Into the fifties, many Italians would stop at trucker restaurants, knowing they'd eat huge portions for little money. With prosperity, Italians began to search for authentic and higher quality foods. One of Marchesi's signature dishes is the open tortello, a deconstructed filled pasta.

After the war, when eating had to do with survival, tastes started to change and to branch out towards different regions. Now, once again cucina tipica (traditional local cooking) or prodotti tipici (local products) have practically become magic words.

"Starvation gastronomy " describes the humble origins of Italian cuisine. Inventing recipes based on whatever was available in the territory resulted in regional dishes that have become famous today.

"Food is culture." What do we mean by this? Cultural historian, Massimo Montanari, and world-famous chef, Gualtiero Marchesi share their views.

As a fitting end to this journey into Italian gastronomy, Gualtiero Marchesi shares with us the recipe for one of his most special risottos, using his own innovative techniques while keeping with tradition.

The Abruzzo Region, sometimes known as the Abruzzi with an i in older publications, is the area of interest for this six-segment video. This segment concentrates on the Piccolomini Castle in Marsica.

Highlights include a church straddling the Romanesque and Gothic in Celano, and Massa d'Albe (the Roman city of Alba Fucens), where there is an amphitheater excavated from rock. The word arena comes from the Latin word harena, or sand. Sand was used on arena floors to catch the blood lost during gladiator games and the like.

The segment highlights two medieval churches near the ancient site of Alba Fucens. Both churches display ornamental facings made from pieces of colored marble that are intricately pieced together, what is known as Cosmatesque work.

Abruzzo churches built by order of Saint Francis of Assisi (1226–1330) or dedicated to him, are featured in this segment.

The segment features the Oratory of San Pellegrino and the Church of St. Mary of the Assumption in Bominaco. These, together with the Marian church in nearby Fossa, are considered the finest examples of Medieval art and architecture in the Abruzzo Region.

The tour of the Abruzzo Region concludes with sights near l'Aquila, the region's capital.

In 1749, King Charles of Bourbon (Charles III of Spain) or Carlo Terzo di Borbone, who was King of Naples at the time, commissioned an important campaign of archeological digs in an area near that city. Marika tells us the story.

After Stabiae was razed to the ground in a war, the Romans decided to build some luxury villas in the area. Luckily, some archeological digs led by archeologist Libro D'Orsi were effectuated in the 1950s, and 3 villas came to light.

The Villa San Marco is an amazingly well-preserved luxury villa from the Augustan period, with a wonderful panoramic view of Vesuvius and the gulf of Naples. Marika shows us around the four nuclei of the villa.

The name of the villa was inspired by the story of Dionysus who watched Ariadne while she slept. It was excavated first by the Bourbons but was buried again. Later in the 50s, digs were resumed and now, it can be visited in all its glory.