Tucci in Italy will finally premiere on May 21 on National Geographic. If you can’t wait, you can stream them on Disney+ beginning May 19. SALT Productions, owned by Tucci, and BC Studios’ Specialist Factual Productions produced the five-part series. Producers say Tucci in Italy will explore the connection food has with the landscape, history, culture, and people. (Watch the trailer here.)
During this five-part series (Yes, it’s short!), Stanley will introduce the audience to chefs, locals, farmers, fishermen, artisans, and more. Tucci in Italy will take us to five regions, including a few he visited before and some new ones.
Toscana
For the premier episode, Tucci returns to Toscana (Tuscany) and Firenze (Florence) where he spent a year as a child. In addition to spending time with Tuscan cowboys, he samples a breakfast item that surprises him, according to the PR. Since he tried cecina (chickpea-flour pancake) during the first series, we’ll have to wait and see what the surprise is.
As a side note, Italy does have cowboys. The Butteri of Maremma are horsemen who herd cattle and wild horses. Butteri have long inhabited Maremma, a large area in southern Toscana; tourism and organic farming are important to their lifestyle.
Lombardia
The second episode takes us to Lombardia, again, exploring the industrial soul of Italy. In addition to trying futuristic foods grown on a space-age farm, Stanley also taste-tests service station food. Does that surprise you? Don’t let it.
Before I went to Italy the first time, I read that food at the service stations was quite good. While their food is not Michelin-starred, Autogrill does have some of the best panini I’ve had.
Finally, Stanley will find one of the world’s most expensive ingredients in the most unlikely of locations. Can you guess what it might be?
Trentino-Alto Adige
Tucci next visits Italy’s northern-most, mountainous, forested region of Trentino-Alto Adige. He’ll discuss the causes behind the region’s long history of tension between Italy and Austria and its influence on food.
Expect a huge Germanic influence since almost 30 percent of the population speaks German as their mother language. On the menu are fish from his fly-fishing in a glacial river, polenta, and hay soup.
Abruzzo
Finally, my friends, Stanley visits Abruzzo, my ancestral home. The region’s topography slides from the rugged Apennine Mountains down to the sandy Adriatic coast. Linked to its pastoral history, lamb is the main meat, and PR says Tucci in Italy will enjoy a mutton barbecue high in the hills. This leads me to believe he’ll sample arosticcini, hunks of skewered lamb roasted over a furnacella.
In addition, he’ll have a fresh fish dinner in a trabocco, a fishing hut made almost entirely of wood and extending over the Adriatic. (You can read about them here.) Finally, Stanley will talk about the history of confetti…not the paper kind, but the sweet, covered almonds.
Lazio
The last of the season’s episodes will take Tucci in Italy back to Lazio, region that is home to Rome. This time, he will venture beyond the Roman city limits and go into the hills to explore their relationship. Foods he’ll taste include Roman pizza (very different from Neapolitan), fish soup, porchetta, and lamb.
I’ll be interested to see if he heads to the Castelli Romani, a group of 17 towns southeast of Rome. They have long influenced the region’s cuisine and culture.
Are you excited about Tucci in Italy? Which episode excites you most?
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