In Renaissance Florence, meals were not organized as starter/main/dessert but around *pane sciocco*, the saltless Tuscan bread. Everything else is *companatico* — "what accompanies bread": a *minestra* (dried legume soup), some salted fish, sometimes *tortelli* on feast days, and a poor flour *dolce* to finish. Wine is drunk cut with water. For Michelangelo, an austere artisan, this pattern was reduced to essentials: bread, a soup, a *companatico*, often eaten standing up.

The Tuscan *pane sciocco* (bland bread) and *olio* of Tuscany are the thread of this frugal table: bread serves as plate, spoon, and base for every meal, oil often replaces butter and marks every dish.