A Year in the Village of Eternity

Intrigued about reports of super longevity in the inhabitants of a mountainous Italian village situated between Rome and Naples, British journalist Lawson decided to spend time there and uncover their secret to long life. As she discusses, in this rich and engaging narrative, while genetics accounts for 30% of the good health of the citizens of Campodimele, nestled in the Aurunci Mountains, the remaining 70% is based on a combination of "hyper-Mediterranean" diet (consisting of olive oil; beans and pulses; meat mostly from goats and sheep rather than bovine; fish; red wine; and only a little salt and sweets), an active and social lifestyle until very old age, and a daily routine geared toward the changing light, weather, agriculture, and seasons. Lawson's narrative follows the seasons in a country year, delineating the culinary routines of the typical Campodimele resident and cook, who tends her own garden in the back of her house, shakes her own olives from the trees in the orchard, kills her own pig for a year's supply of salsiccia (sausage), bakes her own bread (from her homegrown flour, naturally), and makes her own amarena (sour cherries) jam and stores of bottled tomato sauce for the winter. Lawson beautifully describes food at its simplest and finest%E2%80%94green fava beans, homemade ribbonlike pasta, zucchini and hot peppers, shallots, and baby goat. (Aug.)