pinthis: Apicius and the Foundations of an Italian Gastronomic Culture Italy may be home to the world’s oldest known cookbook. This suggests the potential for unifying characteristics within such diversity. Sometimes attributed to the famous epicure Marcus Gavius Apicius of the first century A.D., the cookbook De re coquinaria (On Cookery) is a collection of hundreds of ancient Roman procedures for preparing dishes. The collection was not so much recipes in the modern sense as they were basic direc…