This interesting illustration of Italian kitchen implements was taken from 17th century wood engravings and was on the front cover of a limited edition first-class menu aboard the defunct Alitalia airline. The national carrier is now ITA Airways, also known as Italia Trasporto Aereo S.p.A.

Forks, ladles, pots, scales and a mortar and pestle are all shown, as well as bellows to keep the kitchen fire going.

Italy, of course, has a rich gastronomic history dating back centuries, influenced by the many various civilizations and cultures that inhabited this peninsula with its 4,900 miles (7,900km) of coastline.

The first forms of pasta arrived in Italy, brought by Arab traders, in the 12th century and tomatoes first appeared in Europe via explorers from the New World in the 16th century. Initially, people were suspicious of tomatoes, fearing they might be poisonous

Reputedly, it was sailors – marinara derives from the word for sailors or mariners – who first thought about putting chopped tomatoes together with pasta. There remains a debate that will probably never be cleared up about whether this ‘heavenly marriage’ happened in Naples or Sicily.

The Italian dessert tiramisu was also created in the 17th century and Italy’s first recipe book was published in 1634: Giovan Battista Crisci’s La Lucerna de’ Corteggiani, a publication that mostly focused on Southern cuisine.

This extensive menu was for first class passengers on a flight from Japan to Italy, with stops in Hong Kong, Bangkok, New Delhi and Athens before arrival in Rome. Needless to say, the lucky passengers at the front of the plane were extremely well-fed.