Good Friday (venerdi santo) is a solemn, sacred day in Italy and when it comes to food the menu for a “pranzo di quaresima‘”, (a luncheon meal for this final Lenten observance) has a long and important tradition. In 1891 Pellegrino Artusi, an Italian merchant with an interest in the art of cooking, wrote La Scienza in Cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene (Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well). 

The book was a collection of recipes and insights on the culinary and cultural traditions of regional Italian food from various sources and friends and relatives. The intention of the book was to codify and classify the traditions of Italy’s domestic cuisine gathering together hundreds of regional Italian recipes.