I've always wanted to go to Italy because I'm very interested in their culture because, hey, it produced guys like Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, and Ferrari(NOT related to the car). And I've always wondered what real Italian food tastes like, even though I'm not big on pasta.

Also, I really like cheese and I've heard that Italy has good cheeses, but after reading this article about casu marzu, I will never look at cheese the same way again.

I can just imagine the thought process the man/woman had when he/she first invented casu marzu:

"I totally hate the people that my spouse invited over for dinner... let's see how they deal with flying maggots. *evil cackle*"

...those poor guests.

Or maybe they made it to torture the foreigners.

Is normal cheese not good enough for these people that they have to infest their cheese with cheese-skipper larvae?! And guess what? You have to eat it when they're all still alive because it's considered toxic after they're dead. Also, these things can JUMP, so you'll need to wear goggles. Imagine having this at a romantic dinner.

"Mmm, this cheese goes so well with the flatbread and red wine... if only these little maggots would stop trying to rip my eyes out."

"Here honey, I brought an extra pair of safety goggles just for you."

"Oh you're so thoughtful, this is why I love you."

Thank goodness casu marzu is illegal, however, there are other cheeses in Europe with fly larvae. Eep. Now every time I look at a Brie wheel all I'll be able to think about are maggots.