Regional Food Guides and Traditional Dishes
If you're in Italy to eat, bring it on! Visiting Italy can be — and often is — non-stop eating! It’s safe to say most travelers visit Italy for the food.
But don’t come expecting spaghetti and meatballs.
To understand Italy food, it’s important to understand the Italian food culture and the food products of Italy — the building blocks on which traditional Italian dishes are made.
The more you travel Italy’s regions, the more you’ll know exactly where you are just by what you’re eating.
Food in Italy is especially regional.
So the Italian dishes you eat in Naples won’t be the same as in Bologna, and won’t even resemble what you’ll find in northern Italy, where Italian cuisine is influenced more by Germany and Austria than the Mediterranean.
Expect heartier foods and younger frizzante wines in northern Italy, and lighter foods paired with citrusy, fruit forward, and bold regional wines the further south you go.
Nearly 300 fine food specialties including cheese, olives, truffles, tomatoes, grains, and grapes are produced in Italy under under strict laws and production guidelines of the DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta; literally in English, Protected Designation of Origin), and IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta; literally in English Protected Geographical Indication) designations, the highest number of specialty products certificated by the EU.
These food products are significant in Italy’s food culture, and are the Italian foods to taste on a food tour or on the farm, grown by producers over time — sometimes as long as 25 years!
Regional Food Guides
What food is typically Italian? Food in Italy is highly regional, with specialties and wine unique to the region you’re in. This guide to traditional Italy food highlights the most popular foods of Italy — what to eat in Italy and where to eat it!
Parmigiano reggiano cheese is known as the King of Cheese, among the highest quality cheese produced in Italy. DOP parmigiano cheese takes over a decade to produce and a second to wash down. Here’s how it’s made and why it’s not parmesan cheese!
Hot chocolate in Italy is a thick and creamy seasonal food specialty and every chocoholic’s dream drink. Read all about Italian hot chocolate plus give our easy recipe a try and make it at home when you’re missing Italy!
Discover food in Sicily Italy—from cannoli and arancini to seafood pasta, seasonal produce, and the best traditional Sicilian foods to savor.
Tagliatelle vs pappardelle — what’s the difference? Originating from two of Italy’s most popular food regions, Tuscany and Emilia Romagna, knowing the difference between these two pasta noodles makes your Italy food expertise next level.
Bookmark this Modena food guide for your trip to Emilia Romagna, Italy. The best street food Modena has to offer and what to eat in Modena, the food in Modena is some of the best food in Italy.
Planning a visit to Parma? Be sure sure a get a tour and taste of Culatello di Zibello, the Little Ass of Parma. This unsung Parma ham is less well-known than prosciutto, but culatello ham outshines it in taste. Don’t miss it!
The complete guide to Calabria food from traditional Calabrese dishes to the staple foods of Calabria. The food in Calabria Italy is vibrant and more than just chili peppers and Tropea onions!
This essential Tuscan food guide with 28 traditional foods of Tuscany, wines, desserts, and Tuscan dishes to try, plus 3 great Tuscany restaurants to try them.
Wondering what to eat in Venice? The food in Venice, Italy is some of the country’s best. Here’s your Venice food guide to local dishes in Venetian cuisine, Venice markets, cicchetti, and traditional Venetian food.
We’ve narrowed down the over 400 Italian cheese types to 12 popular Italian cheeses every foodie should eat in Italy. Learn the stories of the region from the unique types of Italian cheeses crafted there.
This Campania Food Guide covers Naples, Italy food and that of Sorrento, Positano, Capri, the Amalfi Coast, and dozens of small hill towns around Mt. Vesuvius — the best pizza in Naples, Napoli street food, and what to eat in Naples, one of Italy’s most authentic cities!
Italian breads are some of the best foods in Italy, and this guide has your perfect loaf. Check out these 28 types of Italian breads, their unique history, and which region has the best Italian bread types to try.
Eating truffles in Italy is on every foodie’s bucket list. If you want to learn more about Italian truffles - where they come from, how to eat them, truffle festivals in Italy, and why these morsels are so expensive - this is your complete guide.
If you love chocolate, eating chocolate in Turin is a bucket list experience. Torino chocolate is regarded as some of the best in the world! Here’s the definitive Chocoholic’s Guide to the best chocolate in Turin!
The Tyrolean food of Trentino-Alto Adige in northern Italy is a distinct regional Italian cuisine, more Germanic than Italian. South Tyrol food is a fusion of Italian, Alpine, and Central European cuisines, and a fascinating culinary journey for Italy foodies!
This essential guide to Puglia food and the traditional food in Puglia, for visiting Apulia, Italy’s bountiful boot heel, plus 11 typical Pugliese dishes to try.
The essential guide to Piedmont food for visiting Turin, Alba, Bra, and the small towns of Italy’s Piedmont region, the birthplace of slow food!
Traditional Dishes
Cavatelli and broccoli is a one of the traditional Italian dishes you’ll find in northern Puglia and other parts of southern Italy. Here’s my personal recipe for one of my favorite meals — lemony Cavatelli and broccoli.
The complete guide to Calabria food from traditional Calabrese dishes to the staple foods of Calabria. The food in Calabria Italy is vibrant and more than just chili peppers and Tropea onions!
What are the most famous pasta dishes in Italy? These 26 dishes from every region are the bucket list, traditional dishes you should try when you’re there!
Want to experience cicchetti in Venice? It’s a great way to taste the traditional foods of Venice. This Guide to Venice cicchetti has what’s typical on a cicchetti menu, where to try the best cicchetti bars, and who has the best cicchetti tour in Venice.
Italians love their dessert but in Italy, a little sweet treat goes a long way. This list of traditional italian desserts from north to south are some of the best desserts in Italy, perfect for the sweet tooth Italy foodie!
Roman cuisine in Italy’s Eternal City is a beacon of simplicity. Rome food is also some of the most delicious in Italy, but how do you eat like a local in Rome? Start with these 14 quintessential Roman dishes and must try food in Rome.
Focaccia, an Italian flat bread similar to a pizza crust is enjoyed in Italy any time of day and it’s so easy to make at home. This focaccia barese ricetta, or recipe for Focaccia alla Barese from Puglia, is easy to make and tastes great. Buon appetito!
Visit the 20 regions in Italy to find the best cities in Italy for food. The cuisines are as diverse as the geography and climate. There is no single defining Italian dish, but an incredible rainbow of dishes that vary with what a region tenaciously claims as its own.
This essential guide to Puglia food and the traditional food in Puglia, for visiting Apulia, Italy’s bountiful boot heel, plus 11 typical Pugliese dishes to try.
Linguine vs fettuccine? What’s the big deal? You may be surprised to find there’s not just one difference between linguine and fettuccine but several, and knowing what they are will up your Italian food cred to new heights!