User reviews

This is what Italy is all about.! Every region has its own specialty., I learned to cook from Italians in Italy. The hardest thing to do it cook with minimal ingredients. It is all about the technique and FRESH local ingredients. This series should be a weekly series that could go on for years. Every town or regions is a museum of gastronomy. Italians take pride in their unique quality of local ingredients and resources. You have to experience this first hand in Italy. Same ingredients made here is America won't work. In Italy you can hear a symphony of sound when you eat the foods. . Its an explosive experiences to your taste buds. This is why you can go to any continent in the world and find Italian food. Just not like its done in Italy. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the possibilities of the unique foods in Italy.

Already fell in love with the first two episodes. The series is unlike any other travel or food show. I love Tucci's approach: classic regional foods and the social structures surrounding them. He and the people he meets reflect upon the food and their regions with joy, great pride, and that bittersweet blend of affection and wistfulness that each of us has for a home that has endured through decades (or millennia) of change, gentrification, and resilience. I can't wait for more.

After having spent my summers in Italy as a child and young adult, I always find time to return whenever I can, even though I am on the opposite side of the world. Stanley presents Italy as it should be, a view of its history, its people, it's tradition, and of course it's food and wine. What many reviewers and critics won't pick up on is the subtle nuances of each region the series covers, it opens a world of opportunity to both new and seasoned visitors to the flavor of The regions of Italy for all to take in, both tourists and off the beaten path travelers. I even learned a few new places to venture out to experience. Well done CNN and Bravo!

I have been to Italy on a personal trip (with an Italian-Canadian chef of all people!) and what they are showing is spot on. We've been to Naples, from Formia going through the region where they make the mozzarella di bufala, and that's exactly the feeling we had. The exceptional link to the land, the narrow streets of Naples, which felt like Rome's punk sister - an exceptional city on its own, being in the shadow of the Vesuvius ... and the food! Great, great work, and excellent host. Good to showcase the locals - and keeping it in the original Italian... get use to subtitles, that what makes it so authentic! Looking forward to the remaining episodes, hope Lazio will be in there.

With Tucci's natural charisma, excellent hosting, keen interest in rediscovering Italy, and chumming with the locals in their native tongue, this is a delightfully positive, informative and absolutely enjoyable docuseries. If you love food, travel or just learning about Italian culture, this is not to be missed.

Ignore the Bordain comparison because this is a different personality and approach. Stanley lived in Florence with his family while young and is fluent in Italian. He knows what he's talking about. He has found some great chefs and regions to focus on and while I do agree that Parts Unknown were more entertaining from a cultural aspect this show is about the food. Tucci is not there to make friends and win hearts he focuses in history and simple recipes often. His voice is soothing and the show is relaxing while informative. When I learn new things about Italian cooking, after having watched pretty much every show out there, then I'm happy.

This is worth your family's time and it's well done. CNN nice job. Tucci nice job. Italy is a beautiful place that lives off of its food, who wouldn't appreciate this show highlighting such a simple concept?

Edit: so sad to hear this show was canceled today. Show business is tough but my family is thankful for Stanley and the production crew for what they presented. The two seasons we got were amazing. We hope this show is resurrected soon on a different network. Thanks Stanley, Italy shined with your help!

Forget all those 'feel good' movies or comedy shows - for relaxing times, make it Stanley Tucci time...

this show is like Italian cuisine - simple yet beautiful, tasty yet very low-key. Walking with Tucci from joint to joint, re-discovering all those (in theory) familiar tastes is soothing and relaxing, and it leaves you with even greater appetite both for food, and for life in general.

Stanley Tucci himself strikes me as a reasonably (he's still a holywood star, mind you) humble guy, who still has this grip on reality, that is frequently, if not always, absent in people of certain status. There are no coerced laughs, no forced bonding, but we get a lot of "human touch" on this very basic, and - especially today - so much desired level. And I believe the credit goes equally to Tucci and all the people he meets along the way.

Combined with breathless shots, great recipes (most of them you can try to recreate at home... to a certain level of course) it's the ultimate show to relax, have a laugh or two, and regain some of that positivity that's definitely been lost during last 12+ months...

I absolutely love this series, and being narrated and hosted by Stanley Tucci is even more wonderful than anything I've ever watched in this genre of real local cuisine. He has a graceful persona that just captivates the story of the food as if you are experiencing the flavors, freshness and textures with him. The scenery is always beautiful and the stories of the people just warms my soul. I hope he continues his travels and shares these amazing experiences for those who can't visit Italy. I am definitely searching for these recipes to try at home!

Great show. Hope they do more series in the future to other countries.

I loved each episode, colorful, good photography, Tucci is charming and delightful with a certain honesty you can respect, bring on season two, I'm ready.

Tucci takes you on a real deal tour of Italian cooking and ingredients and it's people and culture that is sparkling and fresh. He visits the cuisine of the poor and the rich, of the establishment masters and the young rebels. Unlike shows with an obnoxious UK host overplaying his own part, Tucci being Italian the show has a sweet, refined Italian hospitality and grace to it that is a great addition to the whole process. I moved to Italy 17 years ago after marrying an Italian from Bologna and we both think this is a great culinary adventure series. It is emotional and quite revealing.

I cannot fault this in any way. Showing the real Italy, and Tucci just handles it perfectly. As well as a truly brilliant actor, he is just a gentle guide who just allows the people and places to speak for themselves. Shows us things you just would not know what was happening behind the facade that you normally see. His love of everything that is Italy, the food, the rustic preparation, is just a delight. And the people just obviously love their life and lifestyle, and it shows. And to cap it all you have as the background, the most beautiful places in the world. Be it countryside, sea, gorgeous towns, villages and cities. This just could not be bettered as a food and travel tour, in the most capable of hands.

A lovely series that allows viewers to sit back and enjoy the people and places that actor Stanley Tucci visits, all over Italy.

The fact that Tucci is of Italian background and speaks the language well is a huge bonus. He is naturally charming and funny but other bonuses are his curiosity, and passion.

The producers try to seek out local stories, beyond the tourist attractions.

I guess they do focus on happy stories, but I also saw them interview a couple in Rome whose cafe had been firebombed twice, possibly due to the Mob or anti- gentrification campaigners.

I loved the segment on Rome's Jewish quarter, and on foods such as artichokes and offal.

Overall, it is a very good series. Well done.

The series does a very good job showcasing the culture and cuisine of Italy but Tucci's rank political activism is inappropriate and insulting. He uses the Italian culture as a vehicle for his stupid liberal politics. In episode 3 it was clear the person who was escorting him around Cuomo had no interest in hearing his political nonsense. At the end of the episode Tucci went so far as to insult his host. It seems this type of programing is all to common in the HBO universe.

Why compare, two different people. Well worth watching.

Our family has had a weekly pasta night for years, and now it's even better because we watch Stanley travel across Italy eating amazing food while we sit back and watch! We learned so much about the food, culture, and history of each region, it's not just food. Stanley goes beyond the usual 'beautiful wine country and spaghetti' type stuff you usually get in travel food shows set in Italy, to showcase lesser known areas and trivia. A must watch for travel and foodie fans!

WE LOVE THIS SHOW! We love travel and explanation of each region. The food looks amazing.

Ciao Stanley! If you ever read this, I want to tell you that I was living in Firenze at the same time you were there in 1972 so I can completely relate to what you were experiencing. Of course I'm older - I was attending Study Abroad in my Jr. Year a Firenze but I did travel to a few of the places that you are showing. My love of food came after I left Italia and came back home. I was never really interested in food but now I'm a fanatic and am soooo happy that you are doing this documentary. I'm watching the last episode tonight and I hope it continues. I started with Toscana, of course.

Grazie mille for doing this and buona fortuna for continued success!

Mr Tucci delivers a very interesting and so informative food/travel tv-show. Me and my wife, and some of our neighbor LOVE THIS (and Mr Tuccis cool and laidback style).

It's a very nice show - some historical facts (there was the first...) and some personal details from Mr Tuccis life. Very interesting when the locals tell their stories and how long there business been going on.

Always interested in what people have to tell, always kind and a good guest.

Shortly it is a brilliant idea with a brilliant host, I can't see so many other that had made it as well as Mr Tucci.

Here in Sweden we just got access to season 1 but we already are longing for season 2, and many more seasons.

Thank you for this Mr Tucci!

I've discovered this miniseries while I was suffering from COVID and lost taste & smell. Well, I must say it felt like I never lost it at all. Tucci's passion and love for his subject made it as if I kept traveling through Italy and tasting amazing flavours despite it all!

More than showing simple dishes, Tucci is really knowledgable when it gets to the country's history, culture, geography, politics... Everything you need to start understanding what Italy really is!

I've loved every bit of this documentary and I cannot wait for more of it - I hope a season will be dedicated to wines.

Why is 1 star missing? You cannot go to Sicily and not talk more about the street food (panelle, pane con milza...), the sweets (cassata, canoli) and most iconic ingredients (almonds, pistacchios, ricotta...) and dishes (parmigiana, caponata, couscous di pesce, pesce spada, tonno...). I think something was missed there ;)

Italian-American Actor Stanley Tucci's series Searching For Italy with Six episodes each devoted to the foods of a different region of Italy (Amalfi, Tuscany, Rome, Bologna, Milan and Sicily). The show is kind of a follow-up to Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown, but, it's less adventurous as it focuses only on one country. Still, Tucci is a genteel host who clearly loves his ancestral country -- and it's cuisine. The show has already been picked up for a second season. Drinking game - every time Tucci bites into a plate of eats and exclaims 'Oh, my God!" (or some variation) take a swig of wine. You'll be drunk by the end of each episode. Buon Appetito

You just need to get over the fact that he's not Anthony Bourdain. No one is. Give this show a chance. Episode 1 was turning into the typical show about Naples and pizza and tomatoes and the volcano, and whatever. Not too interesting, but then he went up into the mountains to cook rabbit.

He had me at rabbit. Why Americans don't eat rabbit (except hunters) is a mystery to me and anyone who has ever cooked it in any way, shape, or paella. Let there be a rabbit in every pot! In truth, I want to like this show more than I do, but times are hard now and my cupboard of possible videos is empty. I may have to even break down and watch that series of the tiger guy with the mullet. Save me!

From there they made a zucchini dish that I have to replicate. Bourdain rarely cooked on his show. I'm not complaining, I'm just passing along a fact.

"Oh my god." He needs another superlative, or just skip that part. It starts to get really annoying and someone in the production process should have pointed this out to the host. I'm usually annoyed when on food shows they heap praise on a dish. We can't taste it, so, just shut your trap and eat.

I hate to be a stickler, but Tucci needs a lot of work on his Italian. He certainly speaks it better than his predecessor Bourdain who had an Italian wife and could barely say "please" and "thank you." However, Tucci should be completely comfortable in this language as he's Italian-American and rich (at least richer than I). He tries to make out like he's fluent while it's painfully obvious that he's severely limited in his Italian conversational skills. That is no crime, but dude, hire a tutor!

There are some great moments on the program and it looks spectacular at every corner bar and landscape.

He's a character, and interesting one. I loved watching Anthony Bourdain travel the world and eat, and I love this series. You see geography, history, culture, and of course the food! I hope Stanley retires from film and takes this show on the road to other cultures.

Interesting people, places, and guests tempered by a sometimes ill-mannered narrator who seems to limit himself to three words describing good food: "Jesus!" or "Goddamn!" or "Perfecto."

I was taken aback by his attempt to provoke a gentleman in Lombardy who was kind of enough to host Tucci on his boat on Lake Como and later made him a meal in his home. While the man makes dinner for him, Tucci makes a point (after picking his nose - delightful) to incite unsolicited disagreement about an Italian politician he obviously knows nothing about. The host is too good natured to take the bait - smiling, offering a plate, suggesting they talk about the food/beauty of the region (Lake Como) instead - and innocently leaves Tucci looking like the ignorant, arrogant dick he most certainly was at that particular moment.

Still worth watching - the cinematography is wonderful, the people are fascinating, and the food of Italy is showcased in all the glory it deserves.

If you want to do a food show about Italy then do that. Leave the politics to another show! There was so much wasted time on politics that I fast forwarded thru it! We are here for the food and to learn how to cook it. The history of its food is fine and how they came to use it but not it's current day politics. Don't have a family cook you dinner and spoil it by asking them such personal issues that have nothing to do with the show!