The library’s nucleus came from Barilla’s own library and a collection put together over 30 years by Giorgio Orlandini, an expert on Italian cooking. As well as adding new books, the library buys from antiquarian booksellers and at auction, although Mr Gonizzi says the prices asked can sometimes be hard to digest.

The library has the largest collection of works on cookery open to the public in Italy; unsurprisingly, the sections dealing with food technology and Italian cooking are very well stocked. The library is popular and widely used. Under an agreement with Parma’s city authorities it is open one day a week and students of food science at Parma’s university are regular visitors. To make itself easier to use, the library has begun digitising its contents and plans to make them available online. Who knows how food will be prepared 50 or 100 years from now? Paolo Barilla, deputy chairman of the pasta-maker, insists that a library that tells us about what and how we cooked in the past will keep the present alive in the future.

© The Economist Newspaper Limited 2008