There can be no better emblem for Rome - for its 
ambitions, its joys, its persnickityness - than the hard-
shelled, soft-centered, many-layered, multi-hued artichoke, 
in Italian carciofo, plural carciofi.  That there are prickly 
spines and a choke only add to the "Roman-ness" of the 
artichoke.  Moreover, the regal-looking immature fruit of 
Cynar scolymus responds well to the cook's touch, 
producing the most delectable and varying flavors of 
virtually any plant.  It also yields the basis for an unusual 
digestivo, known as Cynar, taken from the Latin name.  In 
fact, the artichoke contains many enzymes and sugars - 
one of them mimics insulin - that are useful to the human 
body.  This explains why artichokes and their extracts 
figure so prominently in folk medicine in the 
Mediterranean.  Modern medicine has proved out these 
informal applications to a certain degree, although the 
employment of artichoke extract as a predictor for 
pregnancy seems to have been lost to the ages.  
Artichokes are mildly regulating to the digestive system, 
and have a natural cholesterol inhibitor.  (This all suggests 
that the so-called "Mediterranean diet" needs to be 
examined on a micro-nutritional level, rather than in a 
broad-brush approach that dwells only upon general 
headings such as "vegetables," "fish," and "oil.")
 
The word carciofo derives from harsuf.  However, that 
Arabic word referred to what today we call the Jerusalem 
artichoke and was mistakenly applied to the regular 
artichoke.  While there is some evidence that there were 
artichokes in ancient Egypt and Carthage, it appears that 
these were wild growing and gathered rather than cultivated 
and harvested. For general purposes, it can be safely said 
that the artichoke was first cultivated in  Sicily, southern 
Italy and the Mediterranean coast of what is now France, 
and that it first reached central Italy during the Etruscan-
Roman period in approximately the 4th century B.C.  By 
the year 400 A.D. the artichoke was being raised in 
northern Italy.  Other experts contend that the artichoke 
was, in fact, first domesticated and intensively cultivated 
around Rome, specifically between Civatecchia and the 
Tolfa mountains, again with a significant assist from the 
Etruscans.  The progress of the artichoke through 
Provence northward seems to have occurred at about the 
same speed, although the farming of them spread most 
rapidly in northern France under the encouragement of 
Catherine de'Medici, who convinced the French of the 
artichoke's value by shrewdly repeating the old wive's tale 
that the hearts were an aphrodisiac.  (Certainly, aside from 
Italy, no other country has held the artichaut in such high 
esteem as has France.)  The violet-tinged artichoke of 
Provence is perhaps the most beautiful of the family, not 
only because of its luscious color but because of its 
multiple fruiting on the end of its stalks.  The variety is 
tiny, and on top of that, is eaten young before the choke 
has had time to develop.

All areas of Italy have their ways of cooking artichokes, or 
have adapted a dish, generally from the south.  But it is in 
Rome that the art of artichokes reaches its zenith.  One 
noteworthy observation about the cooking of artichokes 
concerns its mixing with other foods.  Artichokes go well 
with other strong flavors.  They are best with lemon, oil, 
and fresh herbs, although the French eat artichokes with 
mayonnaise and its variants.  Choose artichokes that are 
not discolored and whose leaves are tightly closed, or only 
slightly open.  They should never be raggedy or mottled in 
appearance.