At the table of a craftsman in Faenza around 1600, the meal revolves around bread: the piadina baked on a terracotta disk serves as everyday bread. It is accompanied by the *companatico* (what "goes with bread": cured meats, cheese, herbs). On religious feast days, the meal opens with *minestra in brodo* — stuffed pasta swimming in broth — the highlight of the family meal. Apart, in the pantry, await autumn preserves (*sapa*, *savori*) and, to close or comfort, a glass of spiced wine. There is no starter-main-dessert distinction: one distinguishes the *povero* (everyday) from the *grasso* (festive), and the lean days imposed by the Church from the allowed days of fat.

Grape must from Romagna slowly reduced until it becomes a dark, velvety syrup. Heir to the Roman *defrutum*, it sweetens, preserves, and coats when cane sugar remains rare and costly. Emblem of a land of vines: the same grape that gives the red wine for Zappi's meals also yields its pantry nectar.