DIAITA Heritage: Food, Environment and Well-being

The Secondary Project DIAITA Heritage is guided by the following research questions: How do we define the concept of díaita (‘lifestyle’) in the classic works of Greek and Latin literature? What relationship was established in Greco-Roman culture between díaita and well-being, in both individual and social contexts? How do reflections on díaita maintain, transform or diverge from its relationship with environment and well-being in future periods of history? How do we recognise the (in)visible presence of this cultural heritage today?

The dietary discourse surrounding the idea of well-being, environment and health, in a holistic context, had its origin in Hippocratic-Galenic medical literature and Herodotean historiography. It went on to receive a diverse array of literary treatments in the dietetic writings of Classical Greece and Rome, the Medieval period and the Renaissance, as well as those produced in the vernacular languages of the contemporary era. In parallel, a culture and discourse of health (in humans and nature) are discernible in a variety of texts, showing that theories and practices concerning health, well-being and environment are not limited to the present day.

The ongoing research derived from two previously funded projects:

2013: FCT/CAPES Scientific and Technological Cooperation Program, "Museu & Biblioteca Virtuais do Património Alimentar da Lusofonia (Parte I - Portugal e Brasil)".

References: FCT 2417 and CAPES 10396/13-0

2014: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's annual call for support to research projects in the field of Portuguese Language and Culture, "DIAITA: Lusophony Food Heritage".



The project activity is developed in close coordination with the Luso-Brazilian Network "DIAITA: Food Heritage of Lusophony".