Ernährungsgeschichte regional / Storia dell’alimentazione: una prospettiva regionale

Abstract

Food is a complex field of research that permeates everyday life of all social strata, in the past and today. Consequently, research into the history of food has recently seen an exceptional broadening of perspectives, ranging from global history to the history of the senses. In this context, greater attention is being given to the locality and its connections with food, whilst the interplay of natural, economic, political and cultural conditions is being examined. An approach that links food history with regional history is particularly appropriate, as it can provide a much-needed framework for comparison, enabling the study of differences and similarities in regional food production and consumption.

This issue explores the regional perspective of food history, focusing specifically on the Alpine region. The aim is, on the one hand, to examine the historical development of regional culinary habits from the early modern period through to the 20th century in a diachronic manner, and, on the other hand, to explore which regional characteristics of diet emerge in the context of the Alpine region’s diverse geographical, social, economic, legal and institutional features. The articles presented in this issue deal with the production of foodstuffs such as cereals, meat and wine, as well as their distribution, consumption, the material culture of food and the social contexts in Valtellina, Trentino, South and North Tyrol. The findings confirm that a history of food from a regional perspective is able to adequately illustrate the interrelationships between available natural resources, factors of production, cultural contexts and institutional structures, which have determined the conditions for meeting this fundamental human need.