Water, earth, fish, animals, rice: these were the fundamental elements of Italian cuisine in the pre-war and war years, elements that profoundly influenced the culinary creations of one of the most famous chefs in Italy, Gualtiero Marchesi.

Pre-war and wartime cooking, when fuel for cooking was in short supply, made raw recipes come to the fore.

Gualtiero Marchesi recalls the early years of his friendship with Aldo Calvi, when the would hunt and fish together along the Po.

Gualtiero Marchesi recalls his childhood, living along the banks of the River Po. His memories are as diverse as milking cows and seeing German bombers taking out bridges.

Claudio Capotondi discusses his marble and travertine sculpture entitled PortaRoma, created in 2000.

"Innercore" is the title, inspired by an article in the New York Times, of Claudio Capotondi's masterpiece. He talks about the significance of the sculpture, and about the special kind of stone he used to make it.

Claudio Capotondo talks about the tools and techniques that enable him to transform a block of marble or porphyry (a kind of igneous rock) into a work of art.

Our famous chef talks about the town where he spent much of his childhood, San Zenone al Po, where two rivers meet, and where flooding has always been part of life.

World famous chef, Gualtiero Marchesi talks about his career, his search for a total cuisine, an authentic cuisine.

The artist takes to the fascinating world of the marble quarries where he chooses the blocks of marble which he will transform into works of art.

Terre d'acqua means water-lands. We are talking about the once marshy area which has now become the fertile Po valley. Gualtiero Marchesi is considered to be the founder of the new Italian cuisine, and is perhaps the best known Italian chef in the world. He begins telling us his story.

The Naples soccer team is the most popular team in Southern Italy, having won a very high number of games. They have an estimated four million fans worldwide, many of whom come to this shop to buy jerseys.

Claudio Capotondi, sculptor, takes us into his "thinking room" and talks about the process of taking a block of marble and turning it into a work of art.

Claudio Capotondi is a sculptor who lives and works in Pietrasanta, a Tuscan town famous for its marble and marble sculptors. He talks about an upcoming exhibition.

Catena and Agata relax in the garden of Agata's baglio [Sicilian architectural form with buildings arranged around a courtyard]. They're getting ready to cook typical Sicilian dishes that Catena will include in a cookbook she's writing.