Tutta Pasta Author:Lindy Wildsmith In 1969 I set off to Italy to learn Italian. Then as now, most foreign students went to Florence, but I went to Bologna. Well knows throughout Italy for its university and its food, Bologna la dotta e las grassa (literally 'Bologna cultured and well-fed') is bypassed by millions of tourists who visit Italy. — Bologna became my home for a year. ... more » The flat where I lived was small and had two bedrooms. One I shared with Luisa; the other was occupied by il Signor and la Signora Monetti together with a highly polished and very large 'Napoleonic' bedroom suite, a remnant of a much grander lifestyle. The rest of the flat consisted of just one small room, with a pantry-sized kitchen at one end screened off by a floral curtain. At the other end stood a sideboard which contained plates for at least a dozen guests, and a single ample armchair. The rest of the room was filled by a glass-topped table large enough to seat twelve people.« less