A brustolina is a grill

Grilling

Grilling is a form of cooking that involves dry heat applied to the surface of food, commonly from above or below.Grilling usually involves a significant amount of direct, radiant heat, and tends to be used for cooking meat quickly and meat that has already been cut into slices...

 which fits over a gas burner

Gas burner

A gas burner is a device to generate a flame to heat up products using a gaseous fuel such as acetylene, natural gas or propane. Some burners have an air inlet to mix the fuel gas with air to make a complete combustion...

 on a hob. It comprises a square sheet of metal with holes punched in it (the base) and a square grid over the top (the grilling surface). Heat is applied from below and is evenly distributed by the base, deflected upward to the grid. Items placed on top of the grid are cooked by both convection and radiant heat.
These versatile cooking devices are often used in preparation of Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...

, for instance, grilling bruschetta

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is an antipasto from Italy whose origin dates to at least the 15th century. It consists of roasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper...

, polenta

Polenta

Polenta is a dish made from boiled cornmeal. The word "polenta" is borrowed from Italian.-Description:Polenta is made with ground yellow or white cornmeal , which can be ground coarsely or finely depending on the region and the texture desired.As it is known today, polenta derives from earlier...

or vegetables. They are economical and widely available on street markets in Italy.