{"id":4093,"date":"2013-10-17T07:10:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-17T07:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=4093"},"modified":"2013-10-17T18:40:46","modified_gmt":"2013-10-17T18:40:46","slug":"memories-of-the-tomato-song-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/memories-of-the-tomato-song-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Memories of the Tomato Song"},"content":{"rendered":"

In today’s blog, our guest blogger <\/strong>Ambra Sancin<\/span><\/strong><\/a> shares her memories of a famous song.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It was while writing a<\/strong>tribute post<\/span><\/strong><\/a> to the late US-based cookbook author Marcella Hazan<\/strong> that I had an extended tomato moment. Flicking through her many tomato sauce recipes, I remembered how a dish called \u2018Pappa al Pomodoro\u2019<\/strong> came into my life in the mid 1960s while on a family trip back to Italy from Australia.<\/p>\n

The soupy tomato dish came via Italian actress\/singer Rita Pavone<\/strong>, who didn\u2019t cook it: she sang about it on television! Rita had already taken Italy by storm aged 17 in 1963 and international success followed with hit singles, performances alongside Diana Ross and the Supremes and regular guest spots on the popular Ed Sullivan Show from 1965 to 1970.<\/p>\n

\"vamba04436\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But it was Rita Pavone\u2019s<\/strong> lead role in the children\u2019s TV series Il Giornalino di Gian Burrasca<\/strong> (Gian Burrasca\u2019s Diary, see image above) from 1964-65 that made her Italy\u2019s darling. Directed by Lina Wertmuller<\/strong>, it\u2019s based on the 1907 book published as a newspaper diary about a mischievous pre-teen in Tuscany. He\u2019s an unruly kid and therefore nicknamed \u2018Burrasca\u2019<\/strong> (big storm or gale in Italian) by his parents.<\/p>\n

Deemed uncontrollable by his family, Gian Burrasca<\/strong> is sent to boarding school where he rebels against the despotic headmaster and all manner of chaos follows. What has stayed with me \u2013 and probably millions of Italians –\u00a0 is the song \u2018Pappa col Pomodoro\u2019<\/strong> which Rita Pavone<\/strong> sings so endearingly.<\/p>\n

This clever song was released as a single in 1965, becoming one of Italy\u2019s most popular songs and helping to revive the dish again.<\/p>\n

The song is very relevant to the storyline because the lyrics have a social nuance: the Tuscan dish \u2018Pappa al Pomodoro\u2019<\/strong> being food of the poor, made with stale bread and tomato sauce to produce a palatable soup. It was probably first cooked near Siena or Florence when tomatoes were introduced to Italy in the 16th century.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n
\"ritapavone_burrasca\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Rita Pavone in her Gian Burrasca costume<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

I\u2019m not sure why many recipes for this dish are called \u2018Pappa al Pomodoro\u2019<\/strong> while the song is \u2018Pappa col Pomodoro\u2019<\/strong>. Perhaps some food historian or linguist could explain?<\/p>\n

Viva la pa-pa-pappa
\nCol po-po-po-po-po-po-pomodoro
\nAh viva la pa-pa-pappa
\nChe \u00e8 un capo-po-po-po-polavoro
\nViva la pa-pappa pa-ppa
\nCol po-po-pomodor <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

La storia del passato
\normai ce l\u00b4ha insegnato
\nChe un popolo affamato fa la rivoluzion
\nRagion per cui affamati
\nabbiamo combatutto
\nPerci\u00f2 “buon appetito”
\nfacciamo colazion<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Roughly translated, it reads:
\n\u201cHistory teaches us
\nThat a hungry people
\nwill start a revolution
\nThat\u2019s why hunger needs to be fought against
\nSo \u2018good appetite\u2019
\nLet\u2019s have breakfast
\nLong live pappa col pomodoro<\/strong>
\nLong live pappa col pomodoro<\/strong> etc.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here is la Pappa col Pomodoro recipe<\/span><\/strong><\/a>, with a bonus clip of Rita Pavone<\/strong> singing the famous song.<\/p>\n

(Rita Pavone<\/strong> currently lives in Ticino, Switzerland and her last appearance was at a concert in Miami in 2002.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

In today’s blog, our guest blogger Ambra Sancin shares her memories of a famous song. It was while writing atribute post to the late US-based cookbook author Marcella Hazan that I had an extended tomato moment. Flicking through her many tomato sauce recipes, I remembered how a dish called \u2018Pappa al Pomodoro\u2019 came into my…<\/p>\n

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