30/07/2026
Fascist Italy tried to separate Italians from their pasta.
Extraordinarily, that's exactly what Mussolini's regime tried to do.
In the 1930s, Fascist officials promoted rice instead, insisting that pasta made Italians sluggish and unfit for the new Italy they wanted to build. It was one of the regime's more bizarre campaigns, and it completely misunderstood what pasta had already become.
When Mussolini was arrested on July 25, 1943, one anti-Fascist family didn't celebrate with speeches or parades. They borrowed butter, collected Parmigiano, cooked enormous pots of pasta, and served it free in the village piazza to anyone who came, even former Fascists. It's one of the most remarkable food stories I've ever encountered, and it's the subject of my newest Inside Italy essay.
Now a call to action and a call to the table : I'd love to hear your story !
Share a photo of the best plate of pasta you've ever eaten, or simply the last one you enjoyed ! Tell us where you were, what you ordered (or cooked!), and why you still remember it.
Let's turn the comments into a celebration of Italy, and of resistance.. one plate of pasta at a time !
You can read the full story in my latest Inside Italy substack at ....
Resistance is an everyday act, and there is no reason why Pastasciutta Antifascista needs to be limited to a single day.
