COMTEMPORARY HISTORY

The year 1870 witnessed the birth of the first hydraulic presses for grain processing, a process that until then had been made bare feet. The mass emigration phenomenon occurred in the second half of the 19th century along with the rise of fascism (20s of the 20th century) had helped Italian culinary tradition spread all over the world, becoming the characteristic element of the Italians worldwide. As evidence of this statement, 1914 was a record year for the production of pasta: over 70’000 tons of product was exported, mostly to the USA.

During the Fascism period, pasta was part of the daily life of Italian families: since they cannot afford meat or fish, it became the main food, the typical single dish. Nonetheless, pasta remained part of the high society. The futurist movement, which saw Tommaso Marinetti as its spokesperson, provided an interesting picture of how this simple dish was transformed into an object of artistic debate. In 1930, in the “Manifesto of Futurist Cuisine”, Marinetti proposed the abolition of pasta as it “kills the noble, virile and warrior soul of the Italians”, as he was inspired by the fascist ideology of Benito Mussolini. This ideology never got the approval of the population, thanks to the fact that Marinetti was immortalized at the Biffi restaurant in Milan for gulping a rich plate of spaghetti.

In 1933, the first machine that allowed the automation of the entire pasta production process was born. In the postwars, pasta, together with bread and potatoes, became the fundamental supply of the army and the only food source for the suffering Italian people. With the end of hostilities, just like its people, pasta was enriched with hundreds of dishes that made it to be loved all over the world.