Pasta, Pizza and Propaganda: A Political History of Italian Food TV, Francesco Buscemi (2022).

This review examines *Pasta, Pizza and Propaganda: A Political History of Italian Food TV* (2022) by Francesco Buscemi, which explores the development of Italian food television from the 1950s to the 2000s and its reflection of Italy’s cultural, political, and economic changes. The book traces how Italian food TV evolved slowly compared to anglophone countries, highlighting key programs and political influences, including the role of Silvio Berlusconi’s media empire. While offering valuable insights and a comprehensive catalog of Italian food shows, the work is critiqued for limited engagement with broader European and global food television trends, insufficient theoretical depth—particularly regarding gender and class—and a lack of clarity in its central argument. The review suggests the book provides a useful but incomplete cultural history of Italian food television, with potential for further development in contextualization and analysis.