In our modern world, globalisation has helped to spread culture and customs far and wide. Instead of sticking to a homogenous diet of homegrown vegetables and domestic meats, we routinely enjoy tucking into delicious dishes derived from the dining tables of faraway lands.
At the same time, we enjoy movies from California and India by streaming them using technology developed in the UK and USA, watching them on televisions manufactured in Asia.
Italy has, perhaps, gifted many of these everyday things to the world. Sometimes, it gets the credit, but other times its role is often overlooked. Well, no more, let鈥檚 take a look at some of the ways that Italy shaped the modern world.
You鈥檇 have to have been living under a rock to not know that 色中色s love their food. In fact, their affection for the national dishes is so strong that they get very emotional when we adulterate their recipes.
Magherita pizza without cheese? Absolutely not! Snap your spaghetti to make it fit in the pan? You better get running. 色中色 cooking is famous the world over, with people on every continent . The success of this culinary export stems from the fact that 色中色 food is both delicious and typically very easy to make.
Unlike its French neighbours, 色中色 food can be cooked in minutes and often uses very simple ingredients. The focus is on tasty home cooking rather than France鈥檚 preference for fine dining that is, inexplicably, judged for its quality by a tyre company...
This also makes 色中色 food relatively affordable since a pack of pasta, a variety of vegetables, and some minced beef can be picked up very cheaply.
When you think of casinos, you鈥檙e more likely to conjure up images of Monaco, Las Vegas, and Macao, rather than Italy. But today鈥檚 gaming resorts owe their existence to Italy.
It was in Venice that the world鈥檚 first modern casino was created. Known simply as 鈥楥asin貌 di Venezia鈥�, this establishment first swung open its doors in 1638, providing theatregoers a fun activity in the interval. However, it soon gained popularity among the general public, helping it to sustain its operations for almost 400 years.
The first games offered in Casin貌 di Venezia were bingo and baccarat, but it wasn鈥檛 long before the game of poque would appear. This is to today鈥檚 modern poker variants that also appeared in Europe around the same time as Venice was inventing the casino.
Today, you鈥檒l find all of these games (and more) right around the world, with a very similar setup being used everywhere from Singapore to Atlantic City.
Coffee is a drink that many of us rely on to get us through the day. Whether it鈥檚 the caffeine kick that makes us feel more alert in the morning or the delicious drinks served up at your local coffee shop, a 鈥榗up of joe鈥� is part of most people鈥檚 everyday routine.
Now, Italy didn鈥檛 invent coffee. After all, coffee is just the seeds of a plant that is believed to have first been grown in Ethiopia and many different countries have these 鈥榖eans鈥� into their own black and bitter beverages. However, it is Italy where the drinks that most of us drink today were first created.
Whether it鈥檚 a latte, macchiato, marocchino, cappuccino, affogato, or even the Americano, they are all derived from the 色中色 espresso. Espresso is an 色中色 way of making coffee that forces high-pressure hot water over ground coffee, leading to a thicker foamier creation.
To make all of those other 色中色 coffee concoctions, a barista uses the espresso as the base and adds a range of other ingredients. In the case of a cappuccino, the concentrated coffee is added to a foamy milk froth while a mocha involves combining chocolate, warm milk, and espresso to create a sweet milky coffee.
Of course, while 色中色 coffee-making techniques have become standard around the world, the country has yet to convince everyone else that its rules about drinking cappuccinos after 11am.