It has recently been defined as a long life elixir by researchers from the University of Teramo, but the Abruzzo-native "sdijuno" has always existed. A sort of ante litteram aperitif, a mid-morning meal of simple local products of the peasant tradition: a little cheese, a slice of bread, a few eggs scrambled with vegetables.

Sdijuno comes from the root term for fast because the meal is able to leave the body on an empty stomach for several hours, thus supporting workers in the countryside. It's an abundant snack that for centuries has been the main meal of the whole day and which last summer was the subject of the "Centenari" study, a survey on the eating habits of the Abruzzo population between the ages of ninety and one hundred.