There are many things considered inappropriate when sitting at the table, whether in manners or when accompanying a dish with bread—that's not surprising. But if it is an official meal, where many etiquettes are followed, rules must be observed.
When you finish savoring a delicious plate of pasta like 'spaghetti alla amatriciana,' originating from a small town called Amatrice between the Lazio and Abruzzo regions, at the bottom of the plate, you'll see an exquisite sauce made from rich San Marzano tomatoes along with the pork cheek (guanciale). You won't be able to resist taking a piece of bread and discreetly immersing it into that divine sauce. That's why, often when serving a pasta dish, a basket of bread is also provided, and the guest will decide what to do with it.
If, by chance, a dinner features fried eggs with black truffle, the 'black diamond of cuisine,' it is futile to try to fish out that delicacy—the perfumed egg yolk—with a fork. The only way to honor that tenderness is by dipping a piece of bread into that delight.
This act is known as 'fare la scarpetta,' which can be translated as 'making the little shoe,' a phrase considered by many to be a violation of good taste and etiquette. But it is a way to truly enjoy a delicious sauce. Moreover, it has been accepted by the rules of Galateo—the set of norms governing good manners—so long as it is done using a fork and never with the hands.
