Americans have fallen in love with Italian regional food, from the casual fare of Tuscan trattorias to the more refined creations of high-end Piedmontese restaurants, from Sicily’s wonderful desserts to Emilia-Romagna’s superb cheeses and cured meats. Rustico is the first American book to explore the remarkable breadth of these richly varied cuisines, devoting equal attention to each of Italy’s twenty regions. This includes thorough treatment of such places as Val d’Aosta, high in the Alps, whose fare is an intriguing mix of northern Italian, French, and Swiss influences: truffled fondue or grappa-spiked venison stew will transport you to the slopes of Monte Bianco. Or Trentino–Alto Adige, with the southernmost German-speaking towns in Europe, for goulasch and spaetzle. Or the scorched southern regions like Basilicata, known for their spicy dishes; the Veneto, with the aromatic foods that are a legacy of Venice’s reign as the spice capital; or Sardinia, with its Spanish-inflected cuisine. For each of the twenty regions, Micol Negrin provides ten authentic, truly representative recipes, with a special focus on original, rustic dishes, encompassing the entire meal—antipasti to dolci. Each chapter is introduced by an overview of the region, its culinary influences, food staples, and important recipes; each includes information on specialty products like cheeses and wines; and each explores the traditions, preparations, and life of the region, not only through recipes but through anecdote, history, and captivating photos. Each chapter, in fact, is a book unto itself; and the sum total is the last Italian cookbook you’ll ever need.

Although he was a skilful author of courtly love lyrics, Rustico’s fame rests on another type of poetics altogether. At the time, he was credited with fathering a new branch of comic literature—insult. Of his 59 sonnets, 30 are insulting caricatures of fellow citizens, political figures, and Florentine women. Literary theorists had justified insult as a means to enforce public morality, but in the Italian tradition, no one had explored the artistic range of insulting literature before Rustico. After Rustico, insult was a central element of comic literature.

Rustico di Filippo, a Florentine poet of the generation before Dante, is known by and large as a poet of the jocose, or humorous, tradition. We tend not to know that Rustico was a major exponent of traditional love poetry. Unlike traditional literary history, this study relates Rustico to his contemporaries: Guittone d'Arezzo, Chiaro Davanzati, Monte Andrea and others. It also examines his influence on poets of the next generation: Dante Alighieri, Guido Cavalcanti and Cecco Angiolieri. By reading Rustico within the mainstream of the Italian lyric tradition, we begin to see him as a major poet.

As documented in Patsy Pittman Light’s award-winning book, Capturing Nature, Mexican artisan Dionicio Rodríguez arrived in San Antonio in the 1920s and created concrete bus stop shelters, park benches, footbridges, and other structures in the style known as faux bois, or trabajo rústico. Following on the success of that previous work, Light, with photographer and artist Kent Rush, presents a comprehensive look at the legacy of Rodríguez as reflected in the works of those whom he trained, mentored, or influenced. Rodríguez captured nature in his work, but he also continues to capture our imagination. Drawing these artistic creations out of the urban landscape, Artisans of Trabajo Rústico makes the nearly invisible fully visible to the critic, the historian, and especially to the casual viewer. Light asserts that San Antonio has the largest concentration of this art form in the country and includes copious full-color photography of the work of Rodríguez and other artisans. This handsomely illustrated and painstakingly documented work offers the broadest possible panorama for the craft and endearing familiarity of this form. Inspired by nature, built by hand, and placed in the service of the public, these “rustic works” continue to provide enjoyment, convenience, and a touch of artistic elegance to public and private landscapes in San Antonio and beyond. Light and Rush’s work affords a fresh and wide-ranging look at this important artisanal tradition.