous for its olive oil, Tuscans Lisetta and Alessio talk about how olive oil is made.

One thing that was special about Marchesi's cuisine was that rather than looking abroad for exotic ingredients, his dishes were works of art made with local, ordinary materials.

This historical footage of the Mille Miglia [thousand miles] car race from Brescia to Rome and back includes a cameo appearance by Ingrid Bergman.

Marchesi's friends provide details about their long-term relationships with the celebrated chef.

Documentary in three parts, of the famous Italian car race La Mille Miglia (the one thousand miles) with historical shots of some of the greatest drivers in the world and their cars. Fasten your seatbelts for the first part of three.

Marchesi had plenty of artist friends, and that meant late nights, while having a restaurant meant getting up at the crack of dawn to go to the market. How did he do it?

Marchesi talks about how important his travels in Europe and in Asia had been in enriching his menu, and confirming the path he was following.

The Naples Christmas market from up close. It's a rowdy scene, and there's a lot going on all at once. The famous horn shaped talisman called the cornetto is taken quite seriously as well as other instruments for keeping away the malocchio (evil eye). For more information about the cornetto, and the three r's referred to in the video, see this article in Italian.

Giovanni Ballarini talks about what the kitchens of Italian restaurants were like in the fifties and sixties. To make sense of how he describes them, see Yabla lesson Parole Alterate - Modifying Words to Create New Ones, as well as video lesson Marika spiega: Parole alterate. Gianni Mura talks about some of the trends found on restaurant menus today.