A tradition that allows private and public life to meet, maintaining a baseline solidarity in civic life.
Image: Jim Nix
"Lunchtime in Italy is not only about what to eat for lunch. It is also about time. The event halts the day. In places like Viterbo, the provincial medieval town of 60,000 outside Rome where my in-laws live, the city nearly completely shuts down. One has little choice but to engage in the ritual. A tablecloth must be spread, a table fully set. Timeworn recipes; the food, even if abundant, should be basic and familiar, not indulgent or creative. Surely, a glass of wine. The sociality of the event is important. Lunchtime must be marked with others, the meal lingered over communally. Whenever American friends or family visit us here, at some point they usually give me the look: 'When will this ever end?' It ends when the espresso arrives to even out the wine and to properly launch reentry back into the working day." - Jonathan Levy
Article: Lunchtime in Italy