Abstract
The status of Italian food has soared in terms of cultural and social prestige through shifting representations in public discourse and media, as well as changing performances of Italian identities both abroad and in Italy. Narratives and rhetoric devices in communication forms as diverse as advertising, marketing, memoirs, magazines, film, and TV shows have played a central role in constructing contemporary ideas about Italian food. Ideas about tradition and authenticity have been crucial in the success and to a certain extent the idealization of Italian food. Tradition and authenticity have become strategic elements in generating popularity and commercial success insofar as they are not reserved to insiders only but, thanks to other core values attributed to Italian foodways—conviviality and generosity—they are also made available and accessible to outsiders, and as such are relatively easy to package and commodify.
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Parasecoli, F. (2019). The Invention of Authentic Italian Food: Narratives, Rhetoric, and Media. In: Sassatelli, R. (eds) Italians and Food. Consumption and Public Life. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15681-7_2
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