Pellegrino Artusi

Pellegrino Artusi (pronounced [pelleˈɡriːno arˈtuːzi]; Forlimpopoli, near Forlì, August 4, 1820 – Florence, March 30, 1911) was an Italian businessman and writer, best known as the author of the cookbook La scienza in cucina e l'arte di mangiar bene ("The Science of Cooking and the Art of Fine dining").

The son of the wealthy merchant Agostino (nicknamed Buratèl, or "little eel") and Teresa Giunchi, Pellegrino Marcello Artusi came from a large family: he had 12 siblings. He was named Pellegrino in honor of Saint Pellegrino Laziosi of Forlì. Like many wealthy children, he attended a seminary school in the nearby town of Bertinoro.

Between the years 1835 and 1850, Artusi spent a great deal of time in student circles in Bologna (in one of his works he claims to have been enrolled at the University). In the bar Tre Re he met the patriot Felice Orsini, from Meldola another town near Forlì.

When he returned to his hometown, he took over his father's business, making quite a bit of money, but the lives of the Artusi family were permanently disrupted by the arrival in Forlimpopoli on January 25, 1851, of the outlaw Stefano Pelloni, nicknamed il Passatore, "the Ferryman". He took all of the upper-class families hostage, one by one, and held them captive in the city theater, including Pellegrino Artusi's family. After stealing as much as possible, the bandits raped several women, one of whom was Gertrude, Artusi's sister, who went crazy from the shock and had to be put in an asylum in Pesaro.

The following year, the family moved to Florence. Here, Pellegrino began working in finances, and he also dedicated his time to two of his favorite hobbies: literature and the art of cooking. His sisters got married and his parents died and so he was able to live off his inheritance thanks to the land the family had in Romagna (in Borgo Pieve Sestina di Cesena and Sant'Andrea di Forlimpopoli). He bought a house in D'Azeglio Square in Florence, where he quietly lived out his life until 1911 when he died at age 90. Single, he lived with just a butler from his hometown and a Tuscan cook. He was buried in the Porte Sante cemetery, part of the basilica of San Miniato al Monte.

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