i am stanley tucci, italian on both sides, and i am traveling across italy to find out how the food across these regions is as unique as the people and their past. the famous ancients of rome are the ones who ruled the world. but i am here to discover how it is the food of ordinary romans that have conquered our hearts. but i am going to warn you, if you are on a low-carb diet, beware, you are going to see a lot of pasta in this show. i mean, like a lot of it, like a lot. i have been visiting rome for decades. it's beauty >> nice to see you again. ciao. as we staggered off our breakfast, i noticed her that the area was much busier and hipper than years ago. >> this was the four quarters and you see the buildings, as much as they are, very small. then, of course, as it happens, they are very trendy and everybody wanted to live here. >> yes, more gentrified? the city may be changes but one thing that is as constant as the landmarks is how much people in rome love their pasta. four star dishes in particular have become an emblem of the city and claudia is taking me to find out more at a place she says is the pantheon of pasta. the restaurant is fully booked? >> but we do not care. ciao. [ speaking foreign language ] >> tell me more about pasta in rome. >> everybody has their own recipe, it is the best ever, yours does not compare to mine. >> it becomes territorial, doesn't it? romans have what they call the four pastas, simple but iconic dishes with staggering deliciousness. there is creamy cacio e pepe made with sheep's cheese and pepper, the ancient grecia which has pork, it's luxurious cousin carbonara which is elevated with egg yolks and finally for lunch today, treciana made with guanciale , fatty pork's cheek. the guanciale is a base for a lot of different dishes in rome. we would usually use pancetta but the taste is totally different. >> no, no. >> terrible, yes? >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] cacio e pepe, [ speaking foreign language ]. okay. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> thank you. thank you so much. >> delicious. >> this is delicious. delicious. the sauce is actually quite light, which is nice, and the guanciale is really delicate. >> i kept a place in my stomach for this. >> because we did not eat that -- >> my goat? >> across the city every single day, romans eat pasta that has ancient bonds to their surrounding countryside. it is hard to imagine, but this iconic food was once at risk of being banned in italy. >> stanley tucci, searching for italy is brought to you by expedia, made to travel. go to cnn.com/searching for italy to learn more about 's life-changing travels and get sought over recipes from all over italy. >> lemons, lemons, lemons. look at how nice they are. as soon as you become an expedia member, you can start saving on your travels. so you can go and see all of those lovely, lemony lemons. never wonder if you've got a good deal. because you did. and i get ses to love it or my money back... i love it! i thought online meant no one to help me, but susan from carvana had all the answers. she didn't try to upsell me. not once, because they're not salespeople! what are you...? guess who just checked in on me? mom... susan from carvana! [laughs] we'll drive you happy at carvana. this is a game changer who dares to be fearless even when her bladder leaks. our softest, smoothest fabric keeping her comfortable, protected and undeniably sleek. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner with access to financial advice, tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. >> sitting at the big, warm, carbohydrate loaded heart of italian cuisine is pasta, and fittingly for the nation's capital, rome is obsessed with the stuff. i have been promised the best carbonara in the city and i have been told to come to the working class back streets behind the station and to ask for the don. tell me what you do. >> i impersonate a popular food and for a long time, a made a show where i played vinyl music on the disc -- >> -- as a dj? >> yes, but at the same time, i cooked pasta as a grandma. >> danielle de michele is a chef who cooks food while spinning records and his stage name is don pasta. this is really fantastic, i was pretending for the audience that i did not look no but why lie? he has promised me the best dish of carbonara that i have ever tasted and he tells me why pasta matters so much to him. >> i realized that italian food is popular food, the working class people and the roots of italian food. >> today, we might think of a bowl of pasta as the ultimate comfort food but there is a distinctly uncomfortable history of italians fighting oppression through pasta. in the early 1930s, mussolini and his fascists imposed import bans on various foreign goods which led to food shortages, malnutrition and a lack of food which left many italian tables with no pasta. in typical style, rather than lifting the import bans, mussolini tried to convince italians that eating pasta would make them weak, lazy and a sexually impotent and that a high protein diet would make them more productive and warlike. the campaign was clearly not a success. >> won the fascists arrived, a big part of italian is with mussolini. about 30 or 40% is against mussolini. >> in fact, pasta actually became a powerful symbol of the resistance against his fascist regime, armed with their guns and sheets of pasta. many of the partisans who stood up against mussolini lived in the streets. >> the greek axis railyard, from where supplies are poured into southern italy, are blasted -- >> -- this area bore the brunt of allied bombings that wanted to disrupt the nearby real habit but over 1000 people were killed. this is, in essence, like a monument? >> yes, and you see the effect of the war. families died. all of the area, all this area is bombing. >> this particular square was home to a hugely popular [ speaking foreign language ] during the war and all of the family died after the bombing. after the war, the local community raised funds for a surviving father and son to open the restaurant and the boy started work at age 8. amazingly, he is still here today. >> this is the story of roman food. >> beautiful. >> although alto runs the restaurant with his daughter, rosanna, people come from the city and even further to enjoy the come first comfort of all those food periods >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> tell me about carbonara. carbonara is a roman dish but we do not know when it was invented, right? one story i had always heard was that carbonara came about when the american soldiers in rome started missing their bacon and eggs from back home and wanted them added to spaghetti. also, however, has his own theory. >> [ speaking foreign language ] guanciale, spaghetti, pasta. [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> it seems that some things are destined to remain a roman myths. what everyone agrees on is that the carbonara here is incredible. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> are you ready? [ speaking foreign language ] >> i know, i know. you have basically four ingredients, pasta, eggs, the guanciale and she is, and that is it. but when i try it at home, it is never this good. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> my mother does that too. i could just die now. when i taste pasta like this, i understand why it remains so important to the city. rome may be the seat of power and religion, but it is overwhelmingly a working-class town. this is simple food that has been elevated by people making the best of what little they had available. they are rightly proud that their humble food has come to define italy to the entire world. ke) get a whole lot of something with farmers. ♪we are farmers.bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum♪ get help managing your money for the life -- and years -- ahead. with fidelity income planning, we'll look at what you've saved, what you'll need, and build a straightforward plan to generate income, even when you're not working. a plan that gives you the chance to grow your savings and create cash flow that lasts. along the way, we'll give you ways to be tax efficient. and you can start, stop or adjust your plan at any time without the unnecessary fees. we'll help you go from saving... to living. ♪ play all day ♪ ( ♪ ) ( ♪ ) ( ♪ ) (driver) conventional thinking would say verizon has the largest and fastest 5g network. but, they don't. they only cover select cities with 5g. and with coverage of over 96% of interstate highway miles, they've got us covered. when you join ihop's new rewards program, the international bank of pancakes, and start stacking pancoins toward free food, you get a smile on your plate. download the app and join the rewards program today. >> my search continues for italy's tradition and delicious food in the region of piedmont. this is a place that is always changing. i was afraid of the testicles, but they are absolutely delicious. >> you have to be a little bit as a business owner, your bottom line is always top of mind. so start saving by switching to the mobile service designed for small business: comcast business mobile. flexible data plans mean you can get unlimited data or pay by the gig. all on the most reliable 5g network. with no line activation fees or term contracts... saving you up to $500 a year. and it's only available to comcast business internet customers. so boost your bottom line by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities.™ there are lots of choices when it comes to your internet and technology needs. but when you choose comcast business internet, you choose the largest, fastest reliable network. you choose advanced security. and you choose fiber solutions with speeds up to 10 gigs available to more small businesses than any other provider. the choice is clear: get unbeatable business solutions from the most innovative company. get a great deal on this limited time price with internet and voice for just $49.99 a month for 24 months with a 2-year price guarantee. call today. >> i have headed five miles out of the city center using the newly extended metro line. romans had a reputation for resisting change and the arrival of the subway in 2014 has shaken up old forward neighborhoods of the city, and no more so than --. i am getting maximilian, the editor of italy's most prestigious food journal, to find out what is going on. gentrification is moving in on this neighborhood and food is on the front line. >> the neighborhood was born during the roman empire, and it is a roman name. it is 100 jail in english. >> 100 jail? >> exactly. >> there may not have been 100 jails here, but what it does have is the renew subway stations, all within close proximity. >> this changed the game as people came here and tried to invest a bit. >> this is where we are going? let's see what he has. this place has had a rough reputation but that is changing fast and a place that is seen by some as a ground zero for the transformation of the neighborhood is a dell. vincenzo opened this place well before the metro arrived and he wanted to rehabilitate the surrounding regions mediocre reputation for food and bring the best of the countryside back for his neighbors to enjoy at fair prices. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> right, right. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> can i taste some? >> yes. >> pecorino cheese is made from sheep's milk and rome is famous for it. historically, the animals were raised as a cheaper alternative to cattle and crops. vincenzo goes a step further and searches in some unlikely places for cheese that also helps his community. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> what does that mean? in jail? okay. only in italy would an ancient cheese recipe be saved by prisoners. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> really? >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> right. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> that is delicious. as well as sheep's milk , pork makes its way into almost every dish in rome. pigs were raised all around the city because they need less space than other animals. >> [ speaking foreign language ] guanciale, pancetta. [ speaking foreign language ] >> i said, [ speaking foreign language ] to me, vincenzo is doing something amazing. now people come here from around the city to this one's overlooked suburb. but over the past few years, another 50 to 60 food places have opened up nearby. >> [ speaking foreign language ] this is gentrification. [ speaking foreign language ] >> romans are renowned for their stubborn resistance to change. i guess it does keep the city standing for centuries, but maximilliano wants to show me another cafe in the area, one of many that have opened in recent years and i was not fully prepared for what we found. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> it is hard to imagine, but a few months ago, this place was a thriving cafe and a bookshelf called [ speaking foreign language ], the electric sheep. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> on the ninth of april 25, 2019, alexandra's cafe was firebombed and she set about rebuilding her business but the night before she was due to reopen, the attacker struck again. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> three local businesses have now been attacked like this here, including a pizza place and this jazz bar. the police still have not found who is responsible. because alexandra hosted community events at the cafe including antifascist talks, suspicion has fallen on the far right but others blame local criminals protecting their old turf or anti-gentrification campaigners. >> is this happening in other parts of rome too? >> no. [ speaking foreign language ] no, not rome. >> terrible. one change happens, romans resist, but whoever did this has made it dangerous to sell food and it seems brutal to attack restaurants and cafes in this city that is as united in its love of eating together. and must be taken within 5 days from when symptoms first appear. if you have symptoms of covid-19, even if they're mild don't wait, get tested quickly. if you test positive and are at high risk for severe disease, act fast ask if an oral treatment is right for you. covid-19 moves fast and now you can too. welcome to allstate. where everyone saves when they bundle their home and auto insurance. isn't that right, frank? i saved 25%. booyah. you protected your casa? sure did. and the frank tank? you know it. and now you're relaxing. i'm working from home. sure you are. alright i see a lot of head nods. let's circle back tomorrow. you weren't kidding. save up to 25% when you bundle home and auto with allstate. click or call for a quote today. allergies don't have to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! flonase all good. at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner with access to financial advice, tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. it was a tragedy. with knockoff batteries, little miss cupcake never stood a chance. until, energizer ultimate lithium. who wants a cupcake? the number one longest-lasting aa battery. yay! case closed. >> tucked in a curb of the river tiber is the belly of rome, home to the slaughter houses that supplied 19th and 20th century romans with meats. tell me about this place. >> this is the retired slaughterhouse and for about 100 years until the 1970s, it is where most larger roman animals were slaughtered, basically from lambs all the way up to steer. >> is four square-mile site will be redeveloped into a cultural area, but for now, signs of its former life are everywhere. where is the -- >> you still see them. >> the tracks for the carcasses, yes. >> she is a waiter who swapped new jersey for rome almost 20 years ago. >> you have the veal here. skinning happened there. it is an organized place with so many pavilions covering a vast area and really influencing the types of foods that would be even just across the street at the treasuries of the early 19th and 20th century. >> in butchery, the animal is quartered and those cuts went to the straight upper and middle class kitchens and anything left over come the blood, brains and intestines were called the quinto quarto, the fifth quarter, and those went to the poor. some people were even paid in offal instead of money and had to make the best of it. one restaurant keeping these historic flavors alive and taking them into the 21st century is santo palatto. if you know how to cook, you can make the poorest of cuts into the richest of foods. katie maids wants me to meet sarah who has a reputation of doing amazing things with innards. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> yes. [ speaking foreign language ] >> she is going to make a frittata for us chopped with chicken innards. >> everything in your restaurant is made with offal? >> yes. >> are good. one egg per person, good. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ], throughout the day? breakfast, lunch, dinner? >> i like it in a sandwich. >> that is what i used to take to school. >> chef sarah gave up a middle school school to open a restaurant. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> so the stomach, the heart, and the liver? >> yes, [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> in rome, you find a frittata and chicken organs but separately and she has combined them. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> it is ready. >> wow. >> smell that. >> yes, that is nice. >> so rich. >> don't forget about the spread, so good. >> nice and hot too. that is great. that is great. >> this is really special. and i think it is a good demonstration of what sarah does well, taking roman classics levers and combining them in a way that is new but not revolutionary or extra contemporary. they just make sense in the cuisine today. >> sarah gets her scalpel into some beefheart and we take a seat in the dining room. what is that? >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> it is really an unusual texture too, isn't it? so let's break down what the offal are. we have heart, liver, lungs, stomach, brain, sweetbreads, intestines, snout, cartilaginous pieces of the face. >> the whole head, really, if you think of it. >> if posta is the first pillar of roman of food, the astonishing use of offal is definitely the second. somehow, romans turning these promising cuts into pure culinary poetry. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> i love oxtail. that is really good. >> and this is definitely a more carnivorous city than it is a fish city, even though we are 50 miles from the sea. that was a really far in the pre-1970s standards before there was ice and refrigeration. this is that honeycomb tray with all of those beautiful pockets, nice stomach geometry going on. >> that makes it sound much more palatable. that is very good. >> it is boiled multiple times, often with vinegar which tenderize of it and cleaned it, then it is cooked in tomato sauce with pecorino and mint. this is really the only way that you would find [ speaking foreign language ] in rome. go into another place, florence included, and the tripe is different. >> students stomach might not sound appealing but believe me, these are really tasty flavors. the roman poor wound up making some of the best food in the city, against the odds. what can i say? thanks a lot, thanks so much, katie. 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(driver) conventional thinking would say verizon has the largest and fastest 5g network. but, they don't. they only cover select cities with 5g. and with coverage of over 96% of interstate highway miles, they've got us covered. ♪ ♪ when you order the all new deluxe three cheese and bacon omelette, you get a smile on your plate. only from ihop. join the rewards program and earn double pancoins with any omelette purchase. lemons. lemons. lemons. the world is so full of lemons. when you become an expedia member, you can instantly start saving on your travels. so you can go and see all those lemons, for less. we need to reduce plastic waste in the environment. that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be re-made. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be 100% recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ], thank you very much. thank you, thank you. we are here in rome and it is the most wonderful time of the year. no, it is not christmas. it is artichoke season. right now, markets across the city are humming with the sound of people hacking away at rome's favorite vegetable. >> so show me the artichokes. as i have been finding out with roman food, you sometimes have to dig a little to get the good stuff. >> this is where the [ speaking foreign language ] -- >> [ speaking foreign language ]. >> once trimmed, they can be deep-fried to make one of my all-time roman foods, jewish fried artichokes. ask anyone here and they will tell you that this weird looking vegetable is a definitive roman food. thank you so much. ciao, ciao. what i love is that under those rough outer leaves, it contains an entire history, a story of how societies outcasts can change the habits of an entire city. these picturesque ruins the ones contained the misery of rome's jewish . from the 1500s onwards, the city's entire jewish community was locked into this area and only allowed to leave to do menial jobs in the daytime before being locked in at night. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> [ speaking foreign language ] why? because [ speaking foreign language ] >> italiana is in her 80s and has lived here her whole life. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> when the seized rome in october 1943, the was a sitting target and it's 1204 residents were sent to the gas chambers. she was one of a few who escaped one her uncle hid her outside of the city. for the few who survived, food became a vital link back to their past. the jews of rome had lived in poverty for centuries and were forced to rely on the cheapest of ingredients. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> using typical roman inventiveness, the pham jews transformed artichokes into foods that the entire city would soon take to heart. alongside pasta and offal, the influence of jewish cooking is the third pillar of roman cuisine today. italia set up a restaurant selling the best of jewish food in the ghetto. >> [ speaking foreign language ] 's >> in this kitchen, italia and her crack team raised the artichoke into food for the ages. >> [ speaking foreign language ] >> okay, so this is that. that was done yesterday, cooked in the oil and then refrigerated? >> not finished, i finish it. >> all right, so you are spreading up the leaves which are cooked, precooked? look at how beautiful that is. >> [ speaking foreign language ] that's the best one i have had. it is so addictive. it is like candy. you just can't stop. >> it is like candy. [ spoking foreign language ] >> this dish tells a story, it survived the darkness of times and linked us to a past that was almost wiped out. to me it is a type of historical monument in italian cooking. now beloved by everyone and proudly embraced by the entire city. you can instantly start saving on your travels. so you can go and see all those lemons, for less. at vanguard, you're more than just an investor, you're an owner with access to financial advice, tools and a personalized plan that helps you build a future for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. my name is ami and when i financed my car with carvana they had questions about my documents. but i was at work. in a mine. so carvana worked with my shift manager to get it all worked out. i was over the moon, even though i was underground. we'll drive you happy at carvana. discover a simple way to use colors in managing diabetes! inspired by nature, onetouch verio reflect® meter shows instantly if you're below, within or above your range. it cheers you on and provides guidance. connected to your health and your phone. visit onetouch.com today. my fellow xfinity customers. hi tim. the biggest week in entertainment is almost here. watchathon week presented by xfinity rewards. with free access to stranger things from netflix. the boys from prime video. hbo max, starz, and peacock. just say watchathon into your voice remote and get ready to watch. i love you. i love you. i love you all. my fellow xfinity customers. hi tim. the biggest week in entertainment is almost here. watchathon week presented by xfinity rewards. with free access to stranger things from netflix. the boys from prime video. hbo max, starz, and peacock. just say watchathon into your voice remote and get ready to watch. i love you. i love you. i love you all. i learn above all else, food from italy is about who you are and where you are from. where does that leave you if you are an outsider? i have come to bistro 64. a restaurant that serves up some of the best italian foods in the city. the chef is an out of towner and no, he's not frs om napels or en milan. he's from japan. >> nice to meet you, too. >> he was lured here 20 years ago by his obsession with the flavors of italian cuisine. [ speaking foreign language ] tonight he's making the simplest roman classic. it is one of the famous four pasta. it literally means cheese and pepper. of course, another italian kitchen secret . [ speaking foreign language ] it will take a while. viola! i know you may be thinking this is ludicrously simple food but believe me, it is extraordinary. don't just take my word for it. >> come here. >> okay. this is karen who works with us. one of the producers. she's from rome. you tell us -- >> okay. >> no pressure, no pressure. >> he's not nervous at all. he does not care about our opinion. ♪ >> it is devine. it is so good. it is perfectly creamy and not too intense oro overloaded with flavors. it is really respect how it is cooked in a family. [ speaking foreign language ] >> always with the secret. >> when it comes to food, romans know what they like and like what they know. beyond his masterful take of me menus, the purple potato cream with plum gelato. i was curious. # [ speaking foreign language ] >> the downside of rome being so steep and history, sometimes great things are resisted. missing food this good is a real shame. ♪ here is the thing -- the one thing that romans can't resist is a good meal. i am hopeful that soon notice food will be another culinary lands mark in this city. ♪ it is the fifth century. a city in the sea you say, built on stilts, canals instead of streets. you can only get there by boats and incredibly, they built it. venice becomes the center of the world trading empire, silks and spices and ideas and money. lots of it. the