I piatti per il banchetto del Duca

The drawings of the Farnese plates and the Farnese gastronomy in Parma

Palazzo della Pilotta houses the rich Biblioteca Palatina, a library inaugurated in 1769 which holds important gastronomy manuscripts (a copy of Li quatro banchetti (Four banquets) by the court cook Carlo Nascia, the original manuscript of Piciol lume di cucina (Little kitchen light), dictated by Antonio Maria Dalli in 1701, both transcribed by the copyist Carlo Giovanelli), printed works by Vincenzo Agnoletti, cook at the Court of Maria Luigia and, of particular historical interest, the fine original drawings[1] for a number of plates commissioned in 1639 by Odoardo Farnese (1612-1640) for a lunch[2] with the Cardinals Antonio and Francesco Barberini in Rome.

The Barberini cardinals – nephews of Pope Urban VIII, born Matteo Barberini (1568-1644) – were industrious and tireless like the symbolic bees of their family’s coat of arms that is reproduced on the dishes, intertwined with the Farnese lilies. They were plotting to seize the Duchy of Castro (a fief held by the Farnese and located in a small strip of land in the current Lazio region, spanning from the Thyrrenean Sea to Lake of Bolsena, next to Tuscany) and to seal the union with the Farnese family with a wedding. When Duke Odoardo, who had been showing a conciliatory attitude towards them, learnt of their real intentions, he immediately stopped all negotiations, leaving Rome on January 22, 1640 to defend his fief in Lazio. The planned banquet was called off, but today we still have about a hundred drawings, many of them watercolours, which provide evidence of the 17th-century aesthetic taste in tableware.[3]

Cuisine at the Farnese Court.

The Farnese family ruled the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza between the 16th and the 18th century, leaving an indelible mark on the history, culture and economy of the city, which since that period has been tied to agrifood production and gastronomic art. In addition to increasing agricultural production and protecting local products destined to their table – with the first regulation about the denomination of Parmesan cheese dating to 1612[4] – the Farnese brought a number of important culinary and cultural contacts: their proximity to the Papal Court, and the presence of cooks and recipe books from other countries, for example Portugal[5], Flanders, and Germany.[6] The wedding banquets prepared for the Dukes were extraordinary occasions of Farnesian gastronomic magnificence[7]: Odoardo with Margherita de’ Medici in 1628; Odoardo II with Dorotea Sofia of Neuburg in 1690; Elisabetta Farnese with Philip V of Spain in 1714; Antonio with Enrichetta d’Este in 1728.

Gastronomic writings of that period show an evolution over time from baroque splendour to a more sober style, almost in anticipation of those bourgeois tastes that will assert themselves in the 18th century. Among the writers of special relevance in this context are Vincenzo Cervio[8] with his Trinciante, completed by Reale Fusoritto; Carlo Nascia[9], who wrote Li Quattro banchetti between 1680 and 1684; Antonio Maria Dalli[10] and his Piciol Lume di Cucina of 1701. Many dishes were invented or named after the Dukes, who had a true passion for good food and commissioned a magnificent dinner service. [11] Thus we find Uova alla Farnese (boiled eggs covered with Bearnaise sauce served on a bed of tortellini with an onion, chicken liver and Borgotaro porcini mushroom[12] filling), Minestra alla duchessa Farnese (rice cream soup with chicken dumplings and asparagus tips), Filetto di bue alla Duchessa (beef loin fillet with black truffles of Fragno,[13] baby onions and brain dumplings), and Tacchino alla Farnese, roast turkey served with braised tongue, beans and cucumbers.

The cooks of the Farnese.

Carlo Nascia (Palermo, second half of the 17th century- Palermo, early 18th century)

A native of Palermo, he makes his first appearance in the Farnese records as “personal cook” in August 1659, but he had already been working at the Court for 4 months with the monthly salary of 70 Parman liras. It is not known for certain when he left the Farnese court, but he was still working in the kitchens of the Duchy in 1672, a year in which he appears in the expenditure records, now kept at the Parma State Archives. From his manuscript Li quattro banchetti, dated July 8, 1680, it can be deduced that he worked at the court of the Spanish Viceroys in Milan. The date of his death, presumably in the early 18th century, is not known.

The Palatina Library of Parma owns one of the three known original manuscripts of his work, dated between 1680 and 1684. The more complete edition, the 1684 one, is dedicated to the Princes Meli Lupi of Soragna.

Li quattro banchetti is a court collection of recipes that follows the natural order of the seasons. After a short introduction on the importance of hygiene in the kitchen and the warning to store foods in ceramic containers, not in copper ones, the author presents a set of three dishes (cold, hot, roasted) for each season. The food used in the dishes is mostly seasonal products. In winter, instead of hot and cold dishes, the cook suggests three braised dishes, three roasts and three dishes with candied fruit interspersed with nine small dishes. Several recipes followed, divided into “fat” banquets, for most of the year, and “lean” banquets for Lent and fast days. He explains the best way to cook each food and provides a recipe. The part discussing flavours is copied from Bartolomeo Stefani’s treatise.

It is interesting to see a couscous-type recipe and deer antler powder used to thicken gelatine.

Nascia mentions prosciutto, salame and Parmigiano cheese. The recipes do not provide a separate list of ingredients and are meant for a large number of guests. Many of the ingredients used would be hard to find today.

Among the Parmesan recipes the author mentions Anolini, but not the traditional ones, and Frittelle di vento (today’s Torta fritta).

Nascia was expert in creating sugar sculptures as table centrepieces or eagles and lilies made out of food as plate garnishes, and fulfilled the Duke’s wishes by preparing the most sumptuous meals.

His work has been re-published in a facsimile, critical edition:

NASCIA, Carlo. Li quatro banchetti destinati per le quatro stagioni dell’anno. Preface and notes by Massimo Alberini. Bologna, Forni, 1981, 2 vols.

Antonio Maria Dalli (Bologna, second half of the 17th century – Bologna, July 31, 1710)

Mostly likely native of Bologna, his date of birth is unknown. His name appears for the first time in the records of the Farnese court in Parma in 1692, with the job of pastry cook and cook in the personal kitchen. In January 1694 he relinquished the role of pastry cook, but in April 1696 he signed an agreement to supply the court with biscuits.

In 1703, moved by an irresistible religious vocation, he entered the Hermits of the Order of Saint Augustine in the convent of San Luca in Parma. He later moved to the convent of San Giacomo in his native Bologna, where he died on July 31, 1710.

The Palatina Library of Parma owns the original manuscript of Piciol lume di cucina (Little kitchen light) dictated by the author in 1701 and written by the copyist Carlo Giovanelli.

The work, according to the dictates of the time, begins with a dedication to the Duke, gives a few basic instructions about kitchen hygiene, which were revolutionary for the times, and goes on to provide a number of recipes. They are structured as complete meals, from first courses to sweets. The recipes do not provide a separate list of ingredients and directions are given down to the smallest details. Doses vary from great banquets to regular meals. The ingredients are easy to find but some of the recipes would hardly suit contemporary palates. Among typical Parma recipes he mentions Anolini, Frittelle di vento (today’s Torta Fritta) and Prosciutto. Curiously enough, he makes more use of Lodigiano cheese than of Parmigiano cheese.

Two editions of the work have been published:

DALLI, A. M., Piciol lume di cucina, edited by M. Dall’Acqua with the collaboration of M. M. Ghini, preface by G. Cortesi, introduction by A. Zanlari. Parma, Antigraphus, 1987, 155 pp., illustrated. With facsimile reproduction of the original text.

DALLI, A. M., Piciol lume di cucina, edited by M. Dall’Acqua. Colorno (Parma), Tielleci, 2005.

[1] Disegni de’ piatti, “lavoro fatto avanti il 1640” (Ms. Parm. 3712) donated to the Ducal Library of Parma, today Palatina, in June 1850

[2] “on the occasion of the Most Serene Duke’s [Odoardo Farnese (1612-1646)] planned dinner for cardinals Barbarini [Antonio the younger (1607-1671) and Francesco (1597-1679)] in Rome in the year 1639” at the Farnese Palace, as recorded in the notes at c. 58 of the manuscript.

[3] Restored in 1992 by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage – with the lucky recovery of four unknown drawings used as strips to reinforce the other ones – the Farnese plates have been the subject of two different publications: the first one, in chronological order, presents them in their historical and gastronomic context, and the second, written by the curator of the restoration, corrects some of the information about the restoration and presents its most important results as well as the archival recording of this important material: Saggio di disegni farnesiani inediti per un servizio da tavola in età barocca, in Nel segno del giglio. Ceramiche per i Farnese, edited by R. Luzi and C. Ravanelli Guidotti, Viterbo, Faul, 1993, pp. 81-100; Gorreri S., Disegni di piatti farnesiani: storia di un recupero, in I segni del potere. I Farnese nei documenti della Biblioteca Palatina, edited by L. Bedulli, Parma, Silva, 1995, pp. 154-160.

[4] In order to protect commercial interests of producers of Parmigiano by distinguishing it from other similar cheeses such as Piacentino and Lodigiano which, in different Italian and foreign cities, was confused with the one from Parma, Duke Ranuccio I Farnese, or rather, his chancellor, Bartolomeo Riva, decided to give it an official denomination. The 7th of August 1612 marks the beginning of the history of the Denomination of Origin, which today is recognized by the European Union. On that date the notary of the Ducal Chamber drew up an act in which he delimited and clearly defined the areas of production of Parmesan cheese: “to the dairies of the below-mentioned locations, namely, Cornocchio, Fontevivo, Madregolo, Noceto and other similar locations around the city of Parma” (Parma, State Archives, Chamber Notaries of Parma, b. 256) Cf. Dall’Acqua M., Nasce nel 1616 [sic, but: 1612] il controllo d’origine per il parmigiano, in “Gazzetta di Parma”, 10 October 1977. See also, regarding this topic, chapter 3. I prodotti tipici di qualità e la loro storia – 3.2. Il formaggio Parmigiano Reggiano.

[5] Cf. Bertini G., Il “livro de cozinha” di Maria del Portogallo e la cucina di Corte a Bruxelles e a Lisbona al tempo delle sue nozze con Alessandro Farnese, in La cucina rinascimentale di Corte nel triangolo padano: Parma – Ferrara – Mantova, Rome, Accademia Italiana della Cucina, 1995, pp. 26-35.

[6] Cf. Zanlari A., A tavola con i Farnese. Dai ricettari rinascimentali ai prodotti tipici di Parma, Parma, PPS, 1996.

[7] The lavish celebrations for the wedding in Parma of Duke Odoardo Farnese with Margherita de’ Medici on December 9, 1628, are described in great detail in Buttigli M., Descrizione dell’Apparato fatto per honorare la prima e solenne entrata in Parma della Serenissima Principessa Margherita di Toscana, Duchessa di Parma, Parma, Seth ed Erasmo Viotti, 1629.

[8] Cervio V., Il Trinciante di m. Vincenzo Cervio, ampliato, et ridotto a perfettione dal cauallier reale Fusoritto da Narni…, in Venetia, appresso gli heredi di Francesco Tramezini, 1581.

[9] Carlo Nascia (Palermo, second half of the 17th century – Palermo early 18th century), a native of Palermo, makes his first appearance in the Farnese records as “personal cook” in August 1659, but he had already been working at the Court for 4 months with the monthly salary of 70 Parman liras.

[10] Antonio Maria Dalli (Bologna, second half of the 17th century – Bologna, July 31, 1710), mostly likely native of Bologna, his date of birth is unknown. His name appears for the first time in the records of the Farnese court in Parma in 1692, with the job of pastry cook and cook in the personal kitchen.

[11] The splendid series of Drawings of the plates, “work done before the year 1640” for the banquet for the Cardinals Barberini mentioned above.

[12] Knowledge and consumption of porcini mushrooms of the Boletus family in the Borgotaro area has a long history and they have been appreciated since ancient times. They are mentioned in a document written by Papal Canon Alberto Clemente Cassio (1669-1760).

[13] Known since ancient times, the first recorded mention of truffles is found in Naturalis Historia by Pliny the Elder (1st century AD) and in the contemporary De re coquinaria by Apicius, with several recipes using it as an ingredient.