Rosalba De Carlo

Rosalba De Carlo (born 14 October, 1939) is an Italian chef. She was the case study in a Conference patronised by the Italian Commission of UNESCO and the ISNART (National Institute for Tourism Research).

Biography

Rosalba De Carlo was born in Copertino. Her mother belonged to the baronial family Andriani De Vito from Corigliano d’Otranto. She was born in Copertino in the province of Lecce a city of Southern Italy, in Apulia. Her childhood was characterized by the unusual combination of her comfortable, well off family origins and growing up in the proximity of the families of the village of Santa Barbara, the ancient family fief not far from Galatina. It is this unusual experience which, over time, gave rise to her knowledge of the gastronomic tradition of Salento; Rosalba was able to amalgamate the humble origins of the local cuisine, with its roots firmly planted in her native territory, with the sophistication typical of the social class into which she was born. In 1998 she began her collaboration with the restaurant Alle Due Corti in Lecce where she is currently engaged as Head Chef. Her knowledge of the Salentine cuisine, gained through a process of natural acquisition rather than any deliberate study, rendered her worthy for selection as the case study for the conference entitled “The Economic Sustainability of the Intangible Heritage: The Gastronomic Culture of Salento – Case Study Rosalba De Carlo” and organized by the University of Salento on 25 November, 2008. In addition to the patronage of ISNART (National Institute for Tourism Research), most significantly, the conference also gained the support of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO, which agreed to give its patronage to an event of this type for the first time.

Theme of the Conference

The central theme of the conference was to demonstrate, through the representative case of Rosalba and the gastronomic tradition of Salento, how an object of intangible cultural heritage could both convey the history of a land through the language of its flavours and at the same time be an important and economically sustainable resource that enriches the local territory and its tourism industry. This, provided that such a cultural phenomenon is presented in its most authentic form and isolated from commercial cross breeding, thus respecting the balance between culture and economics.

Career

Rosalba De Carlo is an Italian Head Chef who works at Alle due corti Restaurant, in Lecce, Italy, from 1998. Besides Rosalba carries on her own personal research into the transmission and conservation of the culinary heritage of Salentoin an autonomous way. Her book about Salento’s gastronomic culture, together with the conference proceedings, is soon to be published. The inauguration of a small ‘school’ in which it will be possible to get to know and learn about the traditional flavours and dishes of the land is also planned for the near future. Thus, the gastronomic culture and traditions will be afforded the same dignity as traditional monuments in stone such as Lecce’s splendid baroque churches.

Philosophy

Rosalba De Carlo’s idea is to create a way for the flavours themselves to become the common thread for a journey of discovery of a land. This voyage won’t take travellers to visit famous squares or ancient lands, but will stop at the tables, rich and poor, to tell the stories of the people and the culture of those places and those times, made up of both prosperity and hard times and misadventures, through the medium of food. It will be the story of a land told at the table.

Curiosity

The image on the conference poster is that of Rosalba’s hands. It was chosen by the organizers to represent the intangible knowledge of culinary culture, which however, becomes material in its manifestation as food. The contrast between the corporeity of the hands as metaphor for popular knowledge and the showy bracelet alludes to the uniqueness of Rosalba’s knowledge. It represents a culture which is extremely simple and poor, yet descended from illustrious origins. It symbolizes the possibility for making the gastronomic culture of Salento, so rich in historical and cultural elements, an economically sustainable resource today.

References

Rosalba has been recognised and mentioned all over the world, in many specialist books and magazines in her field. Her personality has transcended the name of the business where she works. She was defined during the conference as an example of a ‘living human treasure’ and repository of immaterial heritage for the economically sustainable development of a territory which must find the way to convey and conserve its own history and culture.

Main References

Magazines
Italian Cooking&Living, April-May 2005, USA.
The New York Times, March 31, 2002, USA.
Liberation, October 18-19, 2003, France.
ELLE, June 3, 2002, France.
Travel+leisure, July 2004, USA.
Telegraph Travel, July 24, 2004, USA.
Food&Wine, May 2004, USA.
The Daily Telegraph, February 28, 2007, UK.
Cosmopolitan, July 2004, Estonia.
Marie Claire, November 2004, France.
Books in English
Salute!, Food, Wine, & Travel in Southern Italy, 2000-2003, Penguin Book, Australia; ISBN: 978-1571456854.
An Appetite for Puglia, 2008, UK; ISBN: 978-0955005824.
Italian Books and Magazines
La Madia – Travelfood, July-August 2002.
Riflessi – Trenitalia, January 2005.
Viaggi e Sapori, May 2003.
Panorama Travel, December 2006.
Panorama Travel, November 2003.
I Viaggi di Panorama, Novembre 2002.
Il Turismo Culturale, May-June 2008.
Corriere del Mezzogiorno, April 2007.
Friendly, April 2005.
Girone dei Gourmet, March 2008.
Consumatori – Coop, December 2004.
Adventure Nature&Leisure, 2007.
Cucina & Vini, February 2002.
La Cucina Italiana, May 2005.
Glamour, March 2006.
Sapori d’Italia, May 2008.
Ulisse – Alitalia, June 2002.
Lecce Bella Dentro, 2004.
Il Buon Vivere Italiano, 2004.
Agenda dei 365, 2006.
Agenda del gusto, 2006.
Puglia e Basilicata, 2006.
Questo Amore, 2006.
Main Guides
Italy, The Lonely Planet, 2004-2009, USA.
Italie du sud, Routard, 2005-2009 France.
Zuid Italie, Trotter, 2006-2009, Holland.
Apulien, 2004-2009, Aktualis, Germany.
Let’s go – Italy, 2005-2009 USA.
Geogids-Zuid-Italië,2004-2009, ANWB, Holland.
The Slow food, 2004-2009.

Sources