Traditional food · Italy

Flavors of Italy

Pizza in Naples, carciofi in the old Jewish quarter of Rome, fugassa for breakfast in Genoa and arancina on Saint Lucy’s Day in Palermo: Italy’s food changes from city to city.

In the photo: Grande Canal, Veneza

Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.

The cuisine

Traditional food of Italy

Italian cuisine is made of local cuisines. Each region, and often each city, has its own pasta, breads, sweets and drinks tied to local products, religious festivals and the history of those who passed through. The same dish can change name, shape and filling from one place to another, and debates about which recipe is the authentic one are part of city life.

Many of these specialties have official recognition. There are dishes and sweets protected by European Union geographical indications that define how and where they can be made; recipes deposited with chambers of commerce, such as the pasta and ragù of Bologna; municipal denominations, like those in Milan; and regional lists of traditional products. The art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo is on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.

In the north, the cuisine uses more butter, rice and fresh egg pasta. Milan has saffron risotto, the breaded veal cutlet and panettone; Bologna, tagliatelle with ragù and tortellini in broth; Turin, bicerin and vermouth; Genoa, pesto and focaccia; Venice, sardines in sweet-and-sour sauce and cod dressed with olive oil. In the mountains, Fontina fonduta from the Aosta Valley, canederli from Trentino-Alto Adige and the beet-filled pastas of Cortina d’Ampezzo show an Alpine cuisine.

In the centre and south, olive oil, tomato, durum wheat semolina and sheep ricotta take the lead. Florence grills bistecca over coals and sells lampredotto from kiosks; Siena preserves almond sweets and spices of medieval origin; Rome has the fried artichokes of the Jewish tradition and carbonara; Naples, pizza and sfogliatella. In Apulia, Bari is the city of focaccia and hand-made orecchiette made in the street.

The islands have their own cuisines. In Sicily, Arabic, Norman and Spanish influences appear in cassata and cannolo, and Palermo’s street food ranges from arancina to bread with spleen. In Sardinia, roast suckling pig with myrtle and seadas with honey come from pastoral tradition, and Alghero, of Catalan heritage, serves lobster with tomato and onion.

Specialties cross regional borders: the same sweet, dish or drink can belong to the tradition of several places. Differences in ingredients, names and ways of serving help tell the history of each region.

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37 flavors

What to eat in Italy

Updated November 2026

Dish · Alghero

Aragosta alla catalana

Cooked lobster served cold in pieces, with ripe tomato, raw onion, olive oil and sometimes lemon. It is the dish that best symbolizes Alghero, a city of Catalan heritage in northwest Sardinia.

Dish · Bari

Focaccia barese

Tall, soft focaccia made with cooked potato in the dough, topped with crushed cherry tomatoes, olives, oregano and plenty of olive oil, with a crispy edge. It’s named after Bari and is the city’s most common snack.

Dish · Bari

Orecchiette alle cime di rapa

Small semolina dumplings shaped like little ears, handmade and cooked with turnip leaves and shoots, seasoned with garlic, anchovy, chili, and olive oil. In Bari, the orecchiette are made in public on the old town’s street.

Dish · Bologna

Tagliatelle al ragù

Fresh egg pasta ribbons served with ragù, a slow-cooked meat sauce with tomato. The width of the tagliatella and the ragù recipe are registered with the Bologna Chamber of Commerce.

Dish · Bologna

Tortellini in brodo

Small rings of egg pasta filled with pork, ham, mortadella and cheese, served in a meat broth. The filling recipe is registered in Bologna, and the dish is traditional at year-end celebrations.

Dish · Camogli

Focaccia di Recco col formaggio

Two very thin sheets of unleavened dough with melted fresh cheese between them, baked in a very hot oven on round copper pans. It is protected as a geographical indication and may only be made in Recco, Sori, Avegno and Camogli.

Dish · Capri

Insalata caprese

Cold dish of alternating slices of tomato and mozzarella, with basil leaves and olive oil. Red, white and green, it is named after the island of Capri, where it is said to have originated according to the most cited accounts.

Sweet · Capri

Torta caprese

Low dark chocolate and almond cake, made without wheat flour. It has a thin crust on the outside and a moist interior. It’s named after Capri, where several stories place its origin.

Dish · Catania

Pasta alla Norma

Pasta with tomato sauce, fried eggplant, basil and grated salted ricotta on top. It’s the dish that identifies Catania, and the name honors the opera Norma by Catanian composer Vincenzo Bellini.

Dish · Cortina d'Ampezzo

Casunziei ampezzani

Half-moons of fresh pasta filled with beet and potato, seasoned with melted butter, poppy seeds and cheese. They are the typical pasta of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Dolomites.

Dish · Emília-Romanha

Piadina romagnola

Round, flat bread made from flour, lard or olive oil, salt and water, cooked on a griddle and filled at the time with cold cuts, cheese or greens. It’s the food of the entire Romagna region, protected as a geographical indication, in two versions: a thicker one and a thin one from Rimini.

Dish · Florence

Bistecca alla fiorentina

Thick T-bone beef steak, grilled over embers and served rare, seasoned only with salt and olive oil. It’s named after Florence and is usually ordered to share.

Dish · Florence

Lampredotto

Lampredotto sandwich — the cow’s fourth stomach, slowly cooked in broth and served on a round roll with a green or spicy sauce. It’s Florence’s most typical street food, sold at trippai stalls.

Dish · Genoa

Focaccia genovese

Low, soft focaccia marked by little dimples filled with olive oil and brine, with a golden, salty surface. The people of Genoa eat it at any time, even for breakfast, dipped in coffee with milk.

Dish · Genoa

Trofie al pesto

Short, hand-rolled twisted pasta seasoned with pesto genovese: basil, garlic, pinoli, cheeses and olive oil crushed in a mortar. Genoa is the city of pesto, and trofie come from the neighboring coast.

Dish · Milan

Cotoletta alla milanese

Veal chop on the bone, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and fried in butter. In 2008, the Milan city council granted it a municipal denomination under the name costoletta alla milanese.

Sweet · Milan

Panettone

Tall, cylindrical sweet bread made from slowly fermented dough with butter, eggs, raisins and candied fruit. It is Milan’s Christmas sweet, surrounded by legends about its origin.

Dish · Milan

Risotto alla milanese

Yellow saffron risotto, cooked in beef stock and finished with butter and cheese. It is the dish most associated with Milanese cuisine and is also served with ossobuco.

Dish · Naples

Pizza napoletana

Soft-dough pizza with a high, airy crust, hand-stretched and baked briefly in a wood-fired oven. The classic versions are marinara and margherita. The craft of those who make it in Naples is recognized by UNESCO as intangible heritage.

Sweet · Naples

Sfogliatella riccia

Sweet shaped like a shell made of very thin overlapping sheets of pastry that crackle when you bite them. The filling is cooked semolina, ricotta, sugar and candied fruit. Served warm, it is one of the best-known pastries of Naples.

Dish · Palermo

Arancina

Rice ball with saffron, stuffed, breaded and fried. In Palermo it’s called arancina (feminine) and is round like an orange. It is the food of Saint Lucy’s Day, December 13, when people from Palermo do not eat bread or pasta.

Sweet · Palermo

Cassata siciliana

Sponge cake and sweetened ricotta cream, covered in green pasta reale and topped with icing and candied fruit. An Easter sweet, it layers the history of Sicily and is linked to the convents of Palermo.

Dish · Palermo

Pani ca' meusa

Soft sesame bread filled with cooked calf spleen and lung, then reheated in lard. It can be served just with lemon or with cheese and ricotta. It’s Palermo’s most typical street sandwich.

Dish · Rome

Carciofi alla giudia

Whole Roman-style artichokes, fried twice in olive oil until they open like a golden flower, with crispy leaves and a tender heart. It is a dish from the Roman-Jewish tradition, linked to the city’s old ghetto.

Dish · Rome

Spaghetti alla carbonara

Pasta seasoned with egg yolk, toasted guanciale, pecorino romano and freshly ground black pepper. The cream forms from the heat of the pasta, without heavy cream. Although the origin is debated, it is one of the dishes that identify Roman cuisine.

Dish · Sardenha

Porceddu

Whole suckling pig slowly roasted on a spit next to a wood fire, scented with myrtle, until the skin becomes crispy. It is the dish of festivals and large gatherings in Sardinia, served on cork trays.

Sweet · Sardenha

Seadas

Discs of semolina dough filled with fresh cheese flavored with lemon or orange zest, fried and topped with honey. It is Sardinia’s best-known sweet, originating in the island’s pastoral interior.

Making the Sicilian cannolo — Sicily, Italy.

Sweet · Sicília

Cannolo siciliano

A tube of fried, crunchy pastry filled on the spot with sweet sheep’s ricotta cream, decorated at the ends with candied fruit or pistachio. It’s Sicily’s best-known sweet, associated with Carnival.

Sweet · Siena

Panforte di Siena

Round, flat, dense sweet made with candied fruit, almonds, honey and spices. It has medieval origins in Siena and comes in two versions: the white one, dusted with sugar, and the darker, more spiced one. It is protected as a geographical indication.

Sweet · Siena

Ricciarelli di Siena

Soft cookies made from almond paste, sugar and egg white, shaped like a diamond, with a cracked surface dusted with sugar. They are one of Siena’s Christmas sweets and have protected geographical indication.

Dish · Trentino-Alto Ádige

Canederli

Bread dumplings made from stale bread mixed with milk, eggs and speck, cheese or herbs, cooked and served in broth or with melted butter. They are the dish of both provinces of Trentino-Alto Adige, where they are also called Knödel.

Drink · Turin

Bicerin

Hot drink served in a small glass cup, in three unmixed layers: thick hot chocolate, espresso coffee and heavy cream. It is Turin’s typical drink, linked to the city’s historic cafés since the 18th century.

Drink · Turin

Vermouth di Torino

A flavored wine made with wormwood, herbs and spices, born in Turin at the end of the 18th century. Drunk neat or in cocktails, it is the base of the Turin aperitivo and has its own geographical indication.

Dish · Vale de Aosta

Fonduta valdostana

Hot, smooth cream of Fontina cheese slowly melted with milk, butter and egg yolks, served with toasted bread, potatoes or polenta. It’s the dish that best represents Fontina PDO, the cheese of the Aosta Valley.

Dish · Venice

Baccalà mantecato

Air-dried cod, soaked, cooked and whipped with olive oil until it becomes a light white cream. It is served over polenta or bread in Venice’s bacari and links the city to the story of the navigator who brought this fish from Norway.

Dish · Venice

Sarde in saor

Fried sardines topped with onions cooked in vinegar, with raisins and pine nuts, left to rest until they take on a sweet-and-sour flavor. They originated as a way to preserve fish on boats and are the dish of the Festa del Redentore in Venice.

Sweet · Verona

Pandoro

Tall, soft sweet bread shaped like an eight-pointed star, with a yellow, butter- and egg-rich dough, dusted with confectioners’ sugar when served. It originated in Verona at the end of the 19th century and is one of Italy’s two traditional Christmas sweets.

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Your questions

Questions about the food of Italy

Is there a single Italian cuisine?

Italian cuisine is made up of many regional and local cuisines. Each city has its own pastas, sweets and drinks, and the same recipe can change name and form from one place to another.

What do the acronyms IGP and DOP mean on Italian products?

They are European Union geographical indications. IGP is Protected Geographical Indication and DOP is Protected Designation of Origin. Both define where and how the product can be made to use the name.

What are Italy’s Christmas sweets?

The best known are panettone, associated with Milan, and pandoro, born in Verona. In Siena, panforte and ricciarelli are also Christmas sweets.

What is street food in Italy?

Each city has its own. In Florence, the lampredotto sandwich; in Palermo, arancina and pani ca' meusa; in Bari, focaccia barese; in Naples, pizza folded to eat while walking.

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