Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
TRAVELOGUE 7.20PM, BBC2
Stanley is exploring Puglia, which is situated in the heel of Italy’s ‘boot’. In its capital, Bari, he samples some ‘Italian sushi’, as well as spaghetti all’assassina, in which pasta is cooked in a most unconventional way. With 60 million olive trees, the region supplies almost half of Italy’s olive oil, while the production of durum wheat also means it’s known as the breadbasket of Italy. But poverty in southern Italy once meant parts of this area were labelled ‘Italy’s shame’, prompting Stanley to investigate how it has, in effect, gone from rags to riches. ★★★★ JP