Csapó Katalin - Füreder Balázs - Sári Zsolt: Reneszánsz ételek – Ételek reneszánsza Időszaki kiállítás 2008. március–május (Budapest, 2008)

Italy In the fifteenth century the north-Italian states ranked among the wealthiest in the whole of Europe. In particular Florence, which owed its affluence to the prosperity of the textile industry and dress manufacture, based on wool imported from north Europe and oriental silk. The surplus incomes of trade made the state not only Europe's financial centre, but also capital of the European banking world. The golden florentinus (from which the Hungarian forint derives from), minted in Florence from 1252, counted as the number-one international legal tender. Florence reached the zenith of its development under the rule of the Medici family, who were a rich family of bankers, patrons of the arts and architecture. Florence made a profound influence on the surrounding city-states. In 1447 Francesco Sforza came to power in Milan and transformed the mediaeval city into the centre of the arts and of culture. Venice, too, went on to become the centre of Renaissance culture, and architecture in particular, after it did away with its rivals, Pisa and Genoa, and brought the Mediterranean Sea under its rule. In 1533 the young Catherine of Medici (1519-1589) was married to the future king of France, Henry II (1547-1559). One hundred baskets full of goods were transported from Florence for the grand wedding at Catherine's request; the jewels were carried in safes, the wedding cakes and the ingredients, too, all on separate carriages. A master of wine looked after the wonderful wine bottles and the grand wines. She liked to cook and varied French cuisine with Florentine recipes, bringing a breath of fresh air to French cooking. It is said she introduced the green beans of Tuscany to the lands over the Alps, and imported new flavours in roast meats, made the first roast orange goose and pancakes in France; in fact, her name is linked also with the famous béchamel sauce. She introduced spinach, artichokes and parsley to French cuisine. French meals would include veal, turkey, stork and tortoise. The favourite of the young Henry II was snails, but the Tuscan chefs served him fried bone marrow croquette, sweet-and-sour liver, and at their wedding served guinea-fowl with chestnut stuffing and truffles, wit a cream and orange sauce. Legend has it that her culinary success story continued with another Medici, Mary (1573-1642), who would become wife to king Henry IV of France, and introduced a number of Florentine dishes to the French court, such as shortcrust pastry, various creams, sweetmeats with fillings, and a beverage made of milk and honey.