Over 140 thousand different varieties of rice exist in the world, with over 140 officially enrolled in the national register in Italy. Each Italian region has its own dish, and each recipe has its own variety of rice. Rice’s story begins in the East, but its origins are very uncertain. For some scholars, “oryza sativa,” the scientific name of the species, first appeared along the slopes of the Himalayas over 15 thousand years ago. Others prefer to trace its origins to the south of China, attributing evidence to some archaeological excavations in the Yangtze River valley, which would suggest the existence of rice fields dating back 8 thousand years ago. From the Far East, rice then travelled to Mesopotamia and Egypt, where many centuries later the Arabs would get to know it. Before rice would arrive in the West, we will have to wait until Alessandro Magno’s expeditions in Asia. It seems that the ancient Greeks and Romans did not know about it very well, and they definitely did not use it for food. Plinio briefly described it, whereas Orazio, in a satire, speaks of a doctor who prescribes rice tea to a misery aristocrat to combat dysentery. Matrons used it as a facial beauty product for the skin, and gladiators drugged themselves with rice decoctions. 51
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