Romano Salvetti Franca Garesio
Bagna cauda in peasant culture
Franca Garesio, a former teacher in schools of all levels, author of novels and essays on peasant folklore and Asti history, for which she has a great passion, in her interview takes us back to a time when communities were governed by rules and necessities that today only live on in memories.
She focuses on bagna cauda in peasant culture, on the single ingredient that composes it and how this sauce, that nowadays accompanies joyful moments of conviviality, in the past was also a way to flavor the little that was available to fight hunger. In light of her stories, bagna cauda takes on an even deeper meaning that leads us to reflect on the great ability that rural communities had to optimize their scarce resources.
Video table of contents
Interview information
Country: IT
Region: Piemonte
City: Asti
Suburb: Villa san Secondo
Franca Garesio
Date of birth: 04-09-1938
City: Cinaglio Asti
School: University
Profession: Teacher/Professor
Languages: Italiano
Document by: Laura Bugliazzini
Video by: Laura Bugliazzini, Luca Ghiardo
Created: 22-03-2025
Questo video fa parte del seguente archivio
Nourishing Piedmontese Identity: Bagna Cauda’s tales
Nourishing Piedmontese Identity: Bagna Cauda’s tales
Bagna cauda is a complex and multifaceted gastronomic system partly constituted by its ingredients and, above all, by a repertoire of cultural aspects capable of conveying symbols, traditions, and knowledge of the communities of Southern Piedmont, from which it is considered an identity food.
A dish in which every variant of the recipe is evidence of a different tradition: hundreds of possible preparations that differ from each other, connected by distinctive traits such as conviviality, sharing, irony, and the celebration of a non-solemn festive event. A unique convergence that represents the common thread of this repository that contains interviews with farmers, cooks, and those who experience the practice of bagna cauda as a moment of communion with food and collectivity.
A meaning that, in the last twelve years, the Astigiani Cultural Association has been able to grasp, proposing to the Piedmontese communities all over the world the participation to the Bagna Cauda Day. A very successful initiative that involved over 30.000 diners in the 2024 edition.
