With sun-drenched landscapes, colourful characters and hearty flavours, this series is a cookery show, a travelogue and a love letter to Italy - all under a brilliant blue Mediterranean sky.

The Godfather of Italian gastronomy, Antonio Carluccio, takes a trip through Southern Italy, exploring this fascinating area, meeting its people and sampling the region's intensely evocative flavours and specialities.

His tour of the South takes him from Sardinia to Sicily and from Campania to Calabria, with visits to Rome, Puglia and Basilicata. Among the treats in store are an impromptu barbecue in a vineyard; a shepherd's feast in the Barbagia Mountains; a Neapolitan pizza-making class; a moonlit octopus-fishing trip and a San Lorenzo's night grill for 10 men named Lorenzo.

With his customary relaxed charm Antonio chats with the locals and joins weddings, festivals, traditions and local farmers - capturing the essence of Southern Italian cooking with enthusiasm and personality. Special Features:

Carluccio And The Leopard": A recently broadcast hour-long special shown on BBC4 - Antonio Carluccio travels to Sicily to discover more aboutthe great modern Italian novel, The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Amidst breathtaking scenery, Antonio explores the history and culture of the island and cooks the dishes that are such an integral part of the book

With sun-drenched landscapes, colourful characters and hearty flavours, this series is a cookery show, a travelogue and a love letter to Italy

food, italy, antonio carluccio