Introduction

I began my life as the son of an Italian father and a French mother.  That description isn't sufficient for the Mediterranean citizen even though the Mediterranean is the common allegiance of its inhabitants.  In France, my mother's side of the family, we emerge from Provence.  In Italy, my father's side of the family, Naples is the city of his filthy origin.  And filthy it is!

Naples has a bad reputation among Italians.  My grandmother told me that Naples is "under attack" for its "dirtiness."  By that, I was led to believe that Neapolitans were criminals, Mafia-infested, and dirty.  When I finally got a chance to visit, I got the impression that the Neapolitans were anything but dirty!  Certainly the critics of Italian cleanliness have never visited America in the 20th or 21st Centuries!

Having found no truth to the stereotypes, I was ready to sit down at the ristorante.

 I got to experience a good deal of of extraordinary food and good will with some zuppe di pesce!  My connection with my family and its roots began there and then.

I KNOW!  You've come here to discuss the food of Provence and not that of Southern Italy.  The two are not as mutually exclusive as you would think and I've devoted a great deal of time to the study of their connection.

As this is an introduction, I expect that people will read this after they've tried the recipes.  I must contend that the recipes are the main character of this project.  To eat good and fulfilling cultural food is the experience I wish to share with all of humanity.  The story behind my discovery of these recipes is secondary, but nonetheless interesting.

I have visited the city my father came from many times, Naples.  I have only once visited my mother's hometown of Cannes.  It is less her town than her region that I am interested in and have been to so many times to try and learn something about myself.  I have learned much in the several years I spent in both Italy and France and the many visits I paid.

This blog is devoted to the French culture, its influence on my mother's family and on myself, and the connection it has with many Italian dishes.  This is a love letter to the Provencals and their way of live; to my French and Italian language instructors - my parents and the public school teachers - to the United States Navy and to the curiosity that spurs me on from decade to decade.  I love you all.

Special thanks to Leigh Philon.  She FINALLY made the French language comprehensible to me after so many instructors turned a blind eye to me.  

This ins't just my story...it's OUR story!