Ancient Roman Baths

Posted on December 7, 2018 by babbityjean

While many contemporary western cultures see bathing as a private activity conducted in the home, bathing was a communal activity in ancient Rome.  Bathhouses were the cultural centers of daily life.  The earliest descriptions of western bathing practices came from Greece, but the Romans raised the practice to an art form. They were aided by the construction of the aqueducts, which provided enough water for domestic, agricultural, and industrial uses…as well as for leisurely pursuits.

The Roman baths varied in size, layout, decoration, and added amenities.  In general, a bather proceeded through a series of rooms exposing himself to increasing temperatures.  Hence, most bathhouses contained an apodyterium where the bather stored his clothes.  Then, the bather entered the frigidarium with its cold water; he then proceeded to the tepidarium (warm room), and finally to the caldarium (hot room).  The bather might then return to the tepidarium for a massage with oils and a scraping with a metal implement called a strigil. There were often separate bathing facilities for women and men, although mixed bathing was common at one time.

Inside the bathhouses, marble mosaics tiled the elegant floors.  Frescoes of trees, birds, and other images adorned the stucco walls, and celestial imagery adorned the domes.   Fountains and statuary decorated the interior and exterior spaces.

Roman bathhouses often contained a courtyard, or Palestra, which was an open-air garden used for exercise. Libraries, lecture halls, reading rooms, stages for theatrical and musical performances, formal gardens, and gymnasiums were part of some complexes, as well as saunas, steam rooms, hair salons, and places to buy and eat food.  Hence, these places became the spas and community centers of Roman daily life.

After work in the morning, many Romans enjoyed spending the afternoon at the public bath.  They enjoyed not only the cleansing and restorative powers of the waters, but also the time to meet with friends, to exercise, or to read at the library.  Courtship and business deals were conducted, as well as local gossip and political campaigns.

The Romans believed that good health came from bathing, eating, massages, and exercise.  The baths were the centers for all of these activities.  Bathing was practiced across a wide variety of social classes (the fees were very modest), although the wealthy often brought their slaves to carry and watch over their towels, oils, and strigils, as thieves and pickpockets were known to frequent the baths.  One of the most famous baths in Rome was the Baths of Caracalla; the largest were the Baths of Diocletian, which could hold up to 3,000 bathers.  A catalogue of buildings in Rome documented 952 baths in the city in 354 AD.

As the Roman Empire expanded, the concept of the public bath spread to all parts of the Mediterranean and into regions of Europe and North Africa.  The Romans took advantage of natural hot springs in Europe to construct baths at Aix and Vichy in France, Bath and Buxton in England, and Aachen and Wiesbaden in Germany, among other locations.

When asked why he bathed once a day, one Roman emperor is believed to have said, “Because I do not have time to bathe twice a day.”  The Romans bequeathed to contemporary society not only the spa concept and a standard of cleanliness, but also a type of community center that housed a library, art gallery, mall, restaurant, gym…and spa.

Posted in Abitudini, Architecture, Differenze culturali, English, Foto, Italia, La Gente, Roma, Storia | 1 Comment

Qual è la colazione ideale?

Posted on November 29, 2018 by babbityjean

Recentemente, ho letto un articolo in un giornale italiano che confrontava la colazione italiana con quella degli Stati Uniti e dell’Inghilterra.  La maggior parte delle informazioni e opinioni sono spiegate dal professor Giorgio Calabrese, docente di scienze dell’alimentazione all’Università Cattolica di Piacenza e commissario dell’Authority Europea per la sicurezza alimentare.  Inizia dicendo, “Prima di tutto bisogna ricordare due aspetti di solito sconosciuti ai più: con la colazione si devono introdurre nell’apparato digerente cibi liquidi e solidi.  I primi mettono in funzione l’attività gastrica; i secondi hanno il compito di svuotare la cistifellea dalla bile.  Quest’ultima funzione ha due finalità: quella di permettere una digestione migliore nel corso della giornata; e fare in modo di non accumulare troppa bile nella colecisti, situazione che potrebbe portare alla formazione di calcoli in futuro”.

Ora guardiamo le colazioni tipiche, prima in Italia.  La colazione all’italiana si fa con latte, caffè, fette biscottate, marmellata, yogurt e spremuta d’arancia.  Le sostituzioni accettabili includono il tè invece del caffè, pane tostato al posto delle fette, miele invece della marmellata, frutta fresca per lo yogurt.

Il breakfast all’americana è molto diverso.  Per i liquidi, si beve solo caffè (lungo, ovviamente) oppure, il tè.  A volte, il latte viene consumato con i cereali.  Al posto del succo d’arancia mediterraneo, preparato con agrumi freschi spremuti, troppo spesso c’è l’orange juice, cioè liquido con sostanze disidratate. Aggiunte.  La parte solida è composta da pane e burro, a volte con dolce e torte.  Alcuni americani preferiscono i gusti salati: prosciutto cotto, pancetta o salsiccia, formaggio e uova accompagnati con del pane.

Cosa mangiano gli inglesi ed i tedeschi?  L’essenza della colazione in Gran Bretagna e Germania è “uova e pancetta”, sostanze ricche di proteine e grassi.  Per di più, gli inglesi e i tedeschi preferiscono le uova fritte in padella con brioche salate, cucinate insieme ai wurstel.

Quindi, quale colazione è migliore per il corpo umano? Secondo Calabrese, la colazione inglese (e tedesca) è “uno shock calorico, una terribile bomba di grassi saturi, presa al mattino, in un momento delicato del giorno dopo che l’apparato digerente ha lavorato tutta la notte per smaltire le ‘scorie’ di una cena abbondante”.  Con il tipo di colazione “bacon and egg”, la cistifellea si ricarica con la bile in  un’ora,  che causa alti livelli di colesterolo e trigliceridi nel sangue, con molte possibilità di ictus, arteriosclerosi e infarto del miocardio. La colazione americana è migliore a meno che una colazione salata ricca di grassi non venga consumata frequentemente, il che innesca la produzione di insulina.

Il vincitore è la colazione all’italiana (seguito da quella all’americana e poi la colazione anglosassone). La colazione italiana punta sui cibi facilmente digeribili—quasi un’attesa fisiologica del pasto di metà giornata.  La colazione italiana è meno calorica, in media fra le 300 e le 400 calorie con la energia derivata da carboidrati complessi e semplici, che non esasperano la produzione di insulina.  Quest’ultima è prodotta in picchi—in seguito a grassi e zucchero assunti in abbondanza—dando origine ad altri grassi.

Ho un paio di commenti sulla conclusione. Innanzitutto, la colazione italiana è probabilmente la migliore per le persone che hanno un pasto di mezzogiorno di grandi dimensioni. Ma per gli americani che forse hanno un panino o un’insalata a pranzo, la colazione italiana probabilmente non sarebbe sufficiente. E, per quelli che hanno una tendenza all’ipoglicemia, la proteina al mattino è cruciale.

Calabrese dice che se proprio si preferisce il gusto salato, “una buona idea è optare per il pane tostato con prosciutto crudo o bresaola o formaggi magri”. Calabrese mette in guardia su un particolare fenomeno che sta prendendo piede in Italia: l’abbinamento di cappuccino e brioche.  Il croissant è composto da acidi grassi saturi, oli vegetali di cocco e di palma o strutto.  Una sola al mattino basta.

Calabrese distingue le esigenze della prima colazione di diversi gruppi.  Per esempio, per gli studenti, una colazione all’italiana è giusta: fette biscottate, miele, marmellata, frutta o yogurt, spremute, cereali sotto forma di “corn flakes” e caffè.  I centrifugati sono ricchi di fibra e sono sostanze in grado di aiutare a smaltire le scorie della cena precedente.  Per l’anziano lui raccomanda una colazione simile, con l’aggiunta di pane e formaggio fresco magro o una fetta di prosciutto crudo o cotto, sempre magro.  Per l’operaio che richiede più energia, suggerisce di cominciare la giornata con un cappuccino, un cornetto e 500 grammi di frutta aggiungendo un panino imbottito con miele or marmellata.

Mentre è importante sapere che cosa mangiare, secondo il dottor Oz, un famoso medico americano della TV, QUANDO mangiare è altrettanto importante. Dice che i nostri intestini non sono stati progettati per funzionare tutto il tempo. È importante non broare tutto il tempo ed è importante “digiunare” per almeno 12 ore durante la notte tra la cena e la colazione del mattino seguente.

 

Posted in Abitudini, Cucina italiana, Differenze culturali, Foto, Italia, Italiano | Leave a comment

What is the Ideal Breakfast?

Posted on November 29, 2018 by babbityjean

Recently I read an article in an Italian newspaper that compared the Italian breakfast with those of the United States and Great Britain.  Most of the information and opinions were explained by professor Giorgio Calabrese, a teacher of food science at the Catholic University of Piacenza and commissioner of the European food safety authority.  He begins by saying, “First of all we need to remember two aspects usually not known to many people:  with breakfast you have to introduce liquid and solid foods into your digestive system.  The first puts the gastric activity into operation; the latter has the task of emptying bile from the gall bladder.  The latter function has two purposes: to allow better digestion during the day and to make sure that too much bile does not accumulate, a situation that could lead to the formation of calculi in the future.”

Now let’s look at typical breakfast, first from Italy, which is made with milk, coffee, biscuits, jam, yogurt, and orange juice.  Acceptable substitutions include tea instead of coffee, toasted bread in place of slices, honey instead of jam, and fresh fruit for yogurt.

The American breakfast is different.  For liquids, one drinks coffee (tall, for sure), or tea.  At times, milk is consumed with cereal.  In place of Mediterranean orange juice prepared with freshly squeezed citrus, there is an orange juice often with dehydrated substances added.  The solid part consists of bread and butter, sometimes accompanied by sweet forms of coffee cake, or other types of cakes and pies. Some Americans prefer savory tastes:  cooked ham, bacon or sausage, cheese and egg accompanied by bread.

What do the English and Germans eat?  The essence of breakfast in Great Britain and Germany is “egg and bacon”, substances rich in protein and fat.  Moreover, the English and Germans prefer fried eggs in a pan with savory brioche, cooked with frankfurters.

So, which breakfast is better for the human body?  According to Calabrese, the English and German breakfast is “a caloric shock, a terrible bomb of saturated fats, taken in the morning, at a very delicate moment of the day after the digestive system worked all night to dispose of the ‘slag’ of an abundant dinner.”  With the typical Anglo-Saxon breakfast, the gall bladder recharges with bile within an hour, which causes high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood leading to greater chances of stroke, arteriosclerosis, and myocardial infarction.  The American breakfast is better unless the savory breakfast rich in fat is consumed frequently, which triggers the production of insulin.

The winner is the Italian breakfast, which focuses on easily digestible foods—as almost a physiological wait for the mid-day meal.  The Italian breakfast has fewer calories, on average between 300 and 400 (instead of between 700 and 1000) with the energy derived from simple and complex carbohydrates, which do not exacerbate the production of insulin, which is produced in peaks giving rise to other fats.

I have a few comments on the professor’s conclusion. First, the Italian breakfast is probably better for people who have a large mid-day meal.  But for Americans who perhaps have only a sandwich or salad, the Italian breakfast is probably not sufficient for a 4-hour span.  And, for those who have a tendency toward hypoglycemia, protein in the morning is critical.  Calabrese says that if one prefers a savory taste in the morning, it’s a good idea to opt for toasted bread with raw prosciutto or bresaola or lean cheese. He also warns of a phenomenon that is taking hold in Italy:  the pairing of cappuccino and brioche.  Croissants consist of saturated fatty acids, and coconut or palm oil, or lard.  One in the morning is enough.

Calabrese distinguishes among the breakfast needs of different groups.  For students, he suggests the Italian breakfast of biscuits, honey, jam, fruit or yogurt, juice, cereal in the form of corn flakes, and coffee.  Smoothies are rich in fiber and have substances capable of aiding in the removal of “slag” from the preceding dinner.  For older folks, he recommends a similar breakfast with the addition of bread and fresh, lean cheese or a slice of ham, again lean.  For the worker who has a higher energy requirement, he suggests starting the day with cappuccino, a croissant and 500 grams of fruit, adding a sandwich filled with honey or jam.

While it is important to understand what to eat, according to Dr. Oz, a famous American television doctor, WHEN to eat is equally important.  He maintains that our intestines are not designed to work all of the time.  It’s important not to graze and to fast for at least 12 hours during the night between dinner and breakfast the following morning.

 

Posted in Abitudini, Cucina italiana, Differenze culturali, English, Foto, La Gente | Leave a comment