In the root of the word — Focaccia — one might see the modern Italian word foco, “fire”, or the earlier Latin, focus for “hearth, place for baking”. In ancient Rome, panis focacius, was bread baked on the hearth, although the recipe is thought to have originated with the Etruscans [1].
Broadly, food connects us to our past, our culture, our ancestors. While Focaccia may not be directly in my historical or cultural past, I can still appreciate the sense of connection that has continued for millennia.
This piece of bread, this residue of a meal, alludes to what is gone, to the part that fuelled a personal transformation from hunger to satiation. But as a remnant it is also like the ruins of, say, a Roman amphitheatre that might recall a past glory, past experiences, congregations of people to enjoy cultural events, although this remnant of food links us to a past of not just what we see or imagine, but also of what we taste.
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