Gioachino Rossini is one of the greatest authors of Italian Bel Canto and one of the fathers of melodrama. But he is also remembered as a passionate gourmet and world famous recipes are named after him. In this existence spent between the pentagram and the creation of new dishes, there was also room for his other great passion, women. Susceptible to feminine charm, he married the opera singer, Isabella Colbran, before, at the Paris premier of his opera William Tell, he met the love of his life, Mademoiselle Olympe who would accompany him to the end of his life. Their lovely home in Paris hosted the best minds of the era like Dumas and Balzac, Liszt and Wagner, and the most famous chef of the 1800’s, Marie-Antonin Carême, who taught many tricks to the culinary artist Rossini. The Maestro always had a ready word for his illustrious guests and composed culinary harmonies with ingredients coming from all over Europe. He had macaroni sent from Naples, hams from Seville, Gorgonzola cheese from the town of the same name and panettone, the Italian Christmas cake from Milan. With a combination of historical precision and a flowing narrative, Ketty Magni immerses herself in the life of this indisputable giant of music: his beginnings and family setting, his many friends and few detractors, and the musical and culinary arts that brought him fame. More than the musician, what emerges is the man, and at the heart of this novel pulses with his overwhelming love for Olympe, «whose dazzling beauty could never pass unobserved», and his passionate attention to the joys of the palate. The latter is presented as a little book of his recipes.