In Rome at the beginning of the 17th century, the meal of an artisan painter revolved around bread, the true pillar of the table. One often began with a *minestra* (thick soup of legumes or pasta), then came the *companatico* — literally "what accompanies the bread": a bit of cheese, salted fish, or on good days, meat. Wine, almost always diluted with water, punctuated the meal. The Church imposed many "lean" days without meat, which set the rhythm of the kitchen calendar.

Salted sheep's milk cheese (pecorino) served as both a *companatico*, a seasoning, and a cheap source of protein; rosemary, which grows everywhere in the Roman countryside, flavors meats, soups, and roasts. Together, they give popular Roman cuisine its salty and resinous signature.