Oretta Zanini de Vita's collection of ancient food and pasta tools

…is the effusive indefatigable lively wise sage on cucina Italiana, the author of the definitive book on the history of food in Rome and the Lazio (previously mentioned here), and the recently released Encyclopedia of Pasta (plus about 30 other books…) which I just started reading this morning in preparation for the interview with her at her home this afternoon (for my upcoming Roma Mangia Roma that I am working on with Nero Publications) which was a total inspirational & revelatory delight – with her animated, articulate, enthusiastic, and at times defeatist ruminations on the past and present state of food in Italy – and now we are looking forward to continuing the conversation in the garden and kitchen of her house in the country, which is apparently where she really gets cooking.