Artist Fabrizio Bellomo's Socio-Gastronomic Guide of Italy Published

Artist and filmmaker Fabrizio Bellomo (born 1982 in Bari) has published a socio-gastronomic guide of Italy with Postmedia Books. The book weaves reflections on the socio-political meaning of eating with travel tips between Italy and Adriatic countries like Albania and Serbia. Bellomo's narrative oscillates between his chosen cities of Milan and Bari, passing through Rome, with Tirana playing a key role. He leads readers to restaurants, trattorias, and atypical foods, using them as metaphors for resistance or conformity. For example, avocado symbolizes conformism in a daring parallel with Raphael's Rooms and the Sistine Chapel, while sea bass is labeled fascist. Bellomo critiques how popular culture items are gentrified into desirable, institutionalized commodities, stripping them from oral tradition and family stories. Positive examples include Pippo Bar in Rome, with its oral menu, and wild rocket, an ancient imperfect food. He opposes the international stereotype of orecchiette sold by women on Bari's streets but supports pasta mista made from leftovers, not pre-packaged mixes. The journey becomes an anti-capitalist pamphlet where cinema, architecture, and urban art converge, with food as a thread advocating for small, beautiful things born from necessity.