Abstract This essay explores the role of food in Italian Jesuit colleges and residences between the 19th and 20th centuries, drawing on archival sources from the Historical Archives of the Jesuits’ Euro-Mediterranean Province ( AEMSI ). By analyzing menus, house diaries, supply inventories, and culinary guidelines, it reveals how food shaped daily life, community hierarchies, and regional identities within the Society of Jesus. The study highlights three key dimensions: nutritional practices (e.g., seasonal preservation techniques, dietary restrictions for health), social and symbolic functions (food as a gift, punishment, or tool for cohesion), and administrative management (procurement, the roles of lay brothers, and wartime scarcity). Examining sources such as the approved Leviticus and novitiate diaries, the essay demonstrates how Jesuit communities adapted to geopolitical upheavals and canonical reforms while preserving regional gastronomic traditions. Ultimately, it argues that these archives offer unparalleled insights into the intersection of food history, religious discipline, and socioeconomic change in modern Italy.
Maria Macchi (Thu,) studied this question.