'La pasta all'amatriciana' - The history of the dish

This famous recipe originally comes from Amatrice, a small village right in the heart of central Italy, in the commune of Rieti, Capital of the Sabina Region. Here it was a simple and quick dish for local shepherds to prepare. Therefore, the ingredients are those that the shepherds could easily carry with them while caring for their herds; guanciale is cured pigs cheek, with a distinctive flavour stronger than pancetta, while pecorino is a salted cheese made from the milk of ewes. The olive oil they used was from the Sabina region in which they grazed their herds, a region famous to this day for the quality of the oil they produce. Meanwhile the dried spaghetti pasta they used was an easily portable shape as well as being slightly cheaper than the other pasta often recommended with this sauce; bucatini. Bucatini are essentially hollow spaghetti, with a little hole (or bucatino) which sucks up the sauce.

Gabriele D'Annunzio
Alcyone
Sogni di terre lontane

I PASTORI

Settembre, andiamo. E' tempo di migrare.
Ora in terra d'Abruzzi i miei pastori
lascian gli stazzi e vanno verso il mare:
scendono all'Adriatico selvaggio
che verde è come i pascoli dei monti.

Han bevuto profondamente ai fonti
alpestri, che sapor d'acqua natía
rimanga ne' cuori esuli a conforto,
che lungo illuda la lor sete in via.
Rinnovato hanno verga d'avellano.

E vanno pel tratturo antico al piano,
quasi per un erbal fiume silente,
su le vestigia degli antichi padri.
O voce di colui che primamente
conosce il tremolar della marina!

Ora lungh'esso il litoral cammina
la greggia. Senza mutamento è l'aria.
il sole imbionda sì la viva lana
che quasi dalla sabbia non divaria.
Isciacquío, calpestío, dolci romori.

Ah perché non son io cò miei pastori?

The guanciale was cooked in oil from the neighbouring region of Sabina, through which the shepherd would often pass, and eaten with the pecorino and spaghetti in what is known as 'pasta alla gricia'. This recipe was first brought to Rome by the shepherds when they descended from the mountains to winter their herds by the sea. However, when the tomato arrived in Italy from America, it was quickly incorporated into the shepherds' original recipe; thus 'pasta all'amatriciana' was born.

According to the official Amatriciana website, the recipe calls for cubed guanciale fried off in olive oil and a little chilli, followed by a glass of white wine and allowing the alcohol to cook off before the guanciale is put aside. The tomatoes are then cooked in the same pan before re-adding the guanciale and tossing the sauce through freshly cooked spaghetti, the dish is finished by the addition of pecorino cheese.

How to eat long pasta

When eating any long pasta shape you have to be especially careful not to stain your shirt. The recommended method for eating such pasta is to wrap them securely round your fork, but without using a spoon as this is considered bad form. Furthermore, you must never, ever use a knife to cut them up. Make sure that you do not have too many strands of pasta hanging from your fork, but with perfectly cooked spaghetti 'al dente' this wont be 100% possible as they wont cling to the fork (unlike overcooked spaghetti!). Now in one swift and confident movement, lean forward while at the same time bringing this forkful into your mouth as quickly as possible, without splashing!

If this is your first time eating spaghetti, we recommend you do not wear white!

Tragic party: Australian tourist dies after mixing alcohol and sleeping pills

A binge-drinking party has brought an end to the holiday of a group of young Australians in the worst possible way. Madelaine Crawley, 22 years old, was found dead in the bathroom of her bungalow at the Camping near Rome. Sleeping pills were found in her luggage. Another girl from her group, Holli Crimmins, 20, had to be taken to hospital to have her stomach pumped when she fell ill after the party, which the police says indicates just how excessive the drinking was. No traces of other substances were found so far, but the police suspects that drugs may have been involved.

After the party ended around 1am, everyone went to bed. At 5am, Madeleine was seen searching her phone by one of her friends. What happened after is not entirely clear, but at 6:30 she was found in the bathroom, apparently still showing signs of life, and was rushed to hospital. There, attempts to save her proved futile.

While binge-drinking is never recommendable, mixing alcohol and drugs, whether medicinal or recreational, is often lethal and should always be avoided. Also remember that if everyone in your group is drunk, no one will be able to help or raise alarm if something goes wrong. Still, if you feel ill after a night out, tell someone and do not lock yourself in the bathroom so you can be reached if you need help!