Busted for Lasagne
In Rome recently Giancarlo Sabastini was picked up by police after they correctly guessed that he could not stay away from his wife’s lasagne. He avoided police for over a decade on the run across Europe after he was sentenced for almost 4 years prison for drug trafficking (Mafia overtones).
Last Tuesday police staked out Sabastini’s family home. They saw Sabastini’s daughter leaving the family home carrying a large dish. Following her to a different address, they burst in and seized Sabastini and his lasagne. Police say Sabatini came from his hideout in Belgium to celebrate the last day before Lent with his family. It seems almost incredible that the man was caught because he was hooked on his wife’s meat lasagne. However, a little insight into the Italian psyche will help you understand what really went on.
Last Tuesday was the ultimate day of Carnival and the final day before Lent. It is an important day on the Catholic calendar and many Italians prepare a traditional meal, including meat lasagne. Italians are generally a traditional lot. Family and food are the top priorities. It is absolutely not surprising to an Italian that Sabastini would risk his freedom to come home to see his family and eat his wife’s lasagne on the last day before Lent.
For us foreigners it is really quite difficult to grasp how food can be one of the most important things in life. Recently questioned, an American Italian tried to explain it like this,
“If you haven’t been to Italy and eaten the food there you will never comprehend. In Italy a courgette tastes like a courgette. It is not just a cylindrical green vegetable. This goes for all fruit and vegetables in Italy. They are grown well, with minimum or no chemicals and the yields are not forced like they are in the US. This means that simple food tastes a thousand times better. The only way you can replicate this in the US is by growing your own food.
Not only this but food is a way to show you care about a person. Good food – good wine – good relationships. This is what Italy is all about.”
