ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is about cooking and serving food. It's also about the way in which food knowledge is part of a whole complex of new thinking about empirical knowledge in the late Renaissance. At the heart of the project is Bartolomeo Scappi's Opera, a massive compendium of recipes and menus, published in Venice in 1570 by Michele Tramezzino that is unique in being the first illustrated cookbook. The focus in is the front matter of the Opera, including the privileges, dedication and letter to readers, which indicated how the author and publishers sought to position the book within the emerging genre of printed cookbooks. The Venice-Rome axis is also reflected in the publishers of the book, who had branches in both cities.
