In the book La Bella Lingua, author Dianne Hales devotes a chapter to “Eating Italian” – the words surrounding Italian food. She describes,
“one of my favorite Italian proverbs: Anche l’occhio vuole la sua parte (the eye too wants its part). In Italy food must be bello as well as buono.”
Having just returned from a choir tour of Italy, I can confirm the truth of this – the food really is as beautiful as it is delicious, from the simple pizza margherita to Carciofi alla Guidia (Roman Jewish-style fried whole artichokes). To say nothing of gelato!
The thing is, this is of course true of so much beyond food. One mentor used to say, “90% of your audience listens with their eyes.” The eye too wants its part – we must provide interest and personal connection on a visual as well as auditory level.