>> oh my god. that just melts in your mouth. >> i'm stanley tucci. i'm fascinated by my italian heritage. so i'm traveling across italy to discover how the food in each of these 20 regions is as unique as the people and their past. the creations of famous tuscans are known the world over. >> mick anglo, i think if he were to walk around today, he would be able to walk around florence. it hasn't changed. >> but it's the hands of the ordinary people that have crafted the incredible food here. >> it's like christmas in your mouth. >> yeah. >> this is a place built on human ingenuity, mind-boggling riches, and an insane amount of bread. i really don't know how they each this much bread. >> it's delicious, but it's so hot. ♪ all great love affairs start somewhere. [ speaking italian ] >> and for me, my love of italy started right here in florence when i was just 12 years old. >> that's delicious. you have to taste that. >> like this tartlet filled with rice pudding. i mean, come on. there is always something wonderful to discover in florence. the city is the capital of tuscany. 500 years ago, it was the playground of some of the richest families on earth. in the countryside, they use their land to cultivate the finest produce and cattle, and in the city, they bankrolled the incredible explosion of art, science, and architecture known as the renaissance. i love that just about everywhere you turn, there is something incredible to see. >> the chance to actually live among these treasures, even for just a year lured a young family from suburban new york to florence nearly 50 years ago. >> it seems no matter where you are, you can always tee see that duomo. my family, meet joan and stan tucci. >> i have a photograph of this. do you remember? >> back in 1972, we moved here because my dad was a high school art teacher taking a year off to follow his dream. >> oh my lord. >> that's so beautiful. >> all that foreshortening to paint that? >> i know. >> how incredible is that? >> that's incredible. >> my dad came to study figure drawing and sculpture here. >> look at it. when you really look up and you see that perspective. >> i can't see that far. >> it's staggering. >> it hurts my neck. >> does it? >> yeah. >> lay down. >> at nearly 400 feet, the duomo is still the tallest structure in florence. it took 16 years to build. and to hurry things along, the genius architect brunescli came up with a way to slash lunch breaks. >> when they were building this, guys had to come down, they would lose all this time. he found out what they were cooking and he put ovens up there. they would just cook up there. make their lunch up there. >> really? >> supposedly. >> money was tight on our year abroad so, our family lived in slightly less grandeur than this. ♪ >> this is a lot cleaner than it used to be. >> it's very clean. >> just north of the city center in this building, not the whole thing, you understand. >> so our apartment was those four windows? one, two, three, four? that was us on the end there, right? >> yep. >> it was nice. >> but you had never traveled? >> no. my parents, mom and pop said why you going? and, you know. >> your parents who came from italy. >> came from italy. >> didn't want you to go to italy. >> not calabria. it worked out. >> i came for sculpture. certainly joan, the food. >> it changed everything. it changed everything for me, certainly. while my father was studying art, my mom was studying something just as beautiful, the local cuisine. one of these because it's so big? >> no, a little more. a little more. i didn't know how to cook when we got married. didn't even know how to boil water. >> while she was here, my mother was also inspired by the spirit of the renaissance and set out to discover the art of italian cooking. >> when we lived in florence, when everyone was in school, i was learn to make different recipes. i loved it. >> my mother soon found the key that unlocked so much of italian cooking. a simple combination of carrot, celery, and onions. fried up together, it's called the sofrito. >> looking good. what do you think, stan? >> yeah, it's good. >> throw the ctomato in? >> it's the basis of a italian cooking, it's a delicious vegetable sauce, and we named it after our beloved neighbor in florence who show mid mom how to make it all those years ago. in the fine tradition of tuscan home cooking, it's cheap, nutr nutritious, and full of tomato. i make it quite often. >> you do? >> of course. the kids love it. but here's the thing. every time my mother comes to visit, which is too often -- anyway, i always go can you show me how the make this? but mine still doesn't turn out the way hers turns out. i don't get it. >> i think that's it, stan. >> i think we did it. >> we did it. >> did it. >> nice. >> there we go. >> nice. nice to have help. i love it. it's fun. that's my hobby. but i don't have anyone to cook for anymore. i miss my grandchildren. you remember? >> don't. but you could move to england. if this series does well, if this series does well. >> which series? >> the one we're shooting right now? >> i got news for you. [ laughter ] >> the time we shared in florence changed everything for us. >> finally, you're here. >> yes. >> after a year spent in the home of the renaissance, we returned to america as a family reborn. >> that's so delicate, this sauce, too, isn't it? you smell the sweetness of the carrot and the butter. >> our eyes have been opened to some of the greatest treasures on earth and some pretty good food too. >> it's so good. >> for me, it was the start of a life-long love affair with italy. cheers. >> cheers. thank you. >> florence. >> thank you, cheers. >> "stanley tucci: searching for italy" brought drew by the new lexus is sports sedan. appearance amazing at your lexus dealer. audiophile. gamer. i'm a foodie. woo! i'm whatever this is. obsession has many names. this is ours. the new lexus is. all in on the sport sedan. woohoohoohoohoohoo! experience amazing at your lexus dealer. plant-based surfactants like the ones in seventh generation detergent trap stains at the molecular level and flush them away. it's just science! just... science. seventh generation tackles stains. these are the people who work on the front lines. they need a network that's built right. that's why we created verizon frontline. the advanced network and technology for first responders. built on america's most reliable network. built for real interoperability. and built for 5g. it's america's #1 network in public safety. verizon frontline. built right for first responders. introducing michelob ultra organic seltzer it's made with real fruit juice and is usda certified organic it's a cut above new mango apricot michelob ultra organic seltzer as real as it tastes for 175 years, new york life new mango apricot michelob ultra organic seltzer has been helping people act on their love. so they can look back and say, "we did good." hey! it's me! your dry skin! i'm craving something we're missing. the ceramides in cerave. they help restore my natural barrier, so i can lock in moisture. we've got to have each other's backs... cerave. now the #1 dermatologist recommended skincare brand. there's a family whose name hangs over this region like the hot tuscan sun. their astonishing wealth made them one of the most powerful families on earth back in the 1500s. they practically bankrolled the renaissance, paying for artists and scientists like michelangelo and galileo to remake the world. how many days a week are you here? they are the medici. >> so come in. >> and i'm going to meet one of them. >> you are in a place that the florentines call the castano. they created this place as a scientific laboratory. the medici wanted all the bright minds in europe to come here and to create new things and to experience with science, the arts, with food, with spices. >> so it was just, like you say, a think tank. >> a think tank. >> or a taste tank. >> exactly. >> expert art restorer daniela murphy is sneaking me in for an audience with the most powerful medici of them all. where is he? >> he is right -- right there. >> oh, my. meet cosimo primo di medici. he led the family at their dizzying heights in the 1500s. in this fresco undergoing restoration, he became so powerful he is being crowned grand -- >> not only did she spend a loft money, but she brings a lot of the new spices from the new world, the chocolate, the coffee, the pomadoro. everything -- >> that's when the tomato arrived? >> that's when it arrives, more or less in that era then. >> which completely altered. >> completely. >> italian cuisine. medici money cultivated this city, and the arts and the ideas that grew here in the renaissance changed how we all see the world. but this family also changed the way things taste. it might seem a long way from michelangelo to the greatest t-bone steak you've ever eaten, but the medici had a hand in that too. >> secret. >> fabio picci may look like he has fallen out of a renaissance painting, but he is actually renowned chef, a born and bred florentine, and a master of meat. back in the 1500s, most people wouldn't even get close to cuts of meat this good. tuscany's famous cattle needed lots of land. that was hugely expensive to run. of course, the medici didn't need to worry about that. >> what? >> steak fiorentino. >> but why? >> why the moon? why the sun? >> yes. 500 years later, thankfully, you don't need to be a grand duke to enjoy steaks this big. and fabio wants to cook for me tuscany's signature dish, the magnificent bistecca a la fiorentino. >> and in case lunch isn't looking worthy enough of like ten men, fabio picks out a little about a advertiser, yet another cut of meat. we head back to the deli fabio owns. oh, look at that. look at the flower. >> he heads past any food that hasn't had a pulse, and we head up to his hideaway on the roof where he does his cooking. >> oh my god, come on. >> we're starting with the cianina beef, the medici family favorite. this cattle has grazed the tuscan fields for 2,000 years. they're of such high quality that we're eating it raw . >> oh my god. that's the best sushi i've ever had. and now the main event. >> so what he is doing now, he says this is the secret. >> the family secret. >> besides excessive amounts of salt. so the little sort of wisps of olive branch like this in the fire. >> profumo. >> so you're getting the flavor. they're very zipgive taste. >> during the renaissance, the medici lit fires around the city on feast days and handed out roast beef to the common people. most of the time they kept this amazing meat for themselves. this one actually comes from the same area from the medici family originated. jesus. this is like no steak i've ever eaten, it's crisp and delicate and the smoke carries with it the taste of the land. goddamn it, it just melts in your mouth. it's what makes the regional cooking of italy about so much more than a tasty meal. the palate is the organ that connects italy. >> yeah, i'll drink to that. yeah. cheers. ♪who brought the sauce?♪ - ♪i brought the sauce♪ - ♪who made the sauce?♪ - ♪i made the sauce♪ - ♪what's in the sauce?♪ - ♪i am the sauce♪ - ♪who brought the sauce?♪ ♪ok♪ ♪don't tell me you've tasted anything like this♪ ♪don't tell me you've felt this fire on your lips♪ ♪i got the recipe♪ ♪hit a hundred degrees♪ ♪my love♪ ♪who brought the sauce?♪ - ♪i brought the sauce♪ - ♪who made the sauce?♪ - ♪i got the sauce♪ - ♪what's in the sauce?♪ ♪i, i, i am the sauce♪ tonight, i'll be eating the al pastor burrito from boca burritos right here in aurora. (doorbell rings) excellent as a local access show, we want everyone to support local restaurants. right cardi b? yeah! eat local! (trill sound) ♪ there comes a time in any show about tuscany where the host heads out to the spectacular hills and tells you how the mediterranean sun has blessed the tuscan vineyards for 3,000 years. they may even have a thoughtful sip of a famous tuscan wine like classico chianti. but i'm not going to do that. i'm going on a good old-fashioned bar roll. and when i say old-fashioned, i mean like the renaissance. i'm going to meet a friend of my, elizabetta who is a renaissance scholar. she is incredibly boring, but we'll make it through. my god, i can't believe you came. hi! ciao. hi. how you? >> good to see you. >> nice to see you too. >> this little bar has just reintroduced a 500-year-old tradition. in 1559, our old friend the grand duke coast mow primo died me di eiichi declared that vineyards could sell wines direct. instead of through taverns and inkeepers. >> in the early 1500s with the wars of religion, trade had become hard in europe. so the family had to reset the business. and to do something different. and they started to produce wine. it became a great business in that moment for many families. >> yeah, shy, buzz it was from the producer to consumer. >> no middle man? >> no middle man. >> so you would walk by. >> yeah. >> and you would by not by the glass. >> you buy a flat. >> there was a bell. sometimes they were also placing like a flask on top like an advertising to say hey, guys we sell wine. >> i remember living here when i was a kid. i would see these things and i always thought they were for where you would put a little statue or something. >> like a tabernacle. >> yeah, yeah. let's order some wine. how do you order? do i pull this? oh, it's a bell. >> yeah, it's a bell. >> they're awfully slow. >> yeah. >> ciao. >> oh, hi. hi, how are you? >> vino bianco. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> mmm. >> that's good. >> that's good. >> i always thought wine tasted better when it comes through a window. >> yeah. you get another wine? >> yeah. it seems to be empty. oh, hi. how are you? can i get -- >> 500 years ago, everyone was encouraged to drink at least a liter of wine a day. not for the wine maker's profit, but for health reasons. so tell me everything else you know. >> and some people needed to be more healthy than others. >> if you were pregnant, you could have one at any time. >> you could have one at any time? >> yeah, yeah. >> if you were pregnant? >> yes. because it was considered to be like -- really? >> like a nourishment. sort of the opposite of today? >> yeah, today. let's go. come on. >> this could be a disappointingly short wine crawl as bar bar bay is the only currently functioning window in florence, even if there are still 130 or so defunct ones around the city. these little wine windows don't exist anywhere outside of tuscany, another example of renaissance genius. there aren't too many of them. >> yeah. >> and then completely by chance, we come across another. but the sign would be from when? >> oh, that sign -- >> tucci. >> hi! there you are again. hi, how you? grazie, ciao, ciao. to end the evening, we head out for tuscany's favorite nightcap, the local dessert wine vinsanto, the holy one. >> it's called vinsanto, because when you drink it, a halo is on your head. >> anyway. >> tuscan tradition dictates that you dip almond biscotti known in italy in your vinsanto. >> it's like corner. angle. >> the result is a sweet, crunchy and heady delight. >> that's so good. >> maybe too heady. >> anything that ends in tucci i like. that's the end of that episode. >> this is so fun. tucci, right. >> "stanley tucci: searching for italy" brought to you by fisher investments. clearly different money management. 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(doorbell) (giggle) do ya think they bought it? oh yeah. four, five, turn, kick. do ya we got chased byt it? these wild coyotes! they were following her because she had beef jerky in her pocket. 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