Taste of Sicily with Fabrizia at Pastaworks
Stuffed Sicilian peppers with anchovies
Pizza with Sicilian estratto, anchovies and capers
Sfince with honey and Sicilian marmalade

ABOUT FABRIZIA LANZA: Fabrizia Lanza, cooking teacher, art historian and daughter of one of Sicily’s oldest aristocratic families, has returned home. She joins her mother at the eponymous Anna Tasca Lanza cooking school founded in 1989. Located in Vallelunga, site of the family’s renowned Regaleali vineyard, the cooking school celebrates Sicily’s traditional dishes, from the aristocratic cuisine of Palermo to the ingredient driven foods of the countryside. To these traditions Fabrizia brings the passion of an anthropologist and the eye of an artist. When not teaching, she.

Born in Palermo in 1961 to Anna Tasca and Venceslao Lanza di Mazzarino, Marchese of Villa Urrutia, Fabrizia left the island at age 18 to study art history in Aix-en-Provence, Florence and Rome. She was married at the family’s Villa Tasca in Palermo with its 18th century frescos, majolica floors and the renowned gardens Richard Wagner strolled while composing Parsifal. She then settled in Verona for 20 years organizing exhibitions and conferences, translating, directing museums and raising two children.

In Sicily she returns to her family’s 800-year history on the island – a history that began with Frederick II to whom the Lanzas trace their lineage. Over the centuries the Lanzas distinguished themselves militarily and in the arts. Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, author of Sicily’s best known piece of literature, The Leopard, was a relative through the Tasca line and his heir, Fabrizia’s uncle Gioacchino, now lives in Lampedusa’s palace by the sea.

Along with stories of the family’s royal romances, revolutionary exploits and literary intrigue, Fabrizia’s childhood was redolent of the wines and food of Sicily. Her mother’s family began one of Sicily’s most prestigious wine dynasties, Tasca D’Almerita, on the land now housing the cooking school. This is where the young Fabrizia summered and where her maternal grandfather, Giuseppe Tasca, the winery’s founder, taught her the delights of traditional country foods made from the estates’ fresh cheeses, meats, eggs, fruits and vegetables. The products of the estate are still used in the cooking school.

In Palermo, her paternal grandfather, Fabrizio Lanza di Mazzarino, Count of Assaro, lived a cosmopolitan life. He introduced her to the opulent French inspired cuisine brought to Sicily by the Bourbons at the beginning of the 19th century, including rich gateaux, vol-au-vent, koulibiak, profiteroles and soufflés. Today, the two cuisines happily cohabit in Fabrizia’s kitchens.

Fabrizia’s mother, Anna Tasca Lanza, has authored numerous books and has lectured worldwide on Sicilian cuisine. Fabrizia shares her mother’s appreciation for the rustic simplicity of Sicilian food as well as the opulent food of Palermo. She also lends an art historian’s sense of time, place, color and form to her classes.

ABOUT THE ANNA TASCA LANZA COOKING SCHOOL: Located in Vallelunga, Sicily, the Anna Tasca Lanza cooking school celebrates Sicily’s traditional dishes, from the aristocratic cuisine of Palermo to the ingredient driven foods of the countryside. Courses run from March through November and include three-day visits, chocolate workshops, food and culture seminars, a morning lesson followed by lunch or a customized class. While staying at the school, guests enjoy the family’s renowned Tasca D’Almerita wines along with jams, preserved vegetables, meats and artisan cheeses all made on the estate.
For a schedule of cooking classes in Sicily and more information on Fabrizia’s West Coast tour: www.annatascalanza.com