Note di Pranzi – I menu nella storia is an exhibition that displays 350 menus from 1850 to today, in a thematic and historical journey that spans 200 years of history of gastronomy and culture at the table. A fascinating combination of art and taste.
The exhibition is enriched by a series of meetings that tell curiosities, stories and memories about the table, the menus and their testimony.
The first stage was held in Treviso at Casa Robegan in March 2023.
The next exibition will be in Verona inside the Porta Palio ( 1561 work by Sansovino) from 21th March till 14th April 2025.
Concept, installation project and curatorship
Arch. Alessia Cipolla
Organization, graphic design, catalog and media marketing
Team La Costruzione del Gusto
THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition presents one of the most important private Italian collections of vintage menus, that of Adriano and Rosalba Benzi of Acqui Terme (AL).
The name “Note di pranzi” (Notes of lunches) takes up the definition of the “distinte di pranzi” (lunch lists), that is, the menus of the great gastronome Pellegrino Artusi (1820-1911) in his famous book “La scienza in cucina e l’arte di mangiar bene” (Science in the kitchen and the art of eating well) from 1891, but also the intrinsic musicality in the reading of the courses on each menu.
The description “I menu nella storia” (Menus in history) instead highlights the importance of the word “storia” (history), central to everything concerning the theme: History made, often, at the table, which intertwines the many small human affairs, as well as the history of illustration, graphics, fashions and customs from 1800 to today.
The exhibition and its catalogue are composed of a thematic and chronological path: the first section is dedicated to the royal menus, among which, many of the House of Savoy with the first menu of 1876 under the reign of Vittorio Emanuele II. There are also food lists of other European crowns such as the menu of the dinner preceding the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. To these are added the military and state menus, with the testimony of important diplomatic dinners at the Quirinale Palace.
Then there are the convivial menus, the oldest in the collection dates back to 1849, which accompany the shared moments of the life of simple people, but also the meetings of associations of arts and crafts, professionals or groups of students with nice goliardic menus. The path continues with the fascinating travel menus, lists of yesteryear of motor ships, transatlantic liners or airlines.
There is also a section dedicated to lunch notes created by important contemporary artists such as the 1950s series of the La Colomba restaurant in Venice, or the elegant menus signed by the great illustrator Emanuele Luzzati and many others.
Finally, there are the lunch lists of restaurants, hotels and the delicious advertising menus with important testimonies such as the silk menu of the Chez Maxim’s restaurant from 1899.
GOURMAND STORIES
A series of 6 hors-d’oeuvre appointments on the fascinating history of menus, mise en place, wine and perfume at the table, as well as a calligraphy workshop on the menu, organized in places rich in history in the center of Treviso.
“TASTE TO KNOW”
6 meetings on history and taste that tell the stories of the menus, from appetizers to coffee. Adventures in taste that end with a cooking lesson on historical menus and a round table on the state of the art of menus.
IMAGES BY @ARCANGELO PIAI
