About Italy > Travel Guide > What to Eat

What to Eat


Pasta and pizza play a substantial part in Italian recipes, but there are many regional specialities. Tuscany, for example, is noted for its bean dishes; the Po Valley for its rich risottos. Cheeses include mozzarella, pecorino (a hard sheep’s cheese) and gorgonzola.

National specialities:
Rome:
Gnocchi alla romana (semolina dumplings).
Piemonte:
Bagna caoda (an anchovy dip, served with vegetables).
Lombardy:
Panettone (Christmas cake with sultanas and candied fruit).
Liguria:
Pesto (sauce of basil, pine nuts and pecorino cheese).
Emilia-Romagna:
Parmigiano (parmesan cheese).

National drinks:
Wines are named after grape varieties, village or area of origin. The most widespread is the Chianti group of vineyards in Tuscany.
Roman wines include Albano and Frascati (whites); Barolo in Valle d’Aosta; Valpolicella in Veneto; Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio (whites); Cabernet and Pinot Nero (reds) in Friuli-Venezia; and Chianti, Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello in Tuscany.
Vermouths are popular in Piemonte.
Aperitifs such as Campari and Punt e Mes are excellent appetisers.
Italian liqueurs include Amaretto, Limoncello, Grappa and Strega.

Legal drinking age: 16. The government has proposed raising it to 18.

Tipping: Service charges and state taxes are included in all hotel bills. It is customary to give up to 10% in addition if service has been particularly good.