The reality of coping during isolation in Italy – News + Articles

Cooking during our 10-week lockdown in Italy was at once a chore and a salvation.

It was a chore because, of course, it had to be done. And it was a cruel irony, because often the most enduring memories for anyone who has visited Italy (particularly Bologna, where we were based, which is regarded as one of the food capitals of this great nation) are the restaurants. High-end or low, they’re stunning. Traditional family trattorias, osterias where you can drink and often bring your own food, pizzerias, pasticcerie and bars form the bedrock of Italian social life, and even though we have always mainly eaten at home (for reasons both economical and practical), knowing they were denied us was a shock that still seems unreal.

One of the…