Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once noted that ‘nunneries in the old days were veritable storehouses of the most delectable titbits.’ Perhaps that is why the much-maligned Lucrezia Borgia is said to have truly felt at home only in the company of pious cloistered nuns.
Cristina Mazzoni savours the food writings and images of a broad spectrum of Catholic saints and holy women. A native of Italy and a splendid cook herself, Mazzoni accords due attention to her fellow countrywomen, as well she should given the importance of Italian cookery (Catherine of Genoa, Angela of Foligno, Gemma Galgani), but includes numerous other holy women and their cuisines as well: Germany and the Low Countries (Hildegard and Hadewijch, Elisabeth of Schonau), France (Margaret Mary Alacoque, Therese of Lisieux), Spain (Teresa of Avila), colonial South America (Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz), England (Margery Kemp), and Elisabeth Ann Seton.