Italy

Searching for Italy 2022 episode 8 – Liguria: Stanley Tucci visits one of the most famous and frequented regions of Italy, the Italian Riviera, for the glitz and glamour of Portofino and the stunning picture-perfect fishing villages of the Cinque Terre. Liguria is a thin strip of mountainous land, sandwiched between the Alps and the Apennines and lined with rugged scenery and stunning coastal views. Its capital, Genoa, was once a wealthy merchant empire, and now offers such rich cuisine as personalised stamped pasta and its most internationally acclaimed export, Genoese pesto.         Tucci discovers how Ligurians

Searching for Italy 2022 episode 7 – Puglia: Stanley Tucci visits Puglia, a region famous for its fragrant olive oil, beautiful vegetables, cheeses and durum wheat. Despite being such a fertile region, Puglia is also one of Italy’s poorest, and Tucci discovers how its spirit of innovation was forged out of hard times.         From Bari’s raw seafood and Cisternino’s Fornelli to cheesemaker Vito’s Apulian blue cheeses, it is clear that, by reclaiming their past, the Pugliese are taking ownership of their future and embracing it on their own terms. Searching for Italy is a CNN Original

Searching for Italy 2022 episode 6 – Sardinia: Stanley visits the island of Sardinia, famous for its rugged landscape, crystal blue ocean and passionately preserved traditions. Stanley learns how Sardinian food culture varies wildly throughout the island. He experiences the culinary delights of its coastal cities, influenced by previous civilisations, and ventures inland to discover the rural heart of Sardinia, which remains largely untouched from outside influences.         This mysterious and mystical island is full of treasures, and Sardinians are proud of their heritage and culinary diversity. One thing is certain: whoever steps foot on this island

Searching for Italy 2022 episode 5 – Calabria: Calabria is a region of rugged landscapes, dramatic mountain ranges and some 500 miles of incredible coastline. Connected to Basilicata in the north and separated from Sicily in the south by the narrow Strait of Messina, Calabria is also the homeland of the Tucci family’s ancestors.         Stanley Tucci travels through the region, discovering the history of this beautiful and troubled place as well as that of his own family. Joined by his parents and reunited with Italian relatives, he reflects on the inspiration people draw from Calabria and

Searching for Italy 2022 episode 4 – London: Stanley Tucci sets out to explore how Italian immigration has transformed the food scene in his adopted hometown of London. London is a culinary mecca, where Italian food from every region gets a chance to shine.         The burrata is so creamy, the pasta so fresh, that it may rival Italy itself. For over a century, Italians here have found inventive ways to create Italian food so impressive that it’s enough to render Tucci speechless. Searching for Italy is a CNN Original Series that follows Academy Award nominee Stanley

Searching for Italy 2022 episode 3 – Umbria: Stanley Tucci visits Umbria, nicknamed the green heart of Italy. While this small, predominantly rural region lives in the shadow of its more glamorous neighbor, Tuscany, Umbria has an ancient history that predates even the Romans. With the highest consumption of pork per capita in Italy, Umbria is a carnivore’s dream. From wild boar hunts to incredible black truffle farms, Tucci explores the riches this land has to offer whilst also questioning whether old traditions and centuries of religious orthodoxy are preventing younger generations from breaking through.         Searching

Searching for Italy 2022 episode 2 – Piedmont: Stanley Tucci visits the region that made the dream of a unified Italy a reality. Piedmont boasts a refined French heritage and peasant traditions from the Middle Ages. Once the engine room of Italian industrialisation, Piedmont is now spearheading a slow food revolution. Between reimagined risotto and the elusive white truffle, Stanley uncovers a region with an illustrious past but with its sights firmly set on the future.       This willingness to learn from regional differences whilst venerating the ingredients and the traditions of the past is the spirit that

Searching for Italy 2022 episode 1 – Veneto: Stanley Tucci visits the Veneto, home to the ‘floating city’ of Venice. Once the centre of a world-trading empire, Tucci explores the ingenuity of the Venetians, who have embraced the unexpected delights and challenges of the lagoon, reaping the benefits of Veneto’s fertile land. Veneto has a fascinating food culture due to its aquatic environment and the various influences from around the world throughout its vast and textured history.       Searching for Italy is a CNN Original Series that follows Academy Award nominee Stanley Tucci as he travels across Italy

Searching for Italy episode 6 – Sicily: Sicily is the Mediterranean’s largest island and is known as God’s Kitchen because of its rich volcanic soil. But it’s also said to be home to the ‘Gates of Hell’. Impoverished for centuries, conquered by just about everybody and haunted by its mafia connections, Sicilians have learned to make do with what they have.     Alternative stream   Michelin starred chef Tony Lo Coco shows Stanley his signature dish, spaghetti alla bottarga. Stanley then heads to Southern Sicily and meets artisanal winemaker Arianna Occhipinti and tries the grapes grown in the region’s

Searching for Italy episode 5 – Tuscany: Tuscany is the birthplace of the Renaissance and world-class art, architecture and culture. It’s also produced some of the finest wines and dishes in the history of Italian cuisine. But Tuscany is also home to the cuisine of poor Tuscan peasantry, known as “cucina povera”.     Alternative stream   Stanley Tucci starts his exploration of Tuscany with his parents Stan and Joan. He then meets chef and restaurateur Fabio Picchi who shows him Tuscany’s signature dish, the magnificent bistecca alla fiorentina. Renaissance scholar Elisabetta Di Giugno takes Stanley on a wine bar