He who eats well, works well — good food is not a luxury but a foundation of productive labour. In Emilian culture, a proper meal is an investment in the strength and concentration that good work requires.
Emilia-Romagna produces some of the most celebrated foods on earth: Parmigiano-Reggiano, Prosciutto di Parma, Mortadella di Bologna, Aceto Balsamico di Modena, and pasta forms — tortellini, tagliatelle, tortelloni — that have been codified and protected by guilds since the Middle Ages. The Bolognese even registered the exact dimensions of tagliatelle (8 mm wide when cooked, equivalent to 1/12,270th of the height of the Asinelli tower) with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce in 1972. This obsessive pride in food was never frivolous: it was rooted in the understanding that workers in the fields, workshops, and factories needed real sustenance. The Este court at Ferrara was famous across Renaissance Europe for its table, and the tradition of feeding workers well passed from aristocratic kitchens into the cooperative canteens of the twentieth century — where a proper hot meal at midday was considered a right, not a privilege. Today, the region's food economy generates billions of euros and employs hundreds of thousands of people in production, processing, and tourism. The proverb encapsulates a philosophy that sees cuisine not as indulgence but as the engine of everything else.
Reflects the deep connection in Emilian culture between sustenance and productivity, a philosophy institutionalised in the cooperative canteens of the postwar red belt and celebrated in the region's DOP food industry.
A factory owner explaining to a visiting manager why the workers have a long lunch break
Qui il pranzo è sacro. Chi magna bèn, lavora bèn — i miei operai rendono il doppio nel pomeriggio.
Here lunch is sacred. He who eats well, works well — my workers are twice as productive in the afternoon.
A grandmother preparing a big Sunday meal for the whole family
Non badare alla linea oggi. Chi magna bèn, lavora bèn — e domani c'è tanto da fare in campagna.
Don't worry about your figure today. He who eats well, works well — and tomorrow there is a lot to do in the fields.
A Bolognese chef defending the richness of Emilian cooking to a nutritionist
La cucina nostra è grassa? Sì, e allora? Chi magna bèn, lavora bèn — e l'Emilia ha costruito la regione più produttiva d'Italia.
Our cooking is rich? Yes, so what? He who eats well, works well — and Emilia has built the most productive region in Italy.
A parent convincing a child to eat a full breakfast before school
Non si va a scuola senza mangiare. Chi magna bèn, lavora bèn — o in questo caso, studia bèn.
You don't go to school without eating. He who eats well, works well — or in this case, studies well.